35 Facts About Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863.

Joseph Hooker was kept in command, but when General Halleck and Lincoln declined his request for reinforcements, he resigned.

Joseph Hooker returned to combat in November 1863, helping to relieve the besieged Union Army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and continuing in the Western Theater under Maj.

Joseph Hooker became known as "Fighting Joe" following a journalist's clerical error, and the nickname stuck.

Joseph Hooker was born in Hadley, Massachusetts, the grandson of a captain in the American Revolutionary War.

Joseph Hooker was of entirely English ancestry, all of whom had been in New England since the early 1600s.

Joseph Hooker graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1837, ranked 29th out of a class of 50, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st US Artillery.

Joseph Hooker received brevet promotions for his staff leadership and gallantry in three battles: Monterrey, National Bridge, and Chapultepec.

Joseph Hooker settled in Sonoma County, California, as a farmer and land developer, and ran unsuccessfully for election to represent the region in the California legislature.

Joseph Hooker was obviously unhappy and unsuccessful in his civilian pursuits because, in 1858, he wrote to Secretary of War John B Floyd to request that his name "be presented to president Buchanan as a candidate for a lieutenant colonelcy", but nothing came of his request.

At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Joseph Hooker requested a commission, but his first application was rejected, possibly because of the lingering resentment harbored by Winfield Scott, general-in-chief of the Army.

Joseph Hooker had to borrow money to make the trip east from California.

Joseph Hooker was appointed, in August 1861, as brigadier general of volunteers to rank from May 17.

Joseph Hooker commanded a brigade and then division around Washington, DC, as part of the effort to organize and train the new Army of the Potomac, under Maj.

Joseph Hooker led his division with distinction at Williamsburg and at Seven Pines.

Joseph Hooker's division did not play a major role in the Seven Days Battles, although he and fellow division commander Phil Kearny tried unsuccessfully to urge McClellan to counterattack the Confederates.

Joseph Hooker chafed at the cautious generalship of McClellan and openly criticized his failure to capture Richmond.

Joseph Hooker asserted that the battle would have been a decisive Union victory if he had managed to stay on the field, but General McClellan's caution failed the Northern troops and Lee's much smaller army eluded destruction.

Joseph Hooker derided Burnside's plan to assault the fortified heights behind the city, deeming them "preposterous".

Joseph Hooker created the Bureau of Military Information, which was the first all-source intelligence organization employed by the US military.

Also during this winter, Joseph Hooker made several high-level command changes, including with his corps commanders.

Joseph Hooker built a network of loyal political cronies that included Maj.

Joseph Hooker first planned to send his cavalry corps deep into the enemy's rear, disrupting supply lines and distracting him from the main attack.

Robert E Lee began an invasion of the North, in June 1863, and Lincoln urged Hooker to pursue and defeat him.

Joseph Hooker's mission was first to protect Washington, DC, and Baltimore and second to intercept and defeat Lee.

Joseph Hooker went on to regain a reputation as a solid corps commander when he was transferred with the XI and XII Corps of the Army of the Potomac westward to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland around Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Joseph Hooker was in command at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, playing an important role in Lt.

Joseph Hooker was brevetted to major general in the regular army for his success at Chattanooga, but he was disappointed to find that Grant's official report of the battle credited William Tecumseh Sherman's contribution over Hooker's.

Joseph Hooker was offended at this gesture as he outranked Howard and had blamed him for the defeat at Chancellorsville.

Joseph Hooker had very poor relations with XII Corps commander Henry W Slocum ever since that battle and Slocum was relieved at being reassigned and sent to command the Vicksburg garrison.

Joseph Hooker served in command of the Department of the East and Department of the Lakes following the war.

Joseph Hooker was mustered out of the volunteer service on September 1,1866, and retired from the US Army on October 15,1868, with the regular army rank of major general.

Joseph Hooker died on October 31,1879, while on a visit to Garden City, New York, and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio, his wife's hometown.

Historian Stephen W Sears states that there is no basis for the claims that Hooker was a heavy drinker or that he was ever intoxicated on the battlefield.

However, the term "hooker" was used in print as early as 1845, years before Joseph Hooker was a public figure, and is likely derived from the concentration of prostitutes around the shipyards and ferry terminal of the Corlear's Hook area of Manhattan in the early to middle 19th century, who came to be referred to as "hookers".