Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker 1814-79, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Hadley, Mass. After fighting the Seminole and serving in the Mexican War, Hooker resigned from the army in 1853 and was for several years a farmer in California. At the outbreak of the Civil War he became a brigadier general of volunteers. He distinguished himself in subordinate commands in the Peninsular campaign, at the second battle of Bull Run, and in the Antietam campaign, and was made a brigadier general in the regular army in Sept., 1862. After the battle of Fredericksburg , Hooker severely criticized Ambrose Burnside , whom he succeeded (Jan., 1863) in command of the Army of the Potomac. In Apr., 1863, he advanced against Robert E. Lee, but in the resulting battle of Chancellorsville , he failed to justify his nickname of "Fighting Joe." Hooker followed Lee closely in the subsequent Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania, but, angered at General Halleck's refusal to send him reinforcements from Harpers Ferry, he asked on June 28, 1863, to be relieved. Hooker ably commanded reinforcements from the East in the Chattanooga campaign , and in 1864 he fought in the Atlanta campaign until General Sherman passed him over as successor to John B. McPherson.

Bibliography: See biography by W. H. Hebert (1944).

Hooker, Joseph (1814–79) Union army officer, born in Hadley, Massachusetts. Hooker performed admirably during the Seven Days' battles, Second Bull Run, and Antietam (all 1862). As commander of the Army of the Potomac, his retreat at Chancellorsville (1863) impaired his further effectiveness in that position, from which he resigned. Despite later successes as a corps commander at Lookout Mountain and on Missionary Ridge (both 1863), Hooker failed to achieve the advancement he sought, largely because of a bitter enmity between him and Gen. William T. Sherman.

Hooker was known as “Fighting Joe” because of his rashness and aggressiveness.