ribed as a plain, covered by dense thickets, with open spaces
in the vicinity of the houses, varied by the high ground at Talley's
on the west and by the hills of Fairview and Hazel Grove on the
south, and terminating in a deep ravine near the river. Our general
line was separated from that of the enemy by small streams, which
principally ran through ravines, forming obstacles useful for
defensive purposes. This was the case on the east and south, but
on the west, where Howard's line terminated, there was nothing but
the usual thickets to impede the enemy's approach.

As the narrative proceeds, the position of the Confederate army,
who held the broken ground on the other side of those ravines, will
be more particularly described.

After all, a defensive battle in such a country is not a bad thing,
for where there are axes and timber it is easy to fortify and hard
to force the line; always provided that free communications are
kept open to the central reserve and from one part of the line to
another. It must be confessed that the concealment of the thickets
is also favorable to the initiative, as it enables the attacking
party to mass his troops against the weak parts without being
observed. Hooker probably thought if Lee assailed a superior force
in an intrenched position he would certainly be beaten; and if he
did not attack he would soon be forced to fall back on his depots
near Richmond for food and ammunition. In either case the prestige
would remain with the Union general.

The rebels followed up our army closely, and it is quite possible
that a sudden attack, when it was heaped up around Chancellorsville,
might have been disastrous to us. Gradually, under the skilful
guidance of Captain Payne of the Engineers, who had made himself
well acquainted with the country, the different corps took the
positions they had occupied on the previous night, and order came
out of chaos. The line, as thus established, covered all the roads
which passed through Chancellorsville. The left, held by Meade's
corps, rested on the Rappahannock, near Scott's Dam; the line was
then continued in a southerly direction by Couch's corps, facing
east, French's division being extended to a point near to and east
of Chancellorsville, with Hancock's division of the same corps
holding an outpost still further to the east. Next came the Twelfth
Corps under Slocum, facing south, and then, at some distance to
the west, in echelon to the r