d aimed to swing round his left and cut
off the enemy. He seemed to have determined to extend his right, with
the view of uniting with the left of Anderson's division under Lee,
and enclosing the enemy in the angle near Chancellorsville. Lee had
moved at the same moment on their front, advancing steadily over all
obstacles, and a Northern writer, who witnessed the combined attack,
speaks of it in enthusiastic terms: "From the large brick house
which gives the name to this vicinity," says the writer, speaking
of Chancellorsville, "the enemy could be seen, sweeping slowly but
confidently, determinedly and surely, through the clearings which
extended in front. Nothing could excite more admiration for the
qualities of the veteran soldiers than the manner in which the enemy
swept out, as they moved steadily onward, the forces which were
opposed to them. We say it reluctantly, and for the first time, that
the enemy have shown the finest qualities, and we acknowledge on this
occasion their superiority in the open field to our own men. They
delivered their fire with precision, and were apparently inflexible
and immovable under the storm of bullets and shell which they were
constantly receiving. Coming to a piece of timber, which was occupied
by a division of our own men, half the number were detailed to clear
the woods. It seemed certain that here they would be repulsed, but
they marched right through the wood, driving our own soldiers out, who
delivered their fire and fell back, halted again, fired, and fell back
as before, seeming to concede to the enemy, as a matter of course, the
superiority which they evidently felt themselves. Our own men fought
well. There was no lack of courage, but an evident feeling that they
were destined to be beaten, and the only thing for them to do was to
fire and retreat."

This description of the steady advance of the Southern line applies
rather to the first portion of the attack, which compelled the front
line of the Federal army to retire to the stronger ground in rear.
When this was reached, and the troops of Lee saw before them the last
citadel, the steady advance became a rush. The divisions of Anderson
and McLaws, on the right, made a determined charge upon the great
force under Generals Hancock, Slocum, and others, in that quarter, and
Stuart closed in on the Federal right, steadily extending his line to
join on to Anderson.

The spectacle here was superb. As the troops rushed on, Stu