Fighting Joe Hooker

"I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons. And yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which, I am not quite satisfied with you."

With this opening sentence in a two-page letter from Abraham Lincoln, Union general Joseph Hooker (1814-79) gained a prominent place in Civil War history. Hooker assumed command of an army demoralized by defeat and diminished by deserti...