On the morning of May 3, Hooker still had a good chance to transform the misfortunes of the previous few days into a stunning military victory. Hooker's force still heavily outnumbered that of Lee's, and with the Army of the Potomac sitting between the two wings of the smaller Confederate force, the numerical advantage was supplemented with a strategic one. Union forces still had possession Hazel Grove, the only significant high ground clearing on the field. To make things better for Hooker--and certainly worse for Lee--Reynolds' I Corps arrived on the field during the night, boosting Hooker's numbers up to 76,000 men. Conversely, Lee's divided army made up of only 43,000 attackers.
The first order of business on May 3 took place back at Fredericksburg, where John Sedgwick's VI Corps sat facing Jubal Early's Confederates at the stone wall on Marye's Heights. Hooker ordered Sedgwick to attack Early , overtake the heights, and move toward Chancellorsville in Lee's rear. After failing two times to carry the hill, the Federals broke through on the third, capturing over 1,000 prisoners and forcing the rest of the rebels to hastily retreat. The first mode of operations on May 3 was a success. And with the exception of a well-executed retreat, that is all the military success the Federals would see for the rest of the campaign (McPherson, 1988).
Back in Chancellorsville, Hooker committed one of his most serious blunders of the campaign early that morning. He thought that Sickles' troops on Hazel Grove were on too exposed of a salient, but rather than reinforcing his line there, Hooker ordered them to fall back. This allowed JEB Stuart to take immediate advantage by allowing E. Porter Alexander to place around 40 artillery pieces on the hill and, thus, enabled the artillery to strongly support any further rebel infantry attacks (McPherson, 1992). More importantly, the Confederate possession of Hazel Grove meant the reunification of Lee's two wings.
As Sickles' men were clearing out, Henry Heth's Confederate skirmishers slowly moved toward the Union line. Encountering no opposition, General James Archer's brigade moved up the slopes of Hazel Grove just as the last men of the III Corps were departing. Archer's men quickly rushed ahead, capturing 100 men and three guns, and persistently pestered the retreating bluecoats. The Confederate artillery quickly moved in.
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