Politics, partisanship, and indecision combined briefly in the career of General Joseph Hooker to ruin an otherwise brilliant military record. Few questioned the courage of “Fighting Joe,” as the general was popularly known, but because of his personal conduct he developed about as many enemies to the rear as he had on the front. The final blow was his mismanagement of troops in the Battle of Chancellorsville, which cost him the battle and the confidence of President Lincoln.