Lee's greatest victory: Chancellorsville

• Week 42 - Chancellorsville: In retrospect

• Week 41 - Chancellorsville: Was Hooker drunk?

• Week 40 - Raiding through Orange, Louisa, Hanover and Fluvanna

• Week 39 - Hooker Gives Up

• Week 38 - Driving Sedgwick across the river

• Week 37 - Fighting at Salem Church

• Week 36 - A famous photo 'taken in the midst of actual fighting'

• Week 35 - Men in ancient days ascended to the dignity of the gods

• Week 34 - Confederates south and east of the intersection

• Week 33 - Intense fighting in the woods

• Week 32 - A predestinarian's premonition and a singing major general

• Week 31 - Attacking at dawn

• Week 30 - Preparing for a morning of climactic battle

• Week 29 - Blue on blue

• Week 28 - Stumbling and bleeding

• Week 27 - A fatal volley in the darkness

• Week 26 - Chancellorsville: Dusk, lies, and cavalry

• Week 25 - Chancellorsville: Finding fault

• Week 24 - Citizens in the path of war

• Week 23 - 'Jackson was on us, and fear was on us'

• Week 22 - 'They fled before us equal to sheep'

• Week 21 - 'You can go forward then'

• Week 20 - Keeping Hooker bemused

• Week 19 - The oblivious targets of Jackson's imminent attack

• Week 18 - Getting ready to attack

• Week 17 - New marching order for Jackson's Corps

• Week 16 - A wrong turn on purpose

• Week 15 - Fighting near Catharine Furnace

• Week 14 - The start of a legendary leader's last march

• Week 13 - Lee and Jackson conspire to reach an astonishing decision

• Week 12 - An unfinished railroad shapes the battle's course

• Week 11 - 'Stonewall' Jackson from the flank, as was his custom

• Week 8 - Lee seizes the initiative

• Week 7 - A golden opportunity at Zoan Church"

• Week 6 - Headquarters at Chancellorsville Inn: 'Hurrah for old Joe!"

• Week 5 - April 1863: The armies converge

• Week 4 - R. E. Lee prepares for battle

• Week 3 - The Yankees prepare an onslaught

• Week 2 - The winter before Chancellorsville

• Week 1 - Chancellorsville: Against the odds

About the series

Since he was 8 years old, Robert K. Krick has thought the Battle of Chancellorsville was the most interesting thing that ever happened in North America. The nationally known historian wrote this series on the May 1863 battle--titled "Lee's Greatest Victory: Chancellorsville"--for The Free Lance-Star's Town & County section.

Krick was chief historian of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park for 30 years before his retirement this year. A native of Northern California, Krick began his National Park Service career at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, and then supervised Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania before coming to Fredericksburg.

Krick is the author of 14 books and more than 100 published articles. His most recent book, "The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy," was published by Louisiana State University Press.

Widely regarded as the top historian in modern times on the Army of Northern Virginia and the foremost authority on Chancellorsville, Krick is a popular lecturer and battlefield tour guide.

Battlefield preservation is a prime concern for Krick, who has pushed tirelessly for legislation and federal funding for Civil War sites. Former New York Rep. Robert Mrazek called Krick "the greatest secret weapon for Civil War battlefield preservation we've ever had."

The Virginia General Assembly honored the historian with a joint resolution commending his contributions to Virginia through his books, preservation efforts and "stellar career of service."

"Bob Krick's passion, persistence, and unquestioned Civil War expertise helped him win many battles to preserve vital Civil War sites throughout the area and earned him the admiration of historians and senior members of Congress," legislators said.

This series looks at the Chancellorsville campaign in some detail in weekly installments. The scenes of this largest battle in Virginia's history are familiar parts of the everyday life of local residents, so the series ties the dramatic events of May 1863 to landmarks still recognizable throughout the countryside near Fredericksburg.