ttle of the Seven Days, Lee forced McClellan to retreat. This campaign taught Lee the need for simpler methods and organization. Jackson had earlier conducted a brilliant campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, and became Lee's most trusted subordinate. Jackson was so devoted to Lee that he said he would follow him into a battle blindfolded. With Jackson's help, Lee won a major victory over General John Pope in the second Battle of Bull Run, in August, 1862 (Nolan 89).Witt 6He was then free to invade Maryland. Unfortunately, McClellan intercepted a battle order which a Confederate staff officer had carelessly lost. Knowing Lee's plan in advance, McClellan halted him in the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg). Lee returned to Virginia to reorganize his army, General Ambrose E. Burnside then led an attack against Lee in December, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Fog covered the battlefield early in the morning before the battle began. As it lifted and the Confederate command saw thousands of troops, Lee remarked, "It is well that war is so terrible- we would grow too fond of it." Lee's troops defeated the Union forces, but Lee could not take advantage of his victory because the Northern troops had been too cleverly placed and could fall back without breaking any of their lines of communication. Lee felt that his army could not win the war by fighting defensively, and that it was too costly simply to hold the enemy without destroying it, but first he had to fight yet another defensive battle(Nagel 179). General Joseph Hooker, who had taken over from Burnside, attacked Lee at Chancellorsville in the Spring of 1863. The Confederate forces won a great victory, but they paid a horrible price for it. Stonewall Jackson unfortunately died there. He was accidentally shot by his own men when he went ahead of his line of battle to scout the Union troops. Determined to take the offense, Lee moved into Pennsylvania and encountered the Northern ar...
