USPS Battle of Chancellorsville

USPS on 29 June 1995 issued a 32-cent stamp, commemorating the Battle of Chancellorsville during the American Civil War. The stamp depicted Union artillery in action during the Battle of Chancellorsville, which ended in a Confederate victory on 6 May  1863. The cachet on the envelope shows the battlefield where Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded. It is based on the Apocryphal painting by Kurz and Allison, 1889. Mark Hess designed the stamp to emulate a "folksy stiffness" in photography of the period. 300 million stamps were printed by Stamp Venturers. Postmark cancellation originated from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

The Battle of Chancellorsville, fought from 30 April to 6 May 1863, was a significant Civil War engagement where Confederate General Robert E. Lee's  Army of Northern Virginia, though outnumbered, achieved a tactical victory against a larger Union army under General Joseph Hooker. Lee achieved this decisive tactical victory by outmaneuvering and outflanking the Union forces. Lee's unorthodox tactics, including splitting his army and attacking the Union flank, are considered to be a testament to his military genius. Union General Hooker, while initially confident, displayed hesitation in his actions, which contributed to the Confederate success. 

Despite his tactical win with only 60,000 men  engaged, Lee's army suffered 13,303 casualties (1,665 killed, 9,081 wounded, 2,018 missing), losing some 22% of his force in the campaign—men that the Confederacy, with its limited manpower, could not replace. Just as seriously, he lost his most aggressive field commander, Stonewall Jackson. Brig. Gen. Elisha F. Paxton was the other Confederate general killed during the battle. 

Of the 133,000 Union men engaged, 17,197 were casualties (1,606 killed, 9,672 wounded, 5,919 missing), a percentage much lower than Lee's, particularly considering that it includes 4,000 men of the XI Corps who were captured on 2 May 1863.  The Union lost three generals in the campaign: Maj. Gens. Hiram G. Berry and Amiel W. Whipple and Brig. Gen. Edmund Kirby.

Nevertheless, buoyed by the outcome, Lee later launched an offensive into Pennsylvania, where the opposing armies met on the battlefield in Gettysburg in July 1863.