The American Civil War Overview          Lincoln appointed
"Fighting Joe" Hooker to the command of the Army of the Potomac
on January 25, 1863. Hooker immediately set out to improve the
welfare and morale of the troops. He introduced corps insignia
badges to give the men more pride in their units. He also
reorganized the Federal cavalry into a single corps of 11,500
troopers under the command of Brigadier General George Stoneman
to better counter the Southern cavalry superiority.
       Hooker had more than 130,000 troops and 412 artillery
pieces, more than twice the strength of Lee in all three combat
arms: infantry, cavalry, and artillery. He intended to use these
superior numbers to effect a plan whereby he would employ a
pincer movement against Lee. One half of the army would cross
the Rappahanock River below Fredericksburg and the other half
would cross upstream to move against Lee's rear. Each Federal
wing would be almost the size of Lee's entire command. The
Federal cavalry meanwhile, would attempt to