McClellan, and had been indiscreet about his opinions on McClellan's removal from command. He was replaced by Col. John Wheeler. Battle of Chancellorsville Following the defeat at Fredericksburg, General Burnside offered President Lincoln his resignation from both the Army of the Potomac and the Army itself. Lincoln persuaded Burnside to stay in the army, transferring him to the western theater. Command of the Army of the Potomac was given to General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker. President Lincoln had since come to a firm decision that the primary objective of the Army of the Potomac was to destroy General Lee's army, rather than to capture a geographic strongpoint, such as Richmond. Hooker constructed a plan which would involve splitting his army in two, with one pincer attacking Lee's front and the other pincer maneuvering around Lee's rear to attack him from behind simultaneously. However, a combination of General Lee's daring and General Hooker's loss of nerve prevented this from happening. The Regiment arrived at Chancellorsville around 11:00 A.M. on May 1, and was sent into the field around 5:00 P.M. towards Hazel Grove, where the pickets were established for the night. The next morning, General Dan Sickles, commander of the III Corps, took note of a large Confederate column advancing along Catherine Furnace. Believing the column to be a flanking maneuver, Sickles ordered the 20th Indiana, along with the rest of Birney's division, forward to disrupt it. The division ran headlong into the 23rd Georgia Vol. Regt., routing and capturing hundreds of unsuspecting Georgians. The division advanced further and eventually stopped past a railroad cut near Welford House. While the surprise was sudden and very unwelcome for the Georgians, General Jackson had taken the calculated risk. Understanding that his movements along Catherine Furnace were being watched by the Union, Jackson had gone ahead and sent numerous regiments and supply trains down the road, seemingly daring the Union troops to come and attack them. When the Union did as Jackson expected, he took the opportunity to quickly surround the troops, which were suddenly separated from the main force. During the night of May 2–3, the 20th Indiana regularly increased their picket line until it was evident that they were surrounded by Confederates. By Midnight, they had learned that the Confederates had attacked the right flank of the army, cutting them off. Silently, the 20th Indiana and 63rd Pennsylvania withdrew their pickets and