Hooker, Joseph (1814-1879), was a Union general during the American Civil War (1861-1865). At the beginning of the war, he became a brigadier general of volunteers. Later, he rose to the rank of major general and commanded a corps. In the eastern theater he fought in the Battles of the Seven Days, the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), and the battles of Antietam (Sharpsburg) and Fredericksburg. The newspapers called him “Fighting Joe.” President Abraham Lincoln appointed him commander of the Army of the Potomac in 1863, but he was defeated at Chancellorsville. Relieved of command at his own request and transferred to the West, Hooker commanded a corps in the Chattanooga and Atlanta campaigns.
Hooker was born on Nov. 13, 1814, in Hadley, Massachusetts, and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1837. He also served in the Mexican War (1846-1848). He died on Oct. 31, 1879.
