On the 26th of January, 1863, MG Joseph Hooker announced his succession to the Army of the Potomac. Although the men of the 2d Massachusetts felt a natural distrust of the new commander, mainly on account of his tendency to brag and blow about himself, he soon won the minds (if not the hearts) of the soldiery with his decisive and effective administration of military affairs. He managed to infuse the army with an energy and spirit it had lacked under Burnside. Close attention was paid to the health and comfort of the ranks. Rations were plentiful--and edible. Morale improved significantly and the chronic absenteeism and desertion were brought under control.
Hooker reorganized the infantry into 7 corps, doing away with Burnside's cumbersome "Grand Division." The 2d MA remained under the command of MG Henry W. Slocum (12th Corps), which consisted of two divisions under Williams and Geary. The 3 brigades of the 1st Division were led by Generals Knipe and Ruger, and Col. Ross. In early march, Col. Samuel Quincy returned from his convalesence to take command of the 2d MA. The other regiments in Ruger's brigade were the 3d WS (Col. Hawley), 13th NJ (Col. Carman), 27th IN (Col. Colgrove), and the 107th NY (Col. Diven).
At the end of April, the Army of the Potomac began its Spring campaign. Hooker's bold and ambitious plan called for a flanking column consisting of the corps of Slocum, Meade and Howard to cross the Rappahannock, move through the Wilderness and around the left of Lee's army, thereby cutting him off from Richmond. Meanwhile, a second force under John Sedgwick was to attack the 10,000 troops under Jubal Early at Fredericksburg. The plan--the best one ever devised by a commander of the Army--should have succeeded. Between his two forces Hooker had nearly 134,000 men to face Lee's estimated 60,000. But at a critical moment in the advance Hooker would fail to live up to his nickname "Fighting Joe."
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