Major-General Joseph Hooker’s General Orders No. 47, April 30, 1863

GENERAL ORDERS No. 47.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,

Camp near Falmouth, Va., April 30, 1863.

It is with heartfelt satisfaction the commanding general announces to the army that the operations of the last three days have determined that our enemy must either ingloriously fly, or come out from behind his defenses and give us battle on our own ground, where certain destruction awaits him.

The operations of the Fifth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Corps have been a succession of splendid achievements.

By command of Major-General Hooker:

S. WILLIAMS,

Assistant Adjutant General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 25, Part 1 (Serial No. 39), p. 171