In 1816, innkeeper George Chancellor opened his “large and commodious” roadside inn, Chancellorsville. By the 1860’s the inn was no longer operating as central Virginia became a vast battleground. During the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, the building served as Federal General Joseph Hooker’s headquarters as he directed the Northern army. On the climactic day of the battle, May 3, Hooker was stunned and temporarily disabled when a Confederate shell shattered the porch column against which he was leaning and threw him painfully to the ground. Shortly afterward, Confederate troops swarmed into the clearing around Chancellorsville from three sides and sealed the triumph in what has been called General R.E. Lee’s greatest victory. When Lee rode into the area, soldiers gave him a dramatic impromptu tribute, with one long, unbroken cheer rising above the roar of battle to hail the victorious chief.