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General Hooker (1814-1879) Massachusetts. Major General Nicknamed “fighting Joe” for his reputed exploits in the battle of Williamsburg, Joseph Hooker was a career U.S Army officer, rising to the rank of Major Genral during the Civil War. Thought he served with distinction in many campaigns, Hooker is most often remembered for his defeat by Robert E. Lee at the battle of Chancellorsville. Lincoln appointed Hooker to command of the army of the Potomac on January 26, 1861. Some members of the army saw this move as inevitable, given Hooker’s reputation for aggressive fighting. Hooker was quoted by a New York Times correspondent as saying that “Nothing would go right until we had a dictator, and the sooner the better.” Lincoln wrote a letter to the newly appointed General stating “I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a Dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain success can set up dictators. What now I ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship.”