In the spring of 1863, the strategic picture for the Confederacy was growing increasingly dire. A Union army under Major General William Rosecrans threatened central Tennessee, while Ulysses S. Grant was closing in on Vicksburg. Charleston, South Carolina, was under threat, and Union forces controlled the North Carolina coast except for Wilmington, as well as southeastern Virginia—both serving as backdoor routes to Petersburg and Richmond.
Joseph Hooker was positioned along the Rappahannock River. Facing Hooker was Robert E. Lee, then 56 years old, who had fallen ill during March of that year. Lee described his condition to his wife as a severe cold.
By April, he began to recover, but not without episodes of pain in his chest, back, and arms. Medical historians have since suggested the illness may have been pericarditis, and likely angina as well—the early signs of the heart disease that would ultimately end his life seven years later.