CHANCELLORSVILLE

chancellorsville, a village of spottsylvania county, virginia, u.s.a., situated almost midway between washington and richmond. it was the central point of one of the greatest battles of the civil war, fought on the 2nd and 3rd of may 1863, between the union army of the potomac under major-general hooker, and the confederate army of northern virginia under general lee. (see american civil war, and wilderness.) general "stonewall" jackson was mortally wounded in this battle. chance-medley (from the a.-fr. _chance-medlee_, a mixed chance, and not from _chaude-medlee_, a hot affray), an accident of a mixed character, an old term in english law for a form of homicide arising out of a sudden affray or quarrel. the homicide has not the characteristic of "malice prepense" which would raise the death to murder, nor the completely accidental nature which would reduce it to homicide by misadventure. it was practically identical, therefore, with manslaughter.