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The Battle
of the Wilderness
The
first head-to-head confrontation between Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant occurred in the dense forest known as the Wilderness.
On May 4, 1864, Lieutenant General Ulysses
S. Grant led Major General George G. Meade's Union Army of the Potomac southward across the Rapidan
River and into the tangles of the dense forest known as the Wilderness.
Consequently, Robert E. Lee attacked Grant in the Wilderness, turned Grant's left and right flanks, and inflicted 18,000 casualties on
the Army of the Potomac. Rather than retreat, Grant issued orders on May 7 for a night march to Spotsylvania Court House, the next stop on the road to Richmond.
The ensuing Battle of the Wilderness
was fought along two major thorough-fares, the Orange Turnpike and the Orange
Plank Road. The roads were less
than three miles apart, but they were separated by the thickets and tangled undergrowth characteristic of the Wilderness.
The resulting battle, therefore, developed into two distinct engagements, fought through the woods and in a few small fields
bordering each road.
Fighting began along
the Orange Turnpike at about mid-day of May 5. The Confederates selected a position bordering on the western edge of Saunders
Field, the clearing around the Wilderness Exhibit Shelter. Union forces attacked across Saunders Field and the fighting spread
into the neighboring woods. During one phase of the fight, the Confederate line broke, but a determined counterattack enabled
the Southerners to re-establish their position.
After fierce fighting
north of the Orange Turnpike early on May 6, the area remained relatively quiet until late in the afternoon, when Brigadier
General John B. Gordon led an attack against the Union right flank. The assault repelled two Union brigades, but darkness
caused confusion among the Confederates and brought the battle to a close.
The bitter fighting
resulted in more than 18,000 Federal casualties and approximately 11,000 Confederate losses. During the evening of May 7,
Grant again pushed his men southward. The next struggle began on May 8 near Spotsylvania Court House.
Sources: National Park Service; Official Records of the
Union and Confederate Armies
Advance to:
Recommended Reading: The Wilderness
Campaign; Battle of the Wilderness; Grant's Overland Campaign; Virginia's Battlefields
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Maps Battlefield Maps Bloody Angle Battle of Spotsylvania
Court House Campaign Summary Overview Battles of Spotsylvania Court House Timeline Hand-To-Hand Fighting
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