Battle of the Wilderness

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Battle of the Wilderness Part of the American Civil War Battle of the Wilderness by Kurz and Allison. Date May 5 – May 7, 1864 Location Spotsylvania County and Orange County, Virginia Result Inconclusive (Grant continues offensive) Belligerents United States (Union) CSA (Confederacy) Commanders Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade Robert E. Lee Strength 101,895 61,025 Casualties and losses 18,400 11,400

v • d • e Grant's Overland Campaign Wilderness – Spotsylvania Court House – Yellow Tavern – Meadow Bridge – Wilson's Wharf – North Anna – Haw's Shop – Totopotomoy Creek – Old Church – Cold Harbor – Trevilian Station – Saint Mary's Church

The Battle of the Wilderness, fought from May 5 to May 6, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. The battle was tactically inconclusive, as Grant disengaged and continued his offensive.

[edit] Background

The battlefield was the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, an expanse of nearly impenetrable scrub growth and rough terrain that encompassed more than 70 square miles (181 km²) of Spotsylvania County and Orange County in central Virginia. A number of battles were fought in the vicinity between 1862 and 1864, including the bloody Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. It is often said that the Wilderness and Chancellorsville were fought in the same spot, but the 1864 battle was actually fought a few miles to the west, and only overlapped the old battlefield along the Brock Road on the Union army's left flank.

On May 2, 1864, the Army of the Potomac, nominally under the command of Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, but taking orders from Grant, crossed the Rapidan River at three separate points and converged on the Wilderness Tavern, which had been the concentration point for the Confederates one year to the day earlier when they launched their devastating attack on the Union right flank at Chancellorsville. But Grant chose to set up his camps to the west of the old battle site before moving southward. Unlike the Union army of a year before, Grant had no desire to fight in the Wilderness.

For Lee it was imperative to fight in the Wilderness for the same reason as the year before: his army was massively outnumbered, with 61,000 men to Grant's 101,000, and his artillery had fewer and worse guns than those of Grant's. Fighting in the tangled woods would eliminated Grant's advantage in artillery, and also the close quarters and ensuing confusion there could give Lee's outnumbered force better odds.

[edit] Battle

Actions in the Wilderness, May 5, 1864.

Actions in the Wilderness, May 6, 1864.

While waiting for the arrival of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's First Corps,