The Wilderness, Virginia
May 5-6, 1864
In March 1864, U.S. Grant had been appointed general-in-chief of the Union Army and promoted to the rank of Lt. General [a rank previously held only by George Washington]. The opening battle of Grant’s offensive against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was fought on May 5-7 at a place called the Wilderness, a few miles west of Fredericksburg (see map 1). On the morning of May 5, 1864, Lee's two advance units encountered three Union corps marching south from the Rapidan River toward Spotsylvania Court House. The Federals outnumbered the Confederates 70,000 to 40,000 but this was negated in the chaos that ensued. The surprised Union corps attacked and a fierce battle was fought in the dense woods between the Orange Turnpike and Plank Road. Muzzle flashes from thousands of rifles set the underbrush on fire, and visibility got so bad in the smoke-filled forest that whole brigades got turned around. Confused troops fired blindly, many units got separated, lost, and captured; wounded men were burned to death in the fire. Darkness halted the fighting, and both sides rushed forward reinforcements. At dawn on May 6th, Winfield Scott Hancock attacked along the Plank Road, driving A. P. Hill’s Corps back in confusion. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet’s Tennessee Corps arrived in time to prevent the collapse of the Confederate right flank. At noon, a devastating Confederate flank attack in Hamilton’s Thicket sputtered out when Longstreet was wounded by his own men. (He survived but was out of action for several months.) Burnside's corps moved against the Confederate center but was repulsed. The battle was a tactical draw. In two days of fighting the Federals lost 18,000 men and the Confederates lost 11,000. Once again Lee had defied the odds and won an apparent victory, but Grant did not retreat as had the other Union generals commanding the Army of the Potomac before him. On May 7th, the Federals advanced by the left flank, continuing their march toward the crossroads of Spotsylvania Courthouse.
© 2004 David C. Hanson, Virginia Western Community College
