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 In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee:
The Wilderness Through Cold
Harbor For forty days, the armies fought a grinding campaign from the Rapidan River to the James River that helped decide the course of the Civil War. Several of the war's bloodiest engagements occurred in this brief period: the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the North Anna River, Totopotomoy Creek, Bethesda Church, and Cold
Harbor Wilderness
Todd's Tavern, Brock Road
Civil War Virginia
American Civil War
May 5-7, 1864The opening battle of Grant's sustained offensive against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, known as the Overland Campaign, was fought at the Wilderness, May 5-7.
 The Battle of the Wilderness
May 5-6,
1864 Fought in a tangled forest fringing the south bank of the Rapidan River, the Battle of the Wilderness marked the initial engagement in the climactic months of the Civil War in Virginia, and the first encounter between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
On the morning of May 5, 1864, the Union V Corps attacked Ewell's Corps on the Orange Turnpike, while A.P. Hill's corps during the afternoon encountered Getty's Division (VI Corps) and Hancock's II Corps on the Plank Road. Fighting was fierce but inconclusive as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods. Darkness halted the fighting, and both sides rushed forward
reinforcements.
At dawn on May 6, Hancock attacked along the Plank Road, driving Hill's Corps back in confusion. Longstreet's 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 Lieutenant General James Longstreet was wounded by his own men.
The IX Corps (Burnside) moved against the Confederate center, but was repulsed. Union generals James S. Wadsworth and Alexander Hays were killed.
Confederate generals John M. Jones, Micah Jenkins, and Leroy A. Stafford were killed.
The battle was a tactical draw. Grant, however, did not retreat as had the other Union generals before him. On May 7, the Federals advanced by the left flank toward the crossroads of Spotsylvania Courthouse.
Result(s): Inconclusive (Grant continued his offensive.)
Other Names: Combats at Parker's Store, Craig's Meeting House, Todd's Tavern, Brock Road, the Furnaces
Location: Spotsylvania County
Campaign: Grant's Overland Campaign (May-June 1864) next battle in campaign Campaigns
Date(s): May 5-7, 1864
Principal Commanders: Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and Major General George G. Meade [US]; General Robert E. Lee [CS]
Forces Engaged: 162,920 total (US 101,895; CS 61,025)
Estimated Casualties: 29,800 total (US 18,400; CS 11,400)
Fredericksburg Virginia Area Map of Battles
Click to enlarge Map
Civil War Soldier 102 Piece Playset
- 25 Union and 25 Confederate Soldier Figures, 18 Horses, 10 Cannon
- 2 Covered Wagons, 2 Tents, 2 Canoes, 2 Flags, 16 Fences
- Size: Figures Stand up to 2-1/8 inches tall
- Scale: 1/32nd, Wagons and Horses slightly smaller
 Victory Without Triumph
The Wilderness, May 6th & 7th,
1864 John Priest meticulously details the vicious infantry fighting along the Plank Road, Longstreet's counterstrike against the II Corps, the cavalry operations of both armies near Todd's Tavern, and John B. Gordon's daring assault against the Army of the Potomac's right flank.
 The Spotsylvania Campaign The Spotsylvania Campaign marked a crucial period in the
confrontation between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee in Virginia. Waged over a two-week period in mid-May 1864, it included some of the most savage fighting of the Civil War and left indelible marks on all involved
The Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864 Fought in a tangled forest fringing
the south bank of the Rapidan River, the Battle of the Wilderness marked the initial engagement in the climactic months of the Civil War in Virginia, and the first encounter between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee: The Wilderness Through Cold Harbor For forty
days, the armies fought a grinding campaign from the Rapidan River to the James River that helped decide the course of the Civil War. Several of the war's bloodiest engagements occurred in this brief period: the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the North Anna River, Totopotomoy Creek, Bethesda Church, and Cold Harbor
 Bloody Roads South: The Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May-June 1864 This
chronicles the great 1864 Overland Campaign, forty days that marked the end of the Civil War. In detail the battles in Virginia's Wilderness to the combat at Spotsylvania the trap laid by Lee at the North Anna River, to the killing ground of Cold Harbor
 Turn Homeward, Hannalee During the closing days of the Civil War, plucky 12-year-old
Hannalee Reed, sent north to work in a Yankee mill, struggles to return to the family she left behind in war-torn Georgia. "A fast-moving novel based upon an actual historical incident with a spunky heroine and fine historical detail."--School Library Journal.
 My Brothers Keeper Virginia Dickens is angry. Her father and brother Jed have left
her behind while they go off to Uncle Jack's farm to help him hide his horses from Confederate raiders. It's the summer of 1863 and Pa and Jed believe 9-year-old Virginia will be out of harm's way in the sleepy little town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
 Numbering The Bones The Civil War is at an end, but for thirteen-year-old Eulinda, it is no
time to rejoice. Her younger brother Zeke was sold away, her older brother Neddy joined the Northern war effort,. With the help of Clara Barton, the eventual founder of the Red Cross, Eulinda must find a way to let go of the skeletons from her past.
 Bad Blood: The Border War That Triggered the Civil War In the years leading up
to the Civil War, a bloody conflict between slaveholders and abolitionists focused the nation's eyes on the state of Missouri and the territory of Kansas. Told through the actual words of slave owners, free-staters, border ruffians, and politicians, Bad Blood presents the complex morality, differing values, and life-and-death decisions faced by those who lived on the Missouri-Kansas border
 Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in
which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union
 The Civil War in Virginia Virginia was the arena where North and South fought many
of their bloodiest battles. the program gives a full account of the events that took place describing in detail the history of the American Civil War in Virginia
 The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers,
a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.
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