Battle of the Wilderness

The Battle of the Wilderness was initiated on May 5, 1864 when the Army of the Potomac began its spring offensive by marching quickly through the Wilderness. Once through the tangled forest, Ulysses S. Grant planned to defeat Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in a battle fought on open ground. However, Lee, whose army was only at half strength, boldly placed Ewell's II Corps and Heth and Wilcox's divisions of Hill's III Corps squarely in the path of the Federal Army. At about noon, the Union V Corps, commanded by Warren, received orders to attack the corps of Ewell entrenched on the Orange Turnpike, near the Locust Grove.

Warren's attack was repulsed by Ewell, but not after Confederate general J. M. Jones was killed, and generals Stafford and Pegram wounded. Warren reformed his line in the woods east of Ewell, with Sedgwick forming up part of his corps to extend the line. Warren's corps was now placed south of the pike, with Sedgwick's VI corps placed north of the pike.

In the meantime to the south, Getty's division of Sedgwick's corps and Hancock's II Corps advanced against Heth's division of the Confederate III Corps (Hill). This fighting was also inconclusive. Wilcox moved up to support Heth, so when darkness fell, the lines were more or less in the same places as they had been at the start of the Federal attack. Though outnumbered more than 2 to 1, the Confederates had held their ground.

As dawn broke on the morning of May 6, 1864, Grant ordered a general attack. Hancock's troops attacked and were driving back the wearied Confederates when Kershaw's division of Longstreet's I Corps arrived and supported the line. When Field's division arrived soon after, Longstreet ordered a counterattack. By mid-morning, the Confederate troops had driven Hancock back to the lines the day before.

The Confederates then found a new plan of attack. Longstreet's adjutant, Moxley Sorrel, was placed in command of a "task force" comprised of the brigades of Mahone, Wofford, G. Anderson, and Davis. These troops moved through an unfinished railway gap so they could not be detected. When they attacked the Federal left flank around 11 A.M., they routed the weary Federals. Longstreet followed on this success by ordering the rest of Field's division (Benning's brigade, Perry's brigade, and the Texas Brigade) forward. As the Texans advanced, Lee waved