Battle Of The Wilderness Essay Research Paper

Battle Of The Wilderness Essay, Research Paper

The Battle of the Wilderness

Imagine, wrote a North Carolina officer named W.A. Smith, a

great, dismal forest containing . . . the worst kind of thicket of second-growth

trees . . . so thick with small pines and scrub oak, cedar, dogwood and other

growth common to the country . . . [that] one could see barely ten paces

(qtd. in Kennedy 203). This description is of the area known as the

Wilderness, where over 135 years ago, one of the greatest Civil War battles

occurred. The Battle of the Wilderness was the beginning of the end for the

Confederate States of America.

The region called the Wilderness is in Spotsylvania County, Virginia,

just ten miles west of Fredericksburg. It is a natural wooded area that is

twelve miles wide and six miles deep along the southern bank of the Rapidan

River. The Wilderness was described by Lieutenant Thomas F. Galwey of

the 8th Ohio as a wild and formidable thicket, so dense that even at noon

day the sun s light scarcely penetrated it (qtd. in Trudeau 44).

In the early 1700 s, Alexander Spotswood, Virginia s governor during

the time, tried to inhabit the Wilderness. He brought over German colonists

to do so. They cut large amounts of timber from the forest to secure the mine

tunnels, plank the roads, and fuel the iron-smelting operations. But when the

plan failed and the area was abandoned, the forest grew back very quickly,

creating a second-growth woodland (Kennedy 203).

On May 5 and 6, 1864, two armies, the Army of the Potomac of the

Union and the Army of Northern Virginia from the Confederate States of

America, engaged in a brutal battle known as the Battle of the Wilderness.

The battle included over 160,000 men, with around 100,000 coming from the

Union and close to 62,000 from the Confederacy ( Wilderness ). Lieutenant

General Ulysses S. Grant and Major General George G. Meade led the

Union s Army of the Potomac, and General Robert E. Lee commanded the

Confederacy s Army of Northern Virginia.

The Army of the Potomac was commanded by Major General George

G. Meade, who received his orders from Lieutenant General Grant. Grant

made his headquarters in the field with the army to ensure his orders were

followed correctly. The Union army consisted of three corps and an

independent corps commanded by Major General Ambrose Burnside, who

outranked Meade and reported directly to Grant (Graham and Skoch 68).

The II Corps was led by Major General Winfield S. Hancock, the V Corps by

Major General Gouverneur Warren, and the VI Corps by Major General John

Sedgwick.

The Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E.

Lee, consisted of three corps. The First Corps was commanded by

Lieutenant General James Longstreet. The Second Corps was commanded

by Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell. The Third Corps was commanded

by Lieutenant General A. P. Hill.

Part of Grant s grand plan was to move quickly to the south through

the Wilderness before the Confederates reacted. The Wilderness posed a

serious threat of an ambush that could cause a severe setback to the Union s

campaign. Grant knew that a battle in an open field would be a sure victory

for his army over Lee s out-numbered Army of Northern Virginia (Trudeau

44). All Grant s army needed was a half-day head start on Lee s army to

cross the Rapidan River and gain the advantage (Davis 197).

Even though he was outnumbered almost two to one, Lee possessed a

few advantages, mainly his position south of the Rapidan River. The Army of

the Potomac had to cross this river to get to him. Also, General Lee knew the

land better than his opponents, Grant and Meade. However, his greatest

advantage was the impenetrable vegetation of the Wilderness. Lee believed

he could use the forest to hold off twice the number of his men (Davis 197).

The Union began its movement into the Wilderness early on May 4,

1864, when it separated into two columns and headed to fords a few miles

apart, at which they crossed the Rapidan River and entered the Wilderness.

The V and VI Corps crossed the river at Germanna Ford Road. Hancock s II

Corps and the Union army supply train crossed the river at Ely s Ford to

camp at near-by Chancellorsville. Grant ordered Burnside to stop behind and

guard the railroad north of Rappahannock Station from Confederate raiders.

After he was across, Grant sent a message to the War Department in

Washington. The crossing of the Rapidan effected, he wrote. Forty-eight

hours now will demonstrate whether the enemy intends giving battle this side

of Richmond (qtd in Graham and Skoch 68). Also, after his crossing, Grant

learned of Lee s intentions. A Confederate message for Lieutenant General

Ewell had been intercepted and translated to We are moving (Graham and

Skoch 68).

Around mid-mornin

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