Spotsylvania, Battle of

During the American Civil War, indecisive engagement 8-19 May 1864 at Spotsylvania Court House about 80 km/50 mi northwest of Richmond, Virginia. After the Battle of the Wilderness, the Confederate army under General Robert E Lee had entrenched themselves 7 May around Spotsylvania Court House, an important road junction blocking the Union commander Ulysses S Grant's route to Richmond. Neither side were able to shift the other's position and both began edging east, Grant to seek another way to Richmond, Lee to forestall him.

Grant attempted to outflank Lee by sending General Winfield S Hancock with three divisions to the west of his position 10 May. However, Hancock took so long to get his troops into place that Lee was able to reinforce his flank during the night and Hancock realised he had no hope of success. Grant assumed that Lee must have weakened his centre, and ordered an attack there. It met well-constructed fieldworks backed by intense rifle fire and was thrown back; Hancock attacked on the flank with no better result. The Confederates remained unshaken while the Union lost about 3,000 troops.

The Union forces then tried an attack with a brigade under Col Emory Upton, who had new ideas about attacking fieldworks. His solution was to charge in a tight column, without pausing to fire, swamp the first line with bayonets, spread out, and take the second line of defences, so punching a hole through which reinforcements could flow to continue the advance. His brigade did their work but the reinforcements failed to appear in time, and were stopped by Confederate fire when they finally did appear. Upton's troops had to scramble out of it as best they could, leaving 1,000 dead behind them.

Hancock launched another attack 12 May, this time against the tip of a Confederate salient thrusting into the Union lines, with another corps under General Ambrose Burnside attacking the eastern face. This attack was successful, taking over 3,000 prisoners and 20 guns, but a fierce Confederate counterattack forced the Union troops into the tip of the Salient, and then degenerated into a face-to-face struggle known ever after as the ‘Bloody Angle’. Attacks on the flanks of the salient by Burnside did little good; the Confederates held out all day, but after dark Lee drew his troops back and straightened his line, abandoning the salient.