Wilderness, Battle of the

In the American Civil War, indecisive battle between Union and Confederate forces 5–6 May 1864 in a wooded area known as ‘The Wilderness’ about 24 km/15 mi west of Fredericksburg, Virginia. As the battle for the Wilderness ended, the opening shots of the battle for Spotsylvania were being fired.

At the start of the 1864 campaigning season, General Robert E Lee, holding a position behind the Rapidan River in the Wilderness area, was confronted by General Ulysses S Grant who had been given command of the Union armies. Lee assumed Grant's objective was Richmond, and spread his force across the various roads in the Wilderness in order to confront him. However, Grant's objective was simply to destroy Lee's army and he ordered that ‘if any opportunity presents itself for pitching into a part of Lee's army, do so without giving them time for disposition’. Lee sent a division forward under General Richard Ewell, with orders to await the arrival of General James Longstreet's corps before engaging. However, as soon as Ewell's advanced guard met Union troops, they came under attack and the battle began.

Initial Union success was reversed by Confederate reinforcements aided by the close nature of the country and the thick undergrowth which allowed them to conceal their positions, and soon the Confederates had routed a Union corps.

Due to poor communications, Lee was unaware of this and missed the chance to split the Union force in two. Before the Confederates could take advantage of the situation, Grant brought up reinforcements, and when the Confederates finally tried to advance they were soon stopped. Nightfall came and both sides rested where they lay.

Grant attacked at dawn the next day, and broke through the Confederate lines, only being stopped by a concentration of artillery. His troops spread out to outflank the barrage, but there was sufficient delay to allow Longstreet to arrive and push the Union troops back. Lee now tried an outflanking movement, but Longstreet was wounded during this move and the Union troops on the flank were able to dig in, repulsing the attack when it finally came. The day ended with Lee pressing hard and Grant only just hanging on. However, Grant did not resume the fight the next day; he slipped his army sideways in order to cross the Rapidan near Spotsylvania where Lee anticipated him and the next battle broke out.