On the evening of May 7th the rank and file of the Army of the Potomac were in for a surprise. The killing fields of the Wilderness were burning around them, the fires fueled by the ignition of gunpowder from cartridge boxes of the dead and dying. They had spent much of the day burying their comrades and waiting for a Confederate attack that never came. As darkness fell they fully expected to be returning back across the Rapidan River, the very act of that retreat an admission that despite the fact that the battle was a stalemate that they had really lost- again. After all that was what they had always done. They had felt for a while now that if they just had better generals they could beat Bobby Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Indeed in the previous two days their leaders had let them down. Warren’s refusal to attack on the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness was an act of insubordination. This left John Sedgwick’s VI Corps on the Union right essentially on their own to battle Ewell’s Second Corps. Disaster on that front was avoided only by the setting sun. Ewell and Early had hesitated in approving Brigadier General John B. Gordon’s flank attack and as Gordon’s men were rolling up the Union right darkness intervened. General Ambrose Burnside commander of the Union IX Corps continued to augment his reputation for moving too slowly. Grant in just two days could now see clearly the dysfunction within his new army. Warren and Burnside were and would continue to be in the coming days a major disappointment. The coordination of movement and communication also left much to be desired.

But as the men marched toward the Brock Road and Orange Plank Road intersection fully expecting to begin their retreat back north they instead would march south. Now realizing that they were not turning back a huge roar erupted among the men. They were headed for Spotsylvania Court House. But they had to get there before Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia could block their path. The Union Cavalry which had performed so poorly during and before the battle would now need to ensure that the Brock Road would remain clear. The race for Spotsylvania Court House was on. Posts in this series will include:

The Road to Spotsylvania Court House

The Battle Begins at Laurel Hill- May 8, 1864

The Death of John Sedgwick and the Changing Technology of War

Upton’s Attack- May 10, 1864

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Driving Tour Stops 1 and 2.

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Driving Tour Stop 1- The Exhibit Center

The Road to Yellow Tavern- May 8-11, 1864

The Battle of Yellow Tavern- May 11, 1864

The Battle of Yellow Tavern- The Battle of Meadow Bridge and the Death of JEB Stuart

Hancock’s Assault on the Mule Shoe- May 12, 1864

A Lot of Maneuvering in the Rain and Mud with Very Little Fighting- May 13-17, 1864

The Killing Fields of the Mule Shoe Part 3- May 18, 1864

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Driving Tour Stop 3

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Driving Tour Stops 4 and 5

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Driving Tour Stops 6, 7 and 8

A Reconnaissance in Force Goes Wrong- The Battle of Harris Farm- May 19, 1864

Grant Moves South and Timothy O’Sullivan

Civil War Sites in Spotsylvania Court House Part 1 (A Driving Tour)

Civil War Sites in Spotsylvania Court House- Part 2 (A Walking Tour)

Spotsylvania Field Fortifications- password protected

The Chancellorsville Visitor Center- Spotsylvania Court House Exhibit

Sources

The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7–12, 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea

To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13-25, 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea

A Season of Slaughter The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House May 8-21, 1864 by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White. Emerging Civil War Series

The Battle of the Bloody Angle, or “Mule Shoe” Spotsylvania Court House, May 12, 1864 by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White. Blue and Gray Magazine Volume XXVI, Issue 1, 2009.

Maneuver and Mud The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 13-20, 1864 by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White. Blue and Gray Magazine Volume XXVII, Issue 6, 2011.