The Mule Shoe Trail is about a mile long and is outlined in yellow. I modified it slightly by walking all the way to the Landrum House Ruins. In addition, on entering the trail I took a path that angled sharply to the left to visit the infrequently visited Stuart Monument.

After the sign above I turned left down the road to visit the Edward Stuart Memorial in the woods. Edward’s father (also named Edward) was the head of the United States Christian Commission during the war and his son had wanted to honor him with a monument on the battlefield, which he never accomplished before he died in 1940. After the younger Edward’s death, friends raised money for a monument to him for his role in preservation and establishing the battlefield park. The younger Edward had owned most of the land around the “Bloody Angle”. When the monument was dedicated in 1941 it was not in the woods but in an open field. The overgrowth of the woods has made it the most infrequently visited monument on the battlefield.

The Landrum House was home to Willis Landrum, his wife Lucy and five other family members. It was destroyed by fire in 1905. General Hancock moved his headquarters here at 7:00 AM on the 12th. Wright also used the house here for a period of time that day.

Text- These one hundred and sixty-two acres known as the Landram Farm, were presented to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania and dedicated on May 11th, 1940 to the memory of the valiant men who fought here. These monument is known as the MOLLUS (Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Commandery) monument.

The house, where the Confederate sentries were located, was about 550 yards from the Mule Shoe. From here I headed across the field to the eastern angle in the distance.

As I walked across the field I could see the swale that resulted in so many troops being funneled toward the Bloody Angle. The Landrum Farm Lane is running across the tree line from right to left. The troops were moving from in front of the tree on the far right, below the ridge, to the tree on the far left. This is part of the swale.

The swale continues and passes in front of the small white dot to the left of center which is the Ohio monument on the western side of the battlefield.

The 15th NJ Monument- “Erected by the State of New Jersey to mark the portion of the Confederate line held by the 14th Georgia Regiment, and assaulted May 12, 1864, by the 15th Regiment New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Edward L. Campbell
Engaged, 429. Loss – 116 Killed; 153 Wounded; 38 Missing. The monument was placed at the Bloody Angle but the regiment actually fought 200 yards to the southwest near Doles’ salient. The monument was erected in 1909.

Monument to McGowan’s Brigade erected by the State of South Carolina and the Brigadier General Samuel McGowan Camp 40 Sons of Confederate Veterans, Laurens County, SC, in 2009.

I next headed from here directly toward the woods where there is a path. I followed it for a short distance and then located the remnants of an old Boy Scout project on the left. Several decades ago a group of scouts recreated an earthwork and I wanted to see what it looked like after all these years.

The 49th NY Monument marks the spot where the regiment which was in the VI Corps, 2nd Division, 3rd Brigade held its position on May 12th. It was dedicated on October 9, 1902.

The 126th OH Monument- This monument was dedicated to the memory of the 126th OH commanded by Colonel Benjamin F. Smith
and Lieutenant Colonel Aaron W. Ebright. They were in the 2nd Brigade,
3rd Division, of the VI Corps. It was erected by the state of Ohio in 1914.

The trench from the salient continues on the opposite side of the road. Picture taken from 38.2229445, -77.6010235. The trench is heading southwest toward Doles’ salient.

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