At Spotsylvania Court House Grant launched major attacks on the 8th, 10th, 12th and 18th all of which were unsuccessful. He had tried everything but Lee’s defensive position was too strong. Grant then decided to move around Lee’s right flank as he did after the Battle of the Wilderness hoping at some point to lure Lee into taking the offensive on open ground. Hancock’s II Corps was sent east on a broad arc in the hope that Lee would come out from behind his defenses and attack the isolated corps but Lee would not take the bait. When it became clear that Grant was repeating his attempt to move around Lee’s right the race was on once again to reach the next logical place for battle, the south bank of the North Anna River. Lee would have the inside track and get there first. As each side aligned for battle, Lee’s chief engineer Martin Luther Smith designed an ingenious inverted V-shaped field fortification. Grant would make a critical error by attacking on both flanks and in the process unknowingly dividing his army in two, where each part could be attacked separately by Lee’s smaller force. Lee could not take advantage, because on the day of the Federals error, he was ill with an acute attack of dysentery. With Stuart killed at Yellow Tavern and Longstreet out of commission from a serious wound suffered in the Battle of the Wilderness there was no senior commander who could fill in for Lee at this critical moment. Grant and Meade would eventually realize their error and recross the river. This series will cover the road to the North Anna River and the battle.
The Road to the North Anna River- Hancock’s Flank March
Lee Wins the Race to the River
The Battle Begins- May 23, 1864
The Battle of the North Anna River- May 24, 1864
Battle of North Anna Walking Tour- The Gray Trail
Battle of North Anna Walking Tour- The Blue Trail
The Battle of Fort Pocohontas at Wilson’s Wharf
Fort Pocahontas- Scenes from the Reenactment
The Sidney E. King Arts Center- Part 1
The Sidney E. King Arts Center- Part 2
Fort Pocahontas and Powhatan- LiDAR Imaging- password protected
Battle of the North Anna River- Earthwork Maps and LiDAR- password protected
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