The day’s fighting had not gone well for Lee on the 23rd. Two Union Corps had crossed and established footholds on the south bank of the North Anna River. Warren’s V Corps was on his left flank and Hancock’s II on his right. Lee, already not feeling well, he would soon develop an attack of full blown dysentery, called a council of war with his most trusted advisors. They met in a large field near the Miller house where Lee had established his headquarters. Generals Anderson, Ewell, and Alexander were there, as well as his mapmaker Jedediah Hotchkiss and his chief engineer Martin Luther Smith. Smith had been studying the topography of the ground all day. When asked for his opinion of what to do he made a most unusual and brilliant suggestion. Instead of aligning their line in a linear fashion as was traditional they should align it as inverted V shown below.
The apex of the inverted V was on the high banks overlooking Ox Ford. The western face was on a ridge that ran southwest and was fronted by open fields. The line intersected the Virginia Central Railroad near Anderson’s Tavern and was anchored on the Little River. The eastern part of the inverted V also ran along a ridge toward the Telegraph Road where Ewell was located, shown below.
Ewell’s line ran east across the railroad and then turned south to protect the right flank and Hanover Junction. It was fronted by a swamp. The line extended south beyond Hanover Junction to about the intersection of modern-day Doswell Road and King’s Dominion Boulevard, shown below (37.8483896, -77.4437025).
Images of Hanover Junction are shown below.
One of the more eclectic places I have driven by on my travels, which sits right next to the tracks at Hanover Junction is shown below. The building is not a wartime structure. It’s apparently an antique store open on weekends by appointment only. Checking on line they charge a small admission fee that’s deductible on any purchase over $20. They weren’t open when I drove by but they look like they have many unique items.
Pickett and Breckinridge’s men would act as reserves. The tip of the inverted V that overlooked Ox Ford was a very strong position at the top of a very steep ridge and it was the key to the position. Ox Ford was the only place Grant could reinforce either side of the inverted V by crossing the river only once, in essence the only place he could link his isolated wings. It would be strongly protected by cannons. The inverted V held several advantages for defense. Grant’s II and V Corps were six miles apart on the south bank of the river, in order for them to support each other they would need to not only travel six miles but cross the North Anna River twice. If Lee could somehow get Grant to divide his entire army into two parts on opposite sides of the inverted V, he could use interior lines to attack each side in sequence. In addition, an attack on Ewell’s front would have to occur across a large open field. The Federals would not only be fired upon in the front by Ewell but also along their right flank by Anderson. Also, both parts of the inverted V were concealed in the woods Grant would have no idea what the Confederate line looked like from the north side of the river. Martin Luther Smith had designed a brilliant trap and Grant would be walking straight into it. The question would be could he figure it out and get back across the river before Lee annihilated his army.
Grant and Meade arrived at the Carmel Church from the Tyler house early on the morning of the 24th. That day Grant placed Burnside’s Corps under Meade’s command and Sheridan’s force returned from their raid on Richmond. Things were about to get interesting.
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