Recently two events clued me in to an important part of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House that I had not given enough attention to. The first was a conference sponsored by the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust where Chris Mackowski was an invited speaker. At his table he had the short book shown below.
The second was the opportunity to go on a tour of Stevenson Ridge and Myer’s Hill arranged by the American Battlefield Trust with Chris Mackowski from Emerging Civil War as tour guide. At Stevenson Ridge we were able to walk the ground where the 50th PA advanced on May 9, 1864, during the Battle of the Ny River and examine the Federal earthworks on the property. This series of posts will discuss an often ignored part of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House that occurred along the Fredericksburg Road at Stevenson Ridge; the site of the first fighting in Spotsylvania Court House itself. It was also significant in that Brigadier General Thomas Stevenson was killed here. Stevenson was beloved by his men but his death was overshadowed by the death of Major General John Sedgwick the day before. It will also include several posts on the tour of Stevenson Ridge, as well as a tour of the site of a later battle on the eastern front fought at Myer’s Hill, which almost resulted in the capture of General Meade.
Posts will include: The Battle of the Ny River; Stevenson Ridge tour (the grounds, the Red Trail and the Blue Trail) and the Myer’s Hill Tour.
On May 9, 1864, the majority of the Union army was headed south on the Brock Road towards Spotsylvania Court House. While the Confederates were fighting a delaying action there, Brigadier General James Wilson was leading his division of Federal cavalry unopposed down the Fredericksburg Road. Upon reaching the Ny River he encountered a small picket force from the 3rd Virginia cavalry under Brigadier General William Wickham. The Federals easily brushed them aside and rode into Spotsylvania Court House. Wickham’s full brigade (four regiments) soon arrived, drove the Yankees back across the river, and took position along the high ground of Stevenson Ridge. Shortly thereafter advanced elements of the Union IX Corps, under Major General Ambrose Burnside, moving down the Fredericksburg Road arrived on the battlefield. These were men of the 60th OH from Brigadier General Orlando Willcox’s division. They deployed skirmishers, crossed the river and moved uphill toward the ridge supported by a group of Michigan sharpshooters on the left side of the road. By this time Wickham had been reinforced by 4 regiments of infantry under Brigadier General Robert Johnson. As the Ohioans approached the crest of the ridge, the Confederates were about to flank them on both their right and left and the Ohioans pulled back. The Confederates then concentrated their fire on the sharpshooters who also were struck simultaneously by friendly fire from Union artillery sending the Michiganders retreating in disarray. The 79th NY, 20th MI and part of Colonel John Hartrantf’s brigade counterattacked on the left side of the road. The 50th PA, the only regiment on the right side of the Fredericksburg Road, held under a bayonet charge led by Captain Samuel Schwenk with the help of the 20th MI. Reinforcements arrived from Brigadier General Thomas Stevenson’s division and as darkness fell the Union controlled the high ground on the ridge.
On the morning of the 10th Stevenson’s division was assigned the task of probing the Confederate lines. Skirmishers were deployed from the 57th MA. Stevenson adjusted his lines and rested under a tree when he was struck in the head by a stray bullet and killed. Skirmishing occurred throughout the early parts of the day. In the late afternoon the IX Corps managed to advance a mile closer to Spotsylvania Court House but were ordered by Grant to return to their original position. The following day Brigadier General Robert Potter’s division occupied Stevenson Ridge and prepared for an all out assault along the line on the 12th. The details of the battle on the 12th are discussed in the post on Hancock’s Attack on the Mule Shoe.
Posts in this series will include
Tour of the Battle of the Ny River- May 9, 1864
Stevenson Ridge Tour- The Grounds
Stevenson Ridge Tour- The Red Trail password protected
Stevenson Ridge- Maps password protected