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 (modern day Courthouse 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. The three images below were taken at 38.2156486, -77.5706183.
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 (5th, 12th, 20th and 23rd NC). 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, shown in the map below.
The 50th PA, the only regiment on the right side of the Fredericksburg Road, held utilizing a bayonet charge led by Captain Samuel Schwenk with the help of the 20th MI. The right side of the battlefield which is on the Stevenson Ridge property (private property) is shown below (images taken facing Courthouse Road at 38.2151347, -77.5741578, from left to right). 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 finished adjusting his lines and headed toward the rear, on the left side of the road, where he ate breakfast with Colonel Daniel Leasure, the commander of his second brigade. Leasure then went forward to check the trench line of the 3rd MD. Skirmishing activity between the two forces was ongoing just beyond the crest of the ridge. Stevenson stayed behind and was lying under a tree in the shade, in what was thought to be a secure position. As he did so, he was struck in the head by a stray bullet and killed. Stevenson was well liked by his men and the loss was a heavy blow to the division. Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Weld ordered the construction of a coffin and Major Nathaniel Wales and John Jones accompanied the body back to Massachusetts. The alignment of forces and the position on the battlefield where General Stevenson was killed are shown in the map below.
We walked up to the top of the ridge near the area of the stop sign (38.2132509, -77.5737266).
We then looked across Courthouse Road away from Spotsylvania Court House and down the ridge. The ground on the other side of the road also falls off, confirming that there was no direct line of sight between the General and Confederates on the opposite slope of the ridge. This indicates that Stevenson was not killed by a sniper but rather the victim of a stray bullet.
Skirmishing continued 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’s Ridge and prepared for an all out assault along the line on the 12th, see map below.
The details of the battle on the 12th are discussed in the post on Hancock’s Attack on the Mule Shoe. A map from part of that action was also distributed during the tour and is shown below.
Next- Stevenson Ridge Tour- The Grounds