THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS FOUGHT
MAY 5th, 6th and 7th, 1864
This battle could have been included in the battles from March 1864 to April 2nd 1865 which were fought around Richmond leading up to the seige of Petersburg and then to its fall.
We now had a different General commanding the Union forces, one which did not plan to back up, but to keep the pressure on General Lee and his army until the war was over. The new commander was Lt. General U. S. Grant fresh from victories all down the Mississippi River.
General Lee knew about General Grant and started to make plans to win some of the battles that would follow. General Grant would lose many men in the next few months, but he was being sent reinforcements daily and General Lee could not replace men easily that he lost, therefore General Grant figured he could trade man-for-man and still win. During the months of May and June 1864 General Grant lost over 87,000 men, more than General Lee had in his army. The man-for-man trade sure didn't work, but General Lee's ability to wage war was falling shorter each day.
Before daybreak on May 4 General Grant had his army in motion, marching to the fords to cross the Rapidan River. General Lee's scouts signaled from hilltop to hilltop for the corps to concentrate as the Union troops were on the move. General Warren's corps, the advance column, pressed on and camped for the night in the very heart of the Wilderness. General Sedgwick halted near the river and General Hancock moved on to Chancellorsville to camp. General Grant assumed General Lee would fallback to Richmond with such a superior force in front of him.
General Lee only had 60,000 men, about half of what General Grant had in motion. This did not worry General Lee as he had been outnumbered before and gave a good account of himself. His forces were gathering on the edge of the Wilderness hourly and were sent to their positions as they arrived. General Lee knew the Wilderness like the back of his hand and told every commander by which road to strike the Union troops just as soon as they started to move. It was 10:00 a. m. before General Grant knew the Confederate army was on all sides as his troops started to move out. General Ewell's 2nd corps hit General Warren's right, driving them further into the Wilderness. General Hill was holding General Hancock's forces in check. Generals Longstreet and Anderson were giving General Burnside and General Sedgwick plenty of trouble.
This is the fight that the Confederate army loved, being in such thick woods that the Union army never knew from what side an attack would come and their artillery was of no use. The battle raged until night fall and each unit slept on their arms knowing what the next day would bring.
General Lee's plans for the 5th were to be in a position to drive all union forces back into the Wilderness. He shifted his army during the night to be able to hit the Union army and force each corp back in confusion in an almost impenetrable forest where it could not act as an army. The forces of General Lee could hit where the Union army was the weakest and do the most damage.
The Confederate army was set in motion at first light and hit the Union army from a complete different side than the day before. This added confusion in the union ranks and the troops were swept back into a general retreat, but units got lost in the woods and were either killed or captured. General Alexander Hays and General James Wadsworth were both killed trying to lead their men forward to break up this retreat. This fighting continued the rest of the day, but did not resume the next day. The losses had been heavy; killed wounded or taken prisoners, for the Federal army numbered 37,737 and the Confederate army 11,400.
The 42nd Infantry Division was there in the Wilderness, under General Richard Ewell's 2nd corp and gave a good account of themselves.