Battle of the Wilderness
The Wilderness, Virginia, USA
What happened
Union armies under Ulysses S. Grant and George G. Meade fought Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. Grant moved his army through the thick woods of the Wilderness, and Lee sent troops to stop him. For two days the armies fought along two roads through the forest, and the Confederate general James Longstreet was wounded by his own men. Neither side was driven from its position.
Why it matters
It was the first battle of Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign. Unlike earlier Union commanders, Grant did not retreat after the hard fight but kept moving south.
What came next
Grant moved southeast toward Spotsylvania Court House, where the armies fought again.
Did you know?
When Lee rode forward with a Texas brigade, the soldiers grabbed his horse's reins and urged him to go somewhere safer.
Timeline
- 5 May 1864Fighting begins on the Orange Turnpike and Orange Plank Road.
- 6 May 1864Longstreet's troops arrive; Longstreet is wounded.
- 7 May 1864Grant moves his army southeast.
- 8 May 1864Fighting begins at Spotsylvania Court House.