300px battle of the wilderness

Wilderness Battefeild

By Dane Gooodenough

  • Union attacks the Confederates

    Union attacks the Confederates
    The Union V Corps under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren attacked the Confederate Second Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, on the Orange Turnpike.
    Morning of May 5th

  • Fight moves to the woods

    Fight moves to the woods
    That afternoon the Third Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill, encountered Brig. Gen. George W. Getty's division (VI Corps) and Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps on the Orange Plank Road. Fighting until dark was fierce but inconclusive as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods.
  • Period: to

    Wilderness Battlefeild

  • Union Sneak Attacks

    Union Sneak Attacks
    At dawn on May 6, Hancock attacked along the Plank Road, driving Hill's Corps back in confusion, but the First Corps of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet arrived in time to prevent the collapse of the Confederate right flank. Longstreet followed up with a surprise flanking attack from an unfinished railroad bed that drove Hancock's men back to the Brock Road, but the momentum was lost when Longstreet was wounded by his own men.

  • Confederate

    Confederate
    The eveningof May 6th, there was an attack by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon against the Union right flank caused consternation at Union headquarters, but the lines stabilized and fighting ceased.

  • Grant's Leaving

    Grant's Leaving
    On May 7, Grant disengaged and moved to the southeast, intending to leave the Wilderness to interpose his army between Lee and Richmond, leading to the bloody Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.