“Thunderstruck” at Fisher’s Hill – September 22, 1864

Following his defeat at Winchester on September 19, 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early led his army south through the Shenandoah Valley, looking desperately for a new defensive position upon which to hold his ground against the Federals and their commander, Phillip Sheridan. He found a piece of high ground called Fisher’s Hill between Massanutten Mountain…

“Disasters Commenced” – Battle of Third Winchester, September 19th, 1864

1864 was a productive and effective year in the Civil War. With Ulysses S. Grant at the helm, the Union armies in all theaters of the war had made progress in tightening the noose around the Confederacy. The branches of Grant’s ultimate plan included his Overland Campaign against Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia,…

The Final Week of Bloodshed – Conclusion to Spotsylvania

The fight thus far at Spotsylvania had been nothing short of a slaughter house. The continuous fighting for twenty hours at the Bloody Angle was the pinnacle of that slaughter with 17,000 casualties in all. Who was to blame? Many pointed fingers at Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant’s “grit of a bulldog” as Abraham Lincoln called…

The Battle for Laurel Hill, May 8th 1864

At about eight in the morning on May 8th, the Army of the Potomac was hellbent on pushing their way south. After Sheridan failed to carry out his orders to clear the Brock Road of all Confederates, it was down to Gouverneur Warren’s corps to pave the way before the rest of the army arrived.…

Longstreet’s Wounding – Wilderness May 6th 1864

In the afternoon of May 6th, 1864, James Longstreet of the First Corps had launched a devastating flanking maneuver upon the Federal left from an unfinished railroad cut in the Wilderness. Led by one of his staff officers, four Confederate brigades poured into Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps and forced them back to their earthworks…

“Lee to the Rear!” – Longstreet’s Rescue in the Wilderness, May 6th 1864

Finally, after marching through the early morning hours, James Longstreet’s First Corps finally appeared out along the Plank Road to face Union General Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps. In the lead was John Gregg and his brigade of Texans and Arkansans and were some of the first to witness this near rout of their fellow…

“A Battle of Invisibles” – Saunders Field – May 5th, 1864

On the morning of May 5th 1864, as the rear guard of Gouverneur Warren’s V Corps led by Charles Griffin’s division were ready to move further south to follow the rest of the army, Confederates were seen funneling down the Orange Turnpike and slipping to either side to form their battle lines. When word reached…

Into the Wilderness (May 1864)…

By the spring of 1864, the Civil War had a new face and a new attitude in a number of ways. In Virginia, the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia have stalemated on either side of the Rapidan River. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was not fairing well, despite some small…

Lincoln Asks for Grant

While I don't know what movie or documentary this is from, I like it. Though it's highly dramatized, it does hold a few poignant quotes from Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant. As we begin to dive into the Battle of the Wilderness and the Overland Campaign, I thought it'd be nice to share this before…

Marching Back Into Virginia…

As we transition from March into April, so do we enter a Virginia Battlefield series here on the blog. In February, we presented the battle of Chancellorsville, where “Fighting Joe” Hooker acted slightly contrary to his nickname and the Confederacy lost one of its most prized generals, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. After the Union army pulled…