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SPONSORED BY
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[UNIT COMMANDERS]
UNION
COMMANDER(S)
Ulysses S.
Grant
George Gordon
Meade
CONFEDERATE
COMMANDER(S)
Robert E.
Lee
[UNION
REGIMENTS
&
BATTERIES]
[CONFEDERATE
REGIMENTS
&
BATTERIES]
VICTORY
DESCRIPTION
"Confederates remained in undisturbed possession of the field, the Union armies leaving its unburied dead and many of its wounded in their hands."
Fox's Regimental Losses
BATTLE
HISTORY
The opening battle of Grant’s sustained offensive against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, known as the Overland Campaign, was fought at the Wilderness, May 5-7. On the morning of May 5, 1864, the Union V Corps attacked Ewell’s Corps on the Orange Turnpike, while A.P. Hill’s corps during the afternoon encountered Getty’s Division (VI Corps) and Hancock’s II Corps on the Plank Road. Fighting was fierce but inconclusive as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods. Darkness halted the fighting, and both sides rushed forward reinforcements. At dawn on May 6, Hancock attacked along the Plank Road, driving Hill’s Corps back in confusion. Longstreet’s Corps arrived in time to prevent the collapse of the Confederate right flank. At noon, a devastating Confederate flank attack in Hamilton’s Thicket sputtered out when Lt. Gen. James Longstreet was wounded by his own men. The IX Corps (Burnside) moved against the Confederate center, but was repulsed. Union generals James S. Wadsworth and Alexander Hays were killed. Confederate generals John M. Jones, Micah Jenkins, and Leroy A. Stafford were killed. The battle was a tactical draw. Grant, however, did not retreat as had the other Union generals before him. On May 7, the Federals advanced by the left flank toward the crossroads of Spotsylvania Courthouse.
National Park Service
GENERALS
KILLED
| Micah
Jenkins
Killed in Action |
| John M.
Jones
Killed in Action |
| Leroy Augustus
Stafford
Killed in Action |
| James S.
Wadsworth
Mortally Wounded |
LIST
OF
OFFICERS
KILLED
OR
MORTALLY
WOUNDED
LOSSES
UNION
| KILLED |
WOUNDED |
MISSING/
CAPTURED |
TOTAL |
SOURCE |
| 2,246 |
12,037 |
3,383 |
17,666 |
Fox's Regimental Losses |
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18,400 |
National Park Service |
CONFEDERATE
| KILLED |
WOUNDED |
MISSING/
CAPTURED |
TOTAL |
SOURCE |
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|
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11,400 |
National Park Service |
REFERENCES
*Civil War Regiments from Maine, 1861-1865
33, 34, 35, 37, 49, 50, 51, 52, 62, 63, 70, 71, 72
*Confederate Military History of North Carolina
189, 197
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READINGS
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