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The Wilderness |
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In the first major action in the east since Gettysburg, Grant’s force of 115,000 men confronted Lee and his 75,000 soldiers in a wooded area not far from Fredericksburg, Virginia, between May 5 and May 7, 1864. Fighting conditions were extremely difficult. The trees and underbrush diminished the impact of artillery and made the use of cavalry nearly pointless. Badly wounded soldiers on both sides were burned alive as the brush caught fire.
There was no clear victor in the Wilderness, but Grant was prevented from turning Lee’s flank. Union losses totaled 18,000, Confederate losses were 11,000. In the past such staggering losses would have caused most generals to retreat; such was not the case with Grant.
The battle was a tactical victory for the Confederates, who inflicted heavy losses on the Union forces, but it was a strategic win for Grant. He was able to draw on a great reservoir of potential troops, while Lee could not. The purpose of Grant's campaign was to crush Lee's army, rather than capture any specific objective, and he continued to achieve this goal.
Battle of the Wilderness
U S A History WARS - Civil War - Battle of the Wilderness 1864 The Battle of the Wilderness ended indecisively as the armies of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant wrought mutual destruction near Chancellorsville, Virginia. Becausethe Wilderness 1864 The Battle of the Wilderness ended indecisively as the armies of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant wrought mutual destruction near Chancellorsville, Virginia. Becausethe Wilderness ended indecisively as the armies of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant wrought mutual destruction near Chancellorsville, Virginia. Because the thick ...
http://www.usahistory.com/wars/wilderne.htm
Grant in the Wilderness
Was he wrong to have such a willingness to fight in the Wilderness? Yes, he should have pulled out and tried to fight in the open. No, there was no other choice but to face Lee where Lee chose. Maybe he was, but so what? They won the Wthe Wilderness? Yes, he should have pulled out and tried to fight in the open. No, there was no other choice but to face Lee where Lee chose. Maybe he was, but so what? They won the War because ...
http://www.civilweek.com/html/poll4.htm
Battle of the Wilderness
... forces to the brink of disaster the next day in the fast-developing Battle of the Wilderness. Lee did not get much sleep that night. Each hour brought another courier with new bits of information that had to be weighed and evaluatethe Wilderness. Lee did not get much sleep that night. Each hour brought another courier with new bits of information that had to be weighed and evaluated. Lacking ...
http://www.historynet.com/acw/bl_lees_struggle
