The Greatest Civil War Battles: The Battle of the Wilderness
ISBN: 9781985457997
$9.99
*Includes pictures of the battle's important generals.
*Includes several maps of the battle.
*Includes accounts of the fighting written by important generals like Grant, Longstreet, John Gordon, Theodore Lyman, and more.
*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.
“Numbers meant little—in fact, they were frequently an encumbrance on the narrow trails. Visibility was limited, making it extremely difficult for officers to exercise effective control. Attackers could only thrash noisily and blindly forward through the underbrush, perfect targets for the concealed defenders.” – Col. Vincent J. Esposito
With Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia continuing to frustrate the Union Army of the Potomac’s attempts to take Richmond in 1862 and 1863, President Lincoln shook things up by turning command of all the armies of the United States to Ulysses S. Grant in March 1864. , Lee had won stunning victories at battles like Chancellorsville and Second Bull Run by going on the offensive and taking the strategic initiative, but Grant and Lincoln had no intention of letting him do so anymore. Attaching himself to the Army of the Potomac, Grant ordered Army of the Potomac commander George Meade, "Lee's army is your objective point. Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also."
From May 5-7, the two most famous generals of the Civil War squared off for the first time. The 100,000 strong Army of the Potomac was double the size of Lee’s hardened but battered Army of Northern Virginia. It was a similar position to the one George McClellan had in 1862 and Joe Hooker had in 1863, and Grant’s first attack, at the Battle of the Wilderness, followed a similar pattern. Nevertheless, Lee proved more than capable on the defensive.
*Includes several maps of the battle.
*Includes accounts of the fighting written by important generals like Grant, Longstreet, John Gordon, Theodore Lyman, and more.
*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.
“Numbers meant little—in fact, they were frequently an encumbrance on the narrow trails. Visibility was limited, making it extremely difficult for officers to exercise effective control. Attackers could only thrash noisily and blindly forward through the underbrush, perfect targets for the concealed defenders.” – Col. Vincent J. Esposito
With Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia continuing to frustrate the Union Army of the Potomac’s attempts to take Richmond in 1862 and 1863, President Lincoln shook things up by turning command of all the armies of the United States to Ulysses S. Grant in March 1864. , Lee had won stunning victories at battles like Chancellorsville and Second Bull Run by going on the offensive and taking the strategic initiative, but Grant and Lincoln had no intention of letting him do so anymore. Attaching himself to the Army of the Potomac, Grant ordered Army of the Potomac commander George Meade, "Lee's army is your objective point. Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also."
From May 5-7, the two most famous generals of the Civil War squared off for the first time. The 100,000 strong Army of the Potomac was double the size of Lee’s hardened but battered Army of Northern Virginia. It was a similar position to the one George McClellan had in 1862 and Joe Hooker had in 1863, and Grant’s first attack, at the Battle of the Wilderness, followed a similar pattern. Nevertheless, Lee proved more than capable on the defensive.