Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant · Chapter
The Battle of the Wilderness explained
The Army of the Potomac, under Grant's command, crosses the Rapidan on May 4, 1864, initiating a campaign to capture Richmond.
What happens
The Army of the Potomac, under Grant's command, crosses the Rapidan on May 4, 1864, initiating a campaign to capture Richmond. The ensuing Battle of the Wilderness is a brutal, two-day engagement in dense, fire-prone woods, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Despite Confederate attacks and a near breakthrough on the Union left, the battle ends in a tactical stalemate, but Grant presses forward, signaling a shift in Union strategy.
Themes in this chapter
The Horrors and Cost of War
The chapter vividly describes the carnage, including wounded soldiers burned to death in forest fires, and the immense losses on both sides.
Leadership and Humility
Grant's decision to continue the campaign despite the bloody stalemate, and Lee's personal attempt to rally his troops, illustrate contrasting styles of command under pressure.
National Union and Constitutional Crisis
The campaign's ultimate goal—capture of the Confederate capital—is framed as essential to preserving the Union.
Characters to notice
- Ulysses S. Grant
Overall Union commander directing the campaign and the battle.
- Robert E. Lee
Confederate commander, personally led troops on the second day after Longstreet was wounded.
- Winfield S. Hancock
Commanded the Union II Corps, held the left flank against heavy assaults.
- Gouverneur K. Warren
Commanded the Union V Corps, led the advance across the Rapidan.
- John Sedgwick
Commanded the Union VI Corps, held the right flank against Early's attack.
- Philip H. Sheridan
Commanded Union cavalry, engaged Confederate cavalry on the Union left.
- Ambrose E. Burnside
Commanded the Union IX Corps, arrived late to support Hancock.
- James Longstreet
Confederate corps commander, wounded on May 6 during a counterattack.
Key passages
“Soon after midnight, May 3rd – 4th , the Army of the Potomac moved out from its position north Rapidan, to start upon that memorable campaign, destined to result in the capture of the Confederate capital and the army defending it.”
Just after midnight on May 3-4, the Army of the Potomac left its camp north of the Rapidan to begin a campaign that would ultimately capture Richmond and defeat Lee's army.
Opening of the Overland Campaign.
“The woods were set on fire by the bursting shells, and the conflagration raged. The wounded who had not strength to move themselves were either suffocated or burned to death.”
Shells ignited the forest, and the fire spread rapidly, killing wounded soldiers who could not escape.
Horrific conditions during the battle.
“I believed then, and see no reason to change that opinion now, that if the country had been such that Hancock and his command could have seen the confusion and panic in the lines of the enemy, it would have been taken advantage of so effectually that Lee would not have made another stand outside of his Richmond defences.”
Grant later wrote that if the terrain had allowed Hancock to see the Confederate panic, the Union could have exploited it so thoroughly that Lee would have been forced back to Richmond's defenses.
Grant's reflection on a missed opportunity.
