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Near Locust Grove in Orange County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

The Fighting Ends in Stalemate

Wilderness Exhibit Shelter

— South Wall —

 
 
The Fighting Ends in Stalemate - The South Wall image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, February 16, 2008
1. The Fighting Ends in Stalemate - The South Wall
Inscription. Stalemate
Two days of bitter fighting had left the bleak Wilderness landscape charred and smoking from fire. Corpses littered the contested ground, now scarred by miles of earth-and-log entrenchments. Unwilling to attack Lee's strong position, Grant ordered a night march to Spotsylvania Court House.

A Wilderness of Fire
Brush fires added to the horror of the Wilderness fighting. Ignited by muzzle blasts and fuled by dead leaves and twigs, fires swept through the dry woods, obscuring soldiers' vision and filling their lungs with suffocating smoke. "Two hundred thousand men, inspired with the desperation of demons," wrote one soldier, "were fighting in a wilderness of fire."

Hundreds of wounded men, unable to escape the devouring flames, suffered an agonizing death. Others, unwilling to endure such a fire, chose instead to take their own lives. Union artilleryman Frank Wilkerson saw a man with two broken legs lying between the lines. Next to him lay a loaded rifle. "I know he meant to kill himself in case of fire," wrote Wilkerson, "knew it as surely as though I could read his thoughts."

A Drawn Battle
Although
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the Wilderness yielded no clear winner both sides emerged from the fighting felling optimistic. Tactically, the Confederates could claim victory. Lee had inflicted heavy losses on the Union army and had twice turned Grant's flanks. Strategically, however, Grant held the upper hand. He not only retained the initiative, but he had also reduced the Confederate army by twenty percent - soldiers whom Lee could not readily replace.

"...In the long run, we ought to succeed, because it is in our power more promptly to fill the gaps in men and material which this constant fighting produces."
George Gordon Meade.

To Spotsylvania Court House
Two days of fighting had left the two armies bloody and exhausted. Each side entrenched and waited for the other to attack. Believing that Lee was preparing to abandon the Wilderness and retreat to Richmond, Grant issued orders for a night march to Spotsylvania Court House. Spotsylvania stood between the Wilderness and the Confederate capital. Whoever reached the village first would have the shortest route to Richmond.

The Union army quietly began pulling out of the trenches after dark on May 7. Warren and Hancock
Stalemate Panel image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, February 16, 2008
2. Stalemate Panel
took the Brock Road (modern Route 613), while Sedgwick and Burnside marched by routes further to the east. Anticipating Grant's move, Lee started his army for Spotsylvania that same night. Whoever held the village would have the shortest route to Richmond.

The Horrific Cost
The Union army lost more than 17,500 men in the Wilderness. Those who died were buried in temporary graveyards like that shown below, if indeed they were buried at all. After the war most were taken to Fredericksburg National Cemetery. Confederate casualties in the two-day battle, though not precisely known, numbered around 11,000. The Southern dead are interred in the Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery. A small number from both armies may still lie buried on the battlefield.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1993.
 
Location. 38° 19.051′ N, 77° 45.378′ W. Marker is near Locust Grove, Virginia, in Orange County. Marker is on Constitution Highway (State Highway 20), on the right when traveling west. Located at stop two of the driving tour of Wilderness Battlefield. Touch for map
A Wilderness Fire Panel image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, February 16, 2008
3. A Wilderness Fire Panel
. Marker is in this post office area: Locust Grove VA 22508, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Struggle on the Orange Plank Road (here, next to this marker); Battle of the Wilderness (here, next to this marker); Clash on the Orange Turnpike (here, next to this marker); Collision of Giants (here, next to this marker); The Wilderness (a few steps from this marker); The Capture of Winslow's Battery (a few steps from this marker); Saunders Field (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named The Battle of the Wilderness (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Locust Grove.
 
More about this marker. The background of the Stalemate panel is a drawing of casualties on the battlefield. The A Wilderness of Fire panel uses drawing where Union soldiers carry a wounded comrade from the battlefield on a makeshift stretcher, while less fortunate men crawl to escape the advancing flames.

The A Drawn Battle panel has a background photograph of Earthworks, like those at
A Drawn Battle Panel image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, February 16, 2008
4. A Drawn Battle Panel
Saunders Field, discouraged attack. As both sides entrenched, as standoff ensued.
On the right center, a photograph records Union soldiers wounded in the Wilderness were taken to Fredericksburg, where they rested before being sent to hospitals in the North. These men were just some of the 12,000 Northern soldiers wounded in the battle.

The background of the To Spotsylvania Court House panel is a drawing illustrating that Union troops hailed with enthusiasm Grant's decision to march to Spotsylvania. As he road south, throngs of cheering soldiers lined his route. A map on the right shows Union and Confederate routes to Spotsylvania Court House.

The Horrific Cost panel has a background of a temporary graveyard with portraits of soldiers above.
 
Also see . . .  Wilderness Battlefield. National Park Service site. (Submitted on April 27, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.) 
 
To Spotsylvania Court House Panel image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, February 16, 2008
5. To Spotsylvania Court House Panel
The Horrific Cost Panel image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, February 16, 2008
6. The Horrific Cost Panel
Map of the Routes to Spotsylvania Court House image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, February 16, 2008
7. Map of the Routes to Spotsylvania Court House
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,627 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on April 27, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.

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Mar. 19, 2024