Near Spotsylvania Courthouse in Spotsylvania County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
"The Toughest Fight Yet"
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
| | Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park | |
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, June 23, 2013
1. ”The Toughest Fight Yet” Marker
Artist Alfred R. Waud sketched these Union soldiers under fire here on May 12, 1864. Lees counterattacks had driven the Union troops out of the Muleshoe, and here they are shown under cover on the outside of the Confederate trenches. Wauds perspective was just a few feet from where you are now standing. It is the most immediate depiction of the fighting near the Bloody Angle that day. Waud labeled his sketch, “The toughest fight yet.”
In the image, the fighting rages most intensely to the right, the white smoke marks what would become known as the Bloody Angle. Amid the smoke stands a baffle-scarred oak, 22 inches in diameter, which would fall later in the day, cut down by small- arms fire. In the foreground, Union troops huddle up against the Confederate works amidst the carnage of earlier fighting.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is May 12, 1864.
Location. 38° 13.428′ N, 77° 35.944′ W. Marker is near Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, in Spotsylvania County. It can be reached from Grant Drive north of Anderson Drive, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Spotsylvania VA 22553, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area, in Northern Virginia, and in the Piedmont. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers.
this page online
Other markers no longer nearby. Spotsylvania Campaign (was about 300 feet away but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named Spotsylvania Campaign (was about 300 feet away but has been permanently removed).
Also see . . . Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. National Park Service (Submitted on June 24, 2013.)
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, June 23, 2013
2. ”The Toughest Fight Yet” Marker
Photographed by Alfred R. Waud, May 12, 1864
3. The toughest fight yet. The fight for the salient
Library of Congress [LC-USZC4-5969]
Credits. This page was last revised on November 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 24, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 924 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 24, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 3. submitted on June 24, 2013.
