The crack of thunder and flash of lightning echoed across the ravine before you, as the men of Ledlie’s Brigade struggled to survive the relentless Confederate rifle and cannon fire which targeted them with fatal precision. The low . . . — — Map (db m74894) HM
The fighting pits before you mark the positions of the skirmishers of the 2nd Georgia Battalion of General Ambrose Wright’s Brigade, defending Ox Ford. The Georgians were in a perfect position to fire into the flank of Ledlie’s . . . — — Map (db m74895) HM
The melee resulting from the combination of a pouring thunderstorm, the boiling mix of five regiments of Union soldiers pursued by three regiments of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia infantrymen - accented by the flashes and smoke of . . . — — Map (db m74896) HM
Although Ledlie's assault resulted in a bloody repulse, Grant clearly understood the Confederates held Ox Ford in strength. The Union General in Chief suddenly realized he had maneuvered the Army of the Potomac into a hazardous position. . . . — — Map (db m145741) HM
Ledlie’s men reached safety after uniting with Colonel Elisha Gaylord Marshall's 9th Corps Provisional brigade. Marshall was a tough West Point graduate who fought on the western frontier and was severely wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg. Ln . . . — — Map (db m75004) HM
A field hospital was set up beside the river where the wounded were given what little care could be provided in the darkness and rain. The waters of the North Anna were now too high to carry the men to safety, so the Federal soldiers settled . . . — — Map (db m75005) HM
The rough terrain at Ox Ford discouraged large scale battle, reducing warfare here into a contest between small units and even individual soldiers. The nature of this combat guaranteed both sides would remain in an unfriendly temper for the next . . . — — Map (db m145742) HM
Brigadier General Samuel W. Crawford's Union 5th Corps division arrived in support of Crittenden's advance on the afternoon of May 24, 1864. Crawford's men supported Ledlie's ill fated attack by engaging Confederate sharpshooters but what had been . . . — — Map (db m145749) HM
At daybreak of May 25, Major General Gouverneur K. Warren advanced his 5th Corps to confront Lieutenant General A. P. Hill's 3rd Corps, extending from Anderson's Tavern to the North Anna River. Connection was soon made with the relieved men of . . . — — Map (db m145750) HM
One of the units that suffered heavily in the skirmish fighting in the woods before you was the 56th Pennsylvania Infantry. The exhausted and depleted nature of the Army of the Potomac was demonstrated by the loss in officers in this veteran . . . — — Map (db m145751) HM
On May 25th, the aggressive Confederate skirmish fire drew the ire of General Charles Griffin, whose division was assigned to fill in the gap between Crawford's men and the main road to the south. As an old artilleryman now commanding an infantry . . . — — Map (db m145752) HM
The earthworks before you form a unique pattern known as the “V’s”. At first glance, the trenches seem to be without pattern or purpose but they tell the story of the Union defense of the area on May 24-27. The line of trenches on the . . . — — Map (db m75011) HM
On May 26, General Grant admitted that he finally encountered an unmovable object; Lee's defenses on the North Anna River. His telegram to General Henry Halleck in Washington declared that "to make a direct attack from either wing would cause a . . . — — Map (db m145740) HM