Civil War History - The Eastern TheaterDiscuss any and all battles, movements, and events occuring in the Eastern Theater here! This includes any actions in tha area east of the Appalachian Mountains in the vicinity of the river capitals of Richmond and Washington D.C.
Having recently visited the field, I have been avidly reading all the material I can find on this battle. The theory is that Grant/Meade intended to pass through the Wilderness without fighting there. I do not believe this is the case. The two Union leaders must have known they were going to fight in this region.
Lee, with the Corps of Ewell and Hill was based around Orange Court House. Longstreet was further south and east, ready to move to Lees aid or towards either Richmond or Fredericksburg. The Confederate position at Orange CH was entrenched and considered too strong for the Army of the Potomac to attack directly. The movements of the AoP could be observed from high ground along the Rapidan River. (For those not familiar with the region a map would be handy at this point).
Grants plan was to align his three Corps north to south in the Wilderness, then advance west on Lees position. This would avoid an assault on the well prepared Confederate position on the Rapidan. The move into the Wilderness took a day. To position his three Corps would have taken most of the following day. It would have either been late on the second day or early on a third day before any move was made on Lee. The Confederates were fully aware that Grant had made a move. Did the Union leaders really believe that Lee would make no move? The two Corps with Lee were only just over ten miles away from the Wilderness. The way the battle developed was almost inevitable and was always going to be fought on this field.
I believe, it was Hoped to be able to get through the Wilderness before a major battle, but that it did not really matter, because Grant's intent was to bring the AoNV to battle and once engaged never step back until Lee's Army had been captured or destroyed; which is what happened.
If the AoP had not intended to fight in the Wilderness than surely they could have passed through the region with more speed. The roads were poor, and narrow, but if two Corps had crossed at Elys Ford they could have been clear of the area in two days. Lee would have no choice but to follow. The third Union Corps could then cross at Germanna Ford and be in Lees rear.
The AoP moved 'fast' (on it's feet) only two times in it's career, once, when Meade concentrated the army at Gettysburg by forced march. The one other time was when Grant and Meade drove it to run down Lee and the AoNV after Petersburgh. Outside those two events, the AoP's speed on the march, almost always verged on the mediocre to poor level.
The 'time reference' of most of the officer corps of the AoP was one more pernicious inheritence from McClellan, whose sense of time was notoriouslate slow.
Like most other traits inhereted from Little Mac, it became so ingrained by the time of Grant, that although it could be mitigated it could not be completely eradicated.
There is always the size of the supply train to consider. There is no way this train could have passed through the Wilderness quickly. But this does get back to my first post. Grant/Meade had to fight in the Wilderness.
I must admit I have become quite hooked on this battle. The usual general description is of a confused fight in dense thickets. This does not give the battle the credit it is due amongst the great battles of the Civil War. This may be in part due to the horrors associated with the engagement. When I first took an interest in the war, the one incident that stood out was the estimated 200 wounded men who burnt to death in the woods. But was this unique? The same thing happened at Chancellorsville and probably Chickamauga. At Fredericksburg, wounded men froze to death. The horrors of the Wilderness were no greater than those of 'popular' battles such as Sharpsburg or Gettysburg.
The battle deserves a more prominent place in history as the beginning of the end of the Confederacy. The battle had as many dramatic moments as any other engagement. There was Longstreets last minute arrival on the field. Lees attempt to lead the Texans in a charge. The wounding of Longstreet by his own men. The battle of the burning barricades.
There was even an incredible incident which is one of my favourites of the whole war. This took part in the fighting along the Orange Turnpike. A Johnny and Billy found themselves taking cover in a gully. After a while, one or the other suggested a fist fight. In full view of the opposing armies, who were firing on each other with everything at their disposal, the pair stepped into the open. Both sides stopped firing as they squared up in the road. After a while Johnny got the best of the fight. The pair then retired to the gully. Both armies then continued firing as if there had been no interuption. After dark, Johnny brought Billy in as a prisoner. You really could not make it up.
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Grant and Meade in The Wilderness 
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