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- Jul 19, 2016
- Location
- Spotsylvania Virginia
North Anna – Step Three In The Overland Campaign Dance
Battlefield entrance with the Virginia Central Railroad in the background
As followers of @ucvrelics already know, I have become involved with "Doc" Strobel searching for witness trees for his civil war witness tree writing pen collection. You can view his work at civilwarwitnesspens.com. This isn't intended as an insult to anyone's intelligence, but since I've gotten involved in this fascinating hobby, I have had folks ask me to define a witness tree. Well, actually that's pretty simple; a witness tree is a tree that was growing during the civil war and was at (i.e. a witness to) an event during the war. Although Dr. Strobel has over 400 pens in his collection, there are always more trees to be found and pens to be made. At the time of this writing, I have contributed wood for nine of his pens, some of which are currently being made. One key missing civil war witness tree he was in search of was from the North Anna Battlefield. So, that meant several trips from my home near Spotsylvania Courthouse to the North Anna. My search started in August, and yes Virginia's humidity is as miserable in that month as you can imagine. But after several trips and my own war against mosquitos, copperheads, ticks and chiggers, I was able to get dead and fallen limbs from two different witness trees in late October. Dr. Stobel taught me how to verify a trees age by using any stem at least an inch and a half in diameter. But being new at this I send him the stem, the tree trunk diameter measurement, a photo of the tree, a photo of a leaf from the tree, documentation of the location of the tree and a shot essay of the civil war incident(s) that occurred near the tree. All of this information is essential to properly document the tree species and age. Also highly desirable, but very difficult to get, is an actual civil war era photo of the tree. I ve only been able to do that for one of the nine selected trees I ve found.
This series of trips to the North Anna also presented me an opportunity to share some photos of the battlefield with you and it presented a chance to write a little about what took place there in May 1864.
Following stalemates at the Wilderness, then Spotsylvania, Grant thought he could draw Lee into the open and win a decisive battle. The bate to temp Lee to move would be the prized Union II Corps under Winfield Hancock. Grant sent Hancock nearly 20 miles south east towards Bowling Green, but Lee didn't fall for the ruse. He stayed in position with an open access to Richmond and his vital supply line. Once Grant realized Lee would not chase Hancock, he ordered the II Corps to march along the Mattaponi River to Hanover junction, Lee's essential supply link with Richmond. Lee was now forced to react.
Using primarily a colonial road extending from Spotsylvania Courthouse to Yorktown, Lee began moving his army south to the North Anna River, where the high bluffs on the south side would provide a defensive position, and where the river itself would give Grant limited options to continue his push south. Not having learned his lessons from moving through the Wilderness and down Brock Road to Spotsylvania Courthouse, Grant once again overestimated the ability of the Army of the Potomac at the rate as the Army of Tennessee. Just as with the move to the Courthouse, Lee won the race to the target destination. Unsure of Grant's intentions, Lee positioned his troops on the heights of the south bank, and initially constructed minimal fortifications. On May 23, Gouverneur Warren's V Corps joined Hancock and elements of the V Corps crossed the river at Jericho Mill. After intensive fighting that teetered both sides back and forth, Warren secured the south bank while Hancock attacked a small Confederate force at Henagan's Redoubt, thus seizing the Chesterfield bridge on Telegraph Road. An enraged Lee scolded Powell Hill with "Why did you let these people cross the river? Why did you not throw your entire Corps against them as [Stonewall] Jackson would have done?"
Jericho Mill positioned on the north bank of the North Anna River -Library of Congress
That night the genius of Lee once again benefited the Confederacy when he and his engineers devised a line in the shape of an inverted V. The apex of the V was anchored at the high bluffs overlooking Ox Ford and the west line extending back to the Little River. The east slant followed the North Anna River eastward, then back toward Telegraph Road and ended at a bend in the river at Hanover Junction. The enemy would have to split its army to attack, while Lee could move forces freely within the V and the high ground on the south back offered an impeding obstacle to Grant.
The following day, Grant was anxious for battle and initially fell into the trap but Hancock failed to move the enemy on the eastern wing of the V, and an intoxicated James Ledlie was soundly beaten in a poorly planned and executed attack at Ox Ford.
On May 25th. Grant found his army split in three locations with the V and VI Corps at Jericho Mill, the II Corps at Hanover and the IX Corps stuck at Ox Ford. With an ill Lee confined to his tent, his subordinates failed to spring the trap he had set the prior day. Grant had just one option, pull his army and move on to the next encounter at Totopotomoy creek
A modern view of Ox Ford Road that extends from Ox Ford to the Virginia Central Railroad. Lee rode this road proclaiming "If I can get one more pull at him [Grant], I will defeat him."
Following a sound defeat ,one soldier of the Iron Brigade proclaimed, "We were the I Ran brigade"
Battlefield entrance with the Virginia Central Railroad in the background
As followers of @ucvrelics already know, I have become involved with "Doc" Strobel searching for witness trees for his civil war witness tree writing pen collection. You can view his work at civilwarwitnesspens.com. This isn't intended as an insult to anyone's intelligence, but since I've gotten involved in this fascinating hobby, I have had folks ask me to define a witness tree. Well, actually that's pretty simple; a witness tree is a tree that was growing during the civil war and was at (i.e. a witness to) an event during the war. Although Dr. Strobel has over 400 pens in his collection, there are always more trees to be found and pens to be made. At the time of this writing, I have contributed wood for nine of his pens, some of which are currently being made. One key missing civil war witness tree he was in search of was from the North Anna Battlefield. So, that meant several trips from my home near Spotsylvania Courthouse to the North Anna. My search started in August, and yes Virginia's humidity is as miserable in that month as you can imagine. But after several trips and my own war against mosquitos, copperheads, ticks and chiggers, I was able to get dead and fallen limbs from two different witness trees in late October. Dr. Stobel taught me how to verify a trees age by using any stem at least an inch and a half in diameter. But being new at this I send him the stem, the tree trunk diameter measurement, a photo of the tree, a photo of a leaf from the tree, documentation of the location of the tree and a shot essay of the civil war incident(s) that occurred near the tree. All of this information is essential to properly document the tree species and age. Also highly desirable, but very difficult to get, is an actual civil war era photo of the tree. I ve only been able to do that for one of the nine selected trees I ve found.
This series of trips to the North Anna also presented me an opportunity to share some photos of the battlefield with you and it presented a chance to write a little about what took place there in May 1864.
Following stalemates at the Wilderness, then Spotsylvania, Grant thought he could draw Lee into the open and win a decisive battle. The bate to temp Lee to move would be the prized Union II Corps under Winfield Hancock. Grant sent Hancock nearly 20 miles south east towards Bowling Green, but Lee didn't fall for the ruse. He stayed in position with an open access to Richmond and his vital supply line. Once Grant realized Lee would not chase Hancock, he ordered the II Corps to march along the Mattaponi River to Hanover junction, Lee's essential supply link with Richmond. Lee was now forced to react.
Using primarily a colonial road extending from Spotsylvania Courthouse to Yorktown, Lee began moving his army south to the North Anna River, where the high bluffs on the south side would provide a defensive position, and where the river itself would give Grant limited options to continue his push south. Not having learned his lessons from moving through the Wilderness and down Brock Road to Spotsylvania Courthouse, Grant once again overestimated the ability of the Army of the Potomac at the rate as the Army of Tennessee. Just as with the move to the Courthouse, Lee won the race to the target destination. Unsure of Grant's intentions, Lee positioned his troops on the heights of the south bank, and initially constructed minimal fortifications. On May 23, Gouverneur Warren's V Corps joined Hancock and elements of the V Corps crossed the river at Jericho Mill. After intensive fighting that teetered both sides back and forth, Warren secured the south bank while Hancock attacked a small Confederate force at Henagan's Redoubt, thus seizing the Chesterfield bridge on Telegraph Road. An enraged Lee scolded Powell Hill with "Why did you let these people cross the river? Why did you not throw your entire Corps against them as [Stonewall] Jackson would have done?"
Jericho Mill positioned on the north bank of the North Anna River -Library of Congress
That night the genius of Lee once again benefited the Confederacy when he and his engineers devised a line in the shape of an inverted V. The apex of the V was anchored at the high bluffs overlooking Ox Ford and the west line extending back to the Little River. The east slant followed the North Anna River eastward, then back toward Telegraph Road and ended at a bend in the river at Hanover Junction. The enemy would have to split its army to attack, while Lee could move forces freely within the V and the high ground on the south back offered an impeding obstacle to Grant.
The following day, Grant was anxious for battle and initially fell into the trap but Hancock failed to move the enemy on the eastern wing of the V, and an intoxicated James Ledlie was soundly beaten in a poorly planned and executed attack at Ox Ford.
On May 25th. Grant found his army split in three locations with the V and VI Corps at Jericho Mill, the II Corps at Hanover and the IX Corps stuck at Ox Ford. With an ill Lee confined to his tent, his subordinates failed to spring the trap he had set the prior day. Grant had just one option, pull his army and move on to the next encounter at Totopotomoy creek
A modern view of Ox Ford Road that extends from Ox Ford to the Virginia Central Railroad. Lee rode this road proclaiming "If I can get one more pull at him [Grant], I will defeat him."
Following a sound defeat ,one soldier of the Iron Brigade proclaimed, "We were the I Ran brigade"
Bringing the