Gettysburg Semester: Richmond Trip (Wilderness & Spotsylvania)

We started off bright and early for our three day weekend trip to the Richmond area in Virginia. We left the Appleford at 7:00 for the two-and-a-half hour drive to our first stop at the Wilderness. I slept the entire way down so getting stuck in traffic for an hour didn't bother me at all. We picked up our guide for the day, Don Phanz, at Chancellorsville and headed off to the Wilderness.

We began at Elwood where Don introduced us to the Union side of the battle and we paid tribute to Stonewall Jackson (even though that was technically connected to the Battle of Chancellorsville) by visiting the place where his amputated arm is buried. We talked about Warren a great deal here since this was his Headquarters in the Wilderness, and after Don said that he liked limericks Dr. Guelzo tried his hand at creating one about Warren himself. Then we went to Saunder's Field were the Battle of the Wilderness began. There Don covered the Confederate side of the campaign and the beginning of the battle. We followed the Confederate lines from the Orange Turnpike to the Orange Plank Road were we visited the Chewning and Widow Tapp's Farms. Heading down the Orange Plank Road we followed the path of Longstreet's advance and saw where he was accidently wounded by his own men. After covering the other end of the battle at the intersection of the Brock Road we headed towards Spotsylvania Courthouse for lunch.

After lunch at the Courthouse Café we headed to the location of Sedgwick's death to begin the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. He was killed on the approach to Laurel Hill where the battle would begin, the Confederates having beaten the Federals to Spotsylvania Courthouse. Laurel Hill would form half of the battlefield where several Union assaults would occur over the days of the battle. Then we went to the famous "Mule Shoe" salient in the Confederate lines. Don took us first to the center of the salient where the first Union assault was led by Upton through the Confederate lines. He gave us an overview of the attacks there on May 10th and 12th and then we went to "Bloody Angle" where Union and Confederate troops fought hand-to-hand for 20 hours on May 12th. We got to go down behind a line of reconstructed earthworks that were the beginnings of the lines of gentle mounds that line the field today.

Our last stop was at Massaponax Church were O'Sullivan's famous picture was taken of Grant and Meade with their subordinates. Then we headed south for dinner and some well deserved rest. Tomorrow we go to Cold Harbor and Petersburg!