We began our trip to Richmond by heading down to the Wilderness and Spotsylvania – close to the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville battlefields we visited several weeks ago. We met with our intrepid guide, Don Pfanz, and braved the cold and rain as we began the morning. (Appropriate, at least!)
We started the tour with a discussion of Grant’s motivations and intentions in the Overland Campaign, in particular, the potential use of combined forces. We then discussed the nature of the Wilderness battlefield as extremely difficult to maneuver through and thus terrifying for the men fighting throught it. We then went to Ellwood, where, most notably, Stonewall Jackson’s arm. We moved on next to Saunders Field, where we discussed the action there and – perhaps one of the most disturbing aspects of the Wilderness – the fires that broke out and consumed the dead and wounded. We finished the morning with stops at the Tapp Field and Chewning Farm, where Mr. Pfanz explained the actions of Texas Brigade and Lee’s rather legendary attempt to lead them into the fray.
After lunch at the Spotsylvania Courthouse Café, we proceeded to a brief tour of the battle at Spotsylvania. We began by discussing the so-called “Mule Shoe salient” and Colonel Upton’s assault there. The most sobering stop on our visit was that at the Bloody Angle, where we discussed the action there that was perhaps the hardest and bloodiest fighting of the entire Civil War. Thereafter, Mr. Pfanz explained the end of the battle and foreshadowed our visit the next day at Cold Harbor. We finished the day with a stop at the Massaponax Church, where a famous photograph was taken of Grant holding a council of war outside on the church’s pews. Saturday, on to Cold Harbor and Petersburg!
No comments:
Post a Comment