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The Battle of the Wilderness, which took place May 5-6, 1864, has often been described as “indecisive” or even as a “draw” but, in reality, newly-appointed overall Federal commander Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant was implementing the military strategy adopted by President Lincoln — to forget the capture of cities and “strategic points” and the occupation of Southern territory and concentrate on destroying the main Confederate armies in the field.
The two armies faced each other across the Rapidan River, with the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major George G. Meade in Culpeper County, and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Robert E. Lee, in adjoining Orange County.
On May 2, the major commanders of the Confederate Army — Lee, Richard S. Ewell, James Longstreet, J.E.B. Stuart and A.P. Hill — gathered nearby on Clark’s Mountain, the outstanding vantage point where the rebels could observe Union movements. (Clark’s Mountain is located adjacent to the Wilderness reenactment site).
This was the last time this group would be together. Longstreet, severely wounded at the Wilderness, would not return until late fall; Stuart, mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern, died May 12; and Ewell, incapacitated by a fall from a horse, was reassigned to the Richmond defenses.
On the morning of May 4, the Clark’s Mountain observation post confirmed that the Army of the Potomac was advancing its
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