The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Begins - May 8, 1864

Spotsylvania Court House is one of the least known and least visited battlefields on the American continent. More than 90% of U.S. citizens probably couldn't tell you what happened there 155 years ago. But from May 8-21, 1864, the ground around Spotsylvania Court House, VA was the scene of some of the most savage fighting of the Civil War. When it was over and the armies moved away, more than 32,000 Union and Confederate soldiers littered the battlefield either dead or wounded.

The road to Spotsylvania Court House was a short one. After the Battle of the Wilderness from May 5-6, 1864 ended in a tactical draw, the General-in-Chief for all Union Armies - Ulysses S. Grant - decided that it was futile to continue to engage Robert E. Lee on the Wilderness battlefield. And so he ordered George Meade and his Army of the Potomac to swing around Lee's right flank in an attempt to get between the Confederate army and Richmond.

The Army of the Potomac, reduced to around 100,000 men of all arms, got moving on the evening of May 7. The two armies engaged in light skirmishing all through the night as both sides raced to reach the all-important crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House. If the Union Army were to win the race, Lee would have no choice but to attack a force twice his strength in the open field. The end result would more than likely be a complete Union victory.

The Race to Spotsylvania Court House (May 7-8, 1864)


The lighter and faster army, the Army of Northern Virginia arrived on the scene first with only minutes to spare. Confederate cavalry played a major role in keeping the Federals away long enough to give the infantry JUST enough time to beat the Union army to the crossroads.

Fitzhugh Lee and his cavalry brigade had set up roadblocks on the Brock Road which Warren's V Corps had a difficult time breaking through at first. The Confederate horse artillery made a gallant stand around the Alsop farm and delayed the Union advance while the cavalrymen staked out a defensive line on a low ridge just south of the Spindle farm clearing, which they dubbed "Laurel Hill."

Lee sent for help to Anderson's infantry, which by now had reached the Block House Bridge on the Po River and were eating breakfast. Anderson immediately dispatched two infantry brigades and an artillery battalion, which arrived at Laurel Hill just as Warren's men pulled up within 100 yards to the north. Confederate units began to hastily dig entrenchments atop the demanding position.

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House - The Union attack Laurel Hill (May 8, 1864)


Union soldiers attacked all day and into the evening but failed to crack the Confederate defenses, which were being fortified and getting stronger by the minute. To counteract the heavy artillery bombardment Confederates were laying onto them, the Union soldiers likewise began to dig entrenchments to protect themselves from the hail of hot lead. As other units arrived on the field throughout the afternoon and evening of May 8, they too began to dig entrenchments. Trench warfare had officially begun.

Robert E. Lee had beaten Grant to the vital crossroads of Spotsylvania. All Grant could do now was either attempt to either break through Lee's strengthening lines or somehow outmaneuver him to the south. Never one to run from a fight, Grant decided to stay and attempt a decision to the business in the here and now.