The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Ends - May 21, 1864

On this day 155 years ago...

After the bloody assault on the Mule Shoe on May 12, Robert E. Lee was forced to abandon the position and move his center 500 yards further to the south. Despite suffering over 9,000 casualties alone on the 12th, Grant refused to fall back and regroup. Wiring the Army's chief of staff, Major General Henry W. Halleck, he said in his communique: "The enemy are obstinate and seemed to have found the last ditch." Still...he realized that his current position was unlikely to gain him anything, so he resolved to shift the Army of the Potomac to the east of Spotsylvania.

On the afternoon of May 13, Grant issued orders for the V, VI, and II Corps to march and take positions beyond the left flank of Burnside's IX Corps. That evening, the Army of the Potomac began a difficult march through the darkness and pouring rain as the roads had been turned to muddy quagmires.

The Army of the Potomac Redeploys - May 13, 1864


Early on the morning of May 14, elements of the VI Corps occupied Myers Hill, a position that overlooked most of the Confederate line. Some skirmishing did occur on this day as well, but none of it was significant as the Army of the Potomac was too scattered and exhausted to launch a grand assault on the crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House - this despite the fact that Lee left it undefended for much of the day.

When Lee finally realized what Grant was up to, he too shifted his lines to meet the Army of the Potomac before it could successfully flank his army. There was no significant fighting on the 15th or 16th as both armies were just too worn out from the week and a half of near-constant battle. The rain also spoiled plans for either army to move with any speed to hit the other with a critical blow.

On May 17, the weather finally cleared and Grant was ready to try again to break Lee's line. Grant guessed that since Lee had observed the Army of the Potomac's build up along the Fredericksburg Road it was likely that he had countered the Union movies by shifting his forces away from the former Mule Shoe positions. He ordered the II and VI Corps to attack there at dawn on May 18. The lines, however, were still occupied by Ewell's forces and, unlike the action on May 12, this time the Confederates were ready for an attack.

Heavy artillery fire bogged down Hancock's attack and eventually forced it to retreat without ever having to get the infantry involved in the fighting. Wright had no better luck and Burnside failed to support either of them.

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House - May 18, 1864


After the repulse of Hancock's II Corps on May 18, Grant concluded that there could be no decisive outcome at Spotsylvania Court House, and thus began making preparations to move his army around Lee's right flank once again. He ordered Hancock to march his II Corps to the railroad line between Fredericksburg and Richmond. His hope was to have Lee take the bait and follow, seeking to overwhelm Hancock's isolated corps. Grant would then take the remainder of the Army of the Potomac and strike Lee before he had the opportunity to entrench once again.

Grant's plans were delayed, however, when Lee decided to launch an attack of his own. Seeking to find the Army of the Potomac's northern flank, Lee ordered Ewell to move his corps forward in a reconnaissance in force. Ewell took the majority of his corps with him on a wide swing to the north where he and his men encountered Union resistance at Harris Farm. The fighting lasted until 9 PM on May 19 when Lee ordered Ewell back to the main line when it appeared as though Union forces were attempting to cut Ewell's line of retreat. The assault on Harris Farm cost Lee nearly 1,000 men killed and wounded.

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House - Harris Farm action (May 19, 1864)


The engagement at Harris Farm delayed Grant's advance around Lee's right flank by 24 hours, and the movement did not begin until late at night on May 20-21. Lee did not take the bait as Grant had hoped he would and instead raced Grant's advance on a parallel path to the North Anna River. The Battle of Spotsylvania thus came to an end.

With almost 32,000 total casualties, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House was the costliest battle of the Overland Campaign. Of that number, nearly 18,000 fell on May 12 alone. Lee's tactics had once again taken a heavy toll on Grant's army. Through the course of 13 days of fighting, the Army of the Potomac suffered over 18,000 casualties - with almost 3,000 of that number having been killed in action. Lee's forces, however, also suffered heavily. Over 13,000 Confederates had been killed, wounded, or captured during the battle.

While the combined fighting in the Wilderness and Spotsylvania had brought overall Union strength down to some 57,000 combat effectives, Lee's army had suffered even worse statistically. And unlike Union forces, who could replace their losses, the losses Lee was incurring could not be replaced. Thousands of Lee's best men and officers had fallen in just under three weeks of brutal fighting and the campaign was still in full swing with no signs of any let-up.