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BATTLE AT SPOTTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE (MAY 12, 1864)THIS IS WHAT TOM REED RECORDS OF THIS BATTLE I
am sorry I cannot give dates from about April 22d to Saturday, May 7th.
Therefore, I cannot tell exactly the date of the row that started between
Generals Lee and Grant, but I find in my diary that on the 7th of May
we were in line of battle, but I think that the battle at Spottsylvania Court House had been fought before this time, which
was, according to my thinking, the hardest fought battle during the war.
I remember very well that morning, for it was a foggy morning, and our
line of breastworks thrown up nearly in the shape of a horseshoe.
Gen. Earley’s division was stationed near the center of this circle.
Well, about daylight we saw the Yankees coming, and they came in
seventeen lines, one line just behind the other, and we counted them, and some
fellow said: “Look out! Boys! We will
have blood for supper.” Well, before supper time we had lots of blood, for we fought right there all day long, and part of the time it was a hand-to-hand fight, and there were Federal and Confederate soldiers, all good men, lying weltering in their blood, one on top of another until they were three and four deep. And there were some post oak trees there, six or eight inches in diameter, which were shot with Minnie balls until they actually fell to the ground. After night the Yankees fell back, which left us victorious, and we held this position for several days. Page 75
The Spottsylvania Courthouse battle took place May 8-21, 1864 and was part of the Wilderness Campaign. On May 8 the 1st and 2nd Louisiana Brigade consolidated to form a force of 1,000 men (12,000 had come to Virginia 3 years ago). 152,000 troups were involved in this battle -100,000 US and 52,000 Confederates. The casualties numbered close to 30,000. In attack that Tom Reed refers to, the Tiger Brigade defended their position for 16 hours with heavy losses. Often hand to hand combat and many times there were no lines of battle - there was just a mix of Union and Confederate troops.
Other Names: Combats at Laurel Hill and Corbin’s Bridge (May 8); Ni River (May 9); Laurel Hill, Po River, and Bloody Angle (May 10); Salient or Bloody Angle (May 12-13); Piney Branch Church (May 15); Harrison House (May 18); Harris Farm (May 19) Location: Spotsylvania County Campaign: Grant’s Overland Campaign (May-June 1864) Date(s): May 8-21, 1864 Principal Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee [CS] Forces Engaged: 152,000 total (US 100,000; CS 52,000) Estimated Casualties: 30,000 total (US 18,000; CS 12,000) Description: After the Wilderness, Grant’s and Meade’s advance on Richmond by the left flank was stalled at Spotsylvania Court House on May 8. This two-week battle was a series of combats along the Spotsylvania front. The Union attack against the Bloody Angle at dawn, May 12-13, captured nearly a division of Lee’s army and came near to cutting the Confederate army in half. Confederate counterattacks plugged the gap, and fighting continued unabated for nearly 20 hours in what may well have been the most ferociously sustained combat of the Civil War. On May 19, a Confederate attempt to turn the Union right flank at Harris Farm was beaten back with severe casualties. Union generals Sedgwick (VI Corps commander) and Rice were killed. Confederate generals Johnson and Steuart were captured, Daniel and Perrin mortally wounded. On May 21, Grant disengaged and continued his advance on Richmond. Result(s): Inconclusive (Grant continued his offensive.)
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