Thursday, September 25, 2014

Bloody Angle

Milford, VA  High 65  Low 52

On Sunday, my friend Linda, came down from Maryland to spend three days with us. She rented one of the cabins here in the RV park for a couple of nights. Per her request, there are no pictures of her in my blog. Linda was with me the night I met Jim so we’ve been friends for a long time.

After getting Linda settled we headed back over to Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield. There were four major Civil War battles fought in this area. We were able to make it to three of them during our stay here – Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and now Spotsylvania. The fourth was Wilderness.

P1090079After the battle at Wilderness, both the Union and Confederate soldiers raced toward the crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House which controlled the most direct route to Richmond. Lee arrived first on May 8, 1864. The Confederates built a line they called the Mule Shoe Salient.

P1090084On May 12, Grant broke through this line and for the next 22 hours the two sides were locked in the war’s most intense hand-to-hand combat. Bodies piled up three, four, even five deep in the crimsoned mud and the area became known as the Bloody Angle.

The rifle fire was so heavy that a 22-inch oak tree was felled by the impact of bullets alone. One man had 11 bullets through the soles of his feet alone. Another was so mutilated that friends could identify him only by the unusual color of his beard.

This compass shows the distance to the battles fought throughout this area.

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P1090087Grant had hoped for a decisive victory but Lee denied him that victory at Spotsylvania Court House. However, the Union troops destroyed huge numbers of the Confederate troops and with their dwindling numbers, the final surrender at Appomattox Court House was inevitable. We will be exploring Appomattox in about a week.

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13 comments:

  1. How nice of Linda to come for a visit.
    I have never heard of the Wilderness battle. Thanks for the history lesson.

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  2. That was nice that Linda could come and spend some time with you. She probably felt like she was on vacation. Nothing is better than spending time with "old" friends.

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  3. You are certainly covering a lot of battlefield sites. I'm glad to have seen many of them, but I never want to go back

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  4. So good to have good friends visit.... but the time always goes by way too fast.

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  5. It is sad the human loss over something that could have been resolved peacefully no mater what the incident was including what is presently going on in the world.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  6. I never realized how much I miss your blogs when you're not touring down the highways. Very interesting. You could be a tour guide.

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  7. I want to see all of that!! History is so very interesting.... Your pictures are great!

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  8. My GG Grandfather fought in the civil war and was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness. He was treated at in Washington DC and then moved to Philadelphia. He contracted a fever while there and became legally blind.

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  9. Hi There, We are home from several days in Texas visiting family/friends. If you haven't seen my blog post today, check it out.. We had a wonderful time--but came home very TIRED.... ha

    Looks like you are in a great place with a good friend ---checking out some Civil War history. We have been to Fredericksburg --and enjoyed the history there.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  10. Well, you are really filling our Virginia Pinterest board with great places to visit.

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Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.