The Battle of the Wilderness 160th Anniversary Reenactment on May 5, 2024 on the Wilderness Battlefield, Spotsylvania County, Virginia

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The Battle of the Wilderness 160th Anniversary Reenactment on May 5, 2024 on the Wilderness Battlefield, Spotsylvania County, Virginia. This reenactment was awesome but unfortunately poorly attended primarily because of persistent forecasted heavy rains, limited advertising, and location.
The Battle of the Wilderness (May 5–7, 1864) was a brutal, inconclusive clash between Ulysses S. Grant’s 119,000 Union forces and Robert E. Lee’s 66,000 Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, marking the start of Grant’s Overland Campaign. The dense, tangled terrain of the Wilderness led to chaotic fighting, with heavy casualties on both sides—around 18,000 Union and 11,000 Confederate.
Confederate Soldier letters from the Battle of the Wilderness mention the “awful slaughter” or “hellish thickets,” as the battle’s conditions—wildfires, disorientation, and close-quarters carnage.
Here's some quotes from soldier's letters...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A Confederate soldier from the Stonewall Brigade, in a letter home, described the morale lift from Robert E. Lee’s leadership during the battle: “When General Lee rode among us, we felt we could fight another day. His presence put heart in every man.” (May 6, 1864)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In a letter to his sister, Private James E. White, 4th Georgia Infantry described the thrill of repulsing a Union assault on May 5: “We drove the Yankees back through the thickets, and oh, how our boys cheered! I never felt so alive as when we held our ground.” (May 8, 1864)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Writing to his wife, Sergeant William H. Andrews, 1st Georgia Regulars emphasized the morale boost from General Lee’s presence during the fighting on May 6: “General Lee rode right among us, and I swear, darling, it made us fight like tigers. We’ll keep the Yankees running yet!” (May 9, 1864)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In a letter to his father, Lieutenant Robert T. Wilson, 43rd North Carolina Infantry expressed gratitude and confidence after surviving the intense fighting on May 6: “God spared me through the fire and smoke, and our brigade stood firm. We’ve shown Grant we ain’t whipped yet.” (May 10, 1864)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Confederate General Jubal A. Early, who helped stabilize the lines after intense fighting, wrote in his memoirs about the spirit of his men: “My troops held their ground with unyielding courage, repulsing every assault the enemy made in our front.”
#reenactor #southern #dixie #dixieland #civilwar

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