1864 May 5th

May 5 1864 Thursday 

Battle of the Wilderness, VA
Battle of Albemarle Sound, NC (CWSAC Formative Battle – Inconclusive)
Dunn’s Bayou, LA

Red River Campaign
James River Campaign
Virginia Overland Campaign – Wilderness
Hoke’s North Carolina Operations
Crook’s West Virginia Raid
Averell’s Second West Virginia Raid
Kautz’s Weldon Railroad Raid

Go to May 6 1864

Alabama. Confederate Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk left Selma with two more of his three divisions, following his first division, to reinforce the Army of Tennessee at Dalton. His unofficial “Army of Mississippi” was returning to serve as a Corps (nominally III Corps) with the Army of Tennessee. He took a route by rail from Demopolis through Selma and Talladega to Blue Mountain. The rest of the journey of seventy miles to Rome, Georgia, would be completed on foot.

Arkansas. Union reconnaissance in Craighead County and Lawrence County began.

Arkansas. Skirmish near the mouth of Richland Creek.

Georgia. Skirmish near Tunnel Hill.

Georgia. A brigade of 2,000 men under Brigadier-General James Cantey reached Rome after being ordered to travel from the garrison of Mobile by rail to rendezvous with Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk at Rome. Once they were concentrated, Cantey’s brigade and Polk’s three divisions would effectively add an entire Corps to reinforce the Army of Tennessee. However, their departure stripped eastern Mississippi and western Alabama of the majority of its defenders.

Georgia. The three Union armies of Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman continued their approach marches towards the Confederate defences of Rocky Face Ridge and Dalton.

Kentucky. Union reconnaissance to Breckenridge County and Meade County.

Kentucky. Skirmish with Confederate guerrillas at Beaver Creek.

Louisiana. Incidents at Muddy Bayou, Red River Road, and Alexandria.

Louisiana. Skirmish at Graham’s Plantation.

Louisiana. Skirmish at Natchitoches.

Dunn’s Bayou, Louisiana, also known as David’s Ferry, or Davide’s Ferry. While Union Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter’s river fleet awaited an opportunity to pass to safety over the Red River rapids, the ships below Alexandria were attacked incessantly by Confederate forces. Confederate Brigadier-General John Patrick Major used two field guns and riflemen to engage the Union tin-clad gunboats USS Covington, Acting Lieutenant George P Lord, and USS Signal, Acting Lieutenant Edward Morgan, which were attempting to convoy the transport Warner with the 56^th Ohio Infantry aboard. USS Warner was in the lead and was hit several times, lost control, and came ashore blocking the river at a bend near Pierce’s Landing. The two warships attempted to recover the transport and opened fire with their seventeen guns. They were also hit repeatedly, and the Warner was abandoned with 125 dead and wounded men left aboard. USS Signal was also disabled and although USS Covington attempted to tow her upstream, she went adrift out of control and came to anchor. The commander of USS Signal could not save his wounded men and refused to blow up the ship with them aboard. He surrendered with 54 survivors. The crew abandoned USS Covington after all its ammunition was exhausted and many of the crew had been killed. Only 32 of the 74 crewmen got away. The USS Covington was blown up to avoid capture. The other vessels surrendered 250 crewmen. The Confederates sank the USS Signal to block the channel and cut Alexandria off from the Mississippi. In all, 600 Union men, three transports, and two gunboats had been lost in three days of harassing attacks along the Red River, demonstrating the vulnerability of the fleet trapped upriver at Alexandria, and confirming that the army expedition was cut off from support by river.

Missouri. Incident at Perche Hills.

North Carolina. Incidents at the Trent River, Croatan, and Roanoke River.

Albemarle Sound, North Carolina. Confederate Commander John Wallace Cooke steamed south from Plymouth towards New Bern with his “mosquito fleet” of the ironclad CSS Albemarle, CSS Cotton Plant (which towed several launches carrying soldiers), and CSS Bombshell, which carried coal and supplies. CSS Bombshell, Lieutenant Albert G Hudgins, had been raised and repaired by the Confederates after it was sunk by the CSS Albemarle at Plymouth in April.
Cooke ran into a Union flotilla stationed by Sandy Point, at the mouth of the Roanoke River where it flowed into Albemarle Sound. The Union flotilla was commanded by Captain Melanchton Smith. Smith had the advantage in the number of vessels (USS Syracuse, USS Commander Hull, USS Ceres, USS Miami, USS Wyalusing, USS Sassacus, the flagship USS Mattabessett, and USS Whitehead). The Union had more ships and their combined sixty guns vastly outweighed the firepower of the two Confederate guns. However, none of the Union vessels was iron-armoured, balancing the contest significantly.
The battle began at 5 pm when CSS Albemarle opened fire, hitting the USS Mattabessett and wounding six men with its first two shots. CSS Bombshell was captured early in the action after coming under severe fire from USS Sassacus, Lieutenant-Commander Francis A Roe, and the small, unarmed CSS Cotton Plant withdrew up the Roanoke. However, the Union naval guns caused negligible damage to the ironclad CSS Albemarle as their shots glanced off its armoured sides.
CSS Albemarle attempted to ram the USS Sassacus, but the attacker was too slow and its steering too unwieldy. The USS Sassacus got up to top speed and rammed CSS Albemarle, causing some damage. CSS Albemarle began taking on water, but USS Sassacus had also sustained damage from the impact. A point-blank shot burst one of the USS Sassacus‘ boilers, scalding to death several members of the crew. USS Sassacus drifted downriver without motive power. None of the other Union vessels attempted to engage as aggressively as the USS Sassacus. The side-wheelers USS Mattabessett, Captain Melancton Smith, and USS Wyalusing, Lieutenant-Commander Walter W Queen, continued to engage the Confederate ram until darkness halted the action after nearly three hours of fighting, at about 7.30pm. The small Union side-wheelers USS Commodore Hull and USS Ceres steamed down to the river’s mouth to warn about her imminent entry into the sound.
CSS Albemarle was also unable to continue the fight and made its way back to Plymouth. The steering gear was damaged, and its stern-mounted Brooke rifled gun had been broken off. Damage to the smokestack also severely limited its engine power. While Smith reported that CSS Albemarle was a formidable enemy warship, comparatively fast and manoeuvrable, and armed with heavy guns, CSS Albemarle’s own commander was disappointed that the ship drew too much water to navigate the sounds, and poor buoyancy made the ship slow and difficult to manage.
While CSS Albemarle had held its own against greater numbers, the damage forced the ship into port for several months and prevented it from taking part in Major-General Robert Frederick Hoke’s planned assault on New Bern. Hoke had to go ahead with his campaign without the CSS Albemarle. For the next five months, all Union attention in the area was focused on the CSS Albemarle’s destruction. (CWSAC Formative Battle – Inconclusive)

Virginia. Kautz’s Raid on the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad began.

Virginia. Averell’s Expedition to Virginia & Tennessee Railroad began.

Virginia. Capture of Fort Powhatan.

Virginia. Skirmish at Parker’s Store.

Virginia. Skirmish at Todd’s Tavern.

Virginia. Skirmish at the Brock Road.

Virginia. Skirmish at The Furnaces.

Virginia. Skirmish at Craig’s Meeting House.

Virginia. In conjunction with the opening of the Virginia Overland Campaign, Union Major-General Benjamin Franklin Butler’s Army of the James disembarked over 30,000 men on the banks of the James River to threaten the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad. Brigadier-General Edward Ward Hinks’ division of US Colored Troops (3/XVIII) was dropped off en route to occupy Wilson’s Wharf with Brigadier-General Edward Augustus Wild’s brigade, and to fortify City Point with Colonel Samuel Duncan’s brigade. Duncan’s troops captured a Confederate signal station and signalled to the fleet that it could proceed onwards up the river.
The other five divisions of XVIII and X Corps continued upriver and disembarked at Bermuda Hundred, eighteen miles from the Confederate capital. A line of entrenchments was started immediately across the neck of the peninsula where the Appomattox and James River narrowed to within four miles of each other. The line was started five miles west of the wharf at Bermuda Hundred. The northern end faced Farrar’s Island and the southern end of the works was just short of Port Walthall. Butler was now in a strong position to advance against either Richmond or Petersburg and to cut the vital railroad between them only two-and-half miles to the west.
Confederate Major-General George Edward Pickett, commanding the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia from Petersburg, had a mere 750 infantrymen, the Washington Artillery battalion, the City Battalion of Petersburg, and various militia units to oppose the invaders. Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, nominally in command as the successor to Pickett, telegraphed that he was sick and could not leave his headquarters at Weldon to join Pickett. Beauregard promised to hurry along by rail the three brigades he had demanded from his former command in South Carolina. Pickett was not even meant to be in Richmond as he had already received orders the day before to travel to Hanover Junction where his division was to reassemble to reinforce General Robert Edward Lee. Two of his brigades were currently in North Carolina where Brigadier-General Robert Frederick Hoke was leading an operation at New Bern and the other two were under Major-General Robert Ransom, defending Richmond north of the James. In view of the emergency, Pickett postponed his departure to Hanover in order to fill the command vacuum between the James and Appomattox Rivers.

ORDER OF BATTLE: UNION DEPARTMENT OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA

Union Department of Virginia and North Carolina: Major-General Benjamin Franklin Butler
Army of the James: Benjamin Franklin ButlerX Corps (James): Major-General Quincy Adams Gillmore
1st Division, X Corps (James): Brigadier-General Alfred Howe Terry
1st Brigade, 1st Division, X Corps (James): Colonel Joshua B Howell
2nd Brigade, 1st Division, X Corps (James): Colonel Joseph Roswell Hawley
3rd Brigade, 1st Division, X Corps (James): Colonel Harris Merrill Plaisted
2nd Division, X Corps (James): Brigadier-General John Wesley Turner
1st Brigade, 2nd Division, X Corps (James): Colonel S M Alford
2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, X Corps (James): Colonel William Brainerd Barton
3^rd Division, X Corps (James): Brigadier-General Adelbert Ames
1st Brigade, 3^rd Division, X Corps (James): Colonel R White
2nd Brigade, 3^rd Division, X Corps (James): Colonel J C Drake
XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Major-General William Farrar Smith
1st Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Brigadier-General William Thomas Harbaugh Brooks
1st Brigade, 1st Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Brigadier-General Gilman Marston
2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Brigadier-General Hiram Burnham Woods
3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Colonel Horace T Sanders
2^nd Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Brigadier-General Godfrey Weitzel
1st Brigade, 2^nd Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Brigadier-General Charles Adam Heckman
2nd Brigade, 2^nd Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Colonel G A Stedman
3rd USCT Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Brigadier-General Edward Winslow Hinks
1st USCT Brigade, 3rd Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Brigadier-General Edward Augustus Wild
2nd USCT Brigade, 3rd Division, XVIII Corps (Virginia and North Carolina): Colonel S A Duncan
Cavalry Division (James): Brigadier-General August Valentin Kautz
1st Brigade, Cavalry Division (James): Colonel S H Mix
2^nd Brigade, Cavalry Division (James): Colonel Samuel Perkins Spear
Siege Artillery (James): Colonel Henry Livermore Abbot

ORDER OF BATTLE: CONFEDERATE DEPARTMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

Confederate Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia: General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Whiting’s Division (North Carolina): Major-General William Henry Chase Whiting
Wise’s Brigade, Whiting’s Division (North Carolina): Brigadier-General Henry Alexander Wise
Martin’s Brigade, Whiting’s Division (North Carolina): Brigadier-General James Green Martin
Cavalry Brigade (North Carolina): Brigadier-General James Dearing
Pickett’s Division (Southern Virginia): Major-General George Edward Pickett
Elliott’s Brigade, Pickett’s Division (Southern Virginia): Colonel Stephen Elliott
Hunton’s Brigade, Pickett’s Division (Southern Virginia): Brigadier-General Eppa Hunton
Maryland Line, Pickett’s Division (Southern Virginia): Colonel Bradley Tyler Johnson
Department of Richmond: Major-General Robert Ransom
Ransom’s Division (Richmond): Major-General Robert Ransom
Gracie’s Brigade, Ransom’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier-General Archibald Gracie
Barton’s Brigade, Ransom’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier General Seth Maxwell Barton
Kemper’s Brigade, Ransom’s Division (Richmond): Colonel William Richard Terry
Hoke’s Brigade, Ransom’s Division (Richmond): Lieutenant-Colonel William Gaston Lewis
Hoke’s Division (Richmond): Major-General Robert Frederick Hoke
Corse’s Brigade, Hoke’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier-General Montgomery Dent Corse
Johnson’s Brigade, Hoke’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier-General Bushrod Rust Johnson
Clingman’s Brigade, Hoke’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier-General Thomas Lanier Clingman
Hagood’s Brigade, Hoke’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier-General Johnson Hagood
Colquitt’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier-General Alfred Holt Colquitt
Colquitt’s Brigade, Colquitt’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier-General Alfred Holt Colquitt
Ransom’s Brigade, Colquitt’s Division (Richmond): Brigadier-General Matthew Whitaker Ransom

Virginia. The Union cavalry division of Brigadier-General August Valentine Kautz left Suffolk to strike the railroad between Petersburg and Weldon, in order to delay Confederate reinforcements being sent to Virginia from North Carolina and South Carolina. His raid was an integral part of the campaign of the Army of the James towards Richmond.

The Wilderness, Virginia. Early settlers in the area south of the Rappahannock River had cut down the native forests to fuel blast furnaces that processed the iron ore found there, leaving only a secondary growth of dense shrubs. This rough and overgrown terrain, which was now virtually unsettled, was nearly impenetrable to military manoeuvre. Union Major-General Ulysses Simpson Grant had no desire to fight in the impenetrable Wilderness region, preferring to move to the open ground to the south and east of the Wilderness where he could exploit his advantage of superior numbers and stronger artillery. Grant’s plan called for Major-General Gouverneur Kemble Warren’s V Corps and Major-General John Sedgwick’s VI Corps to cross the Rapidan at Germanna Ford, followed later by the IX Corps after the supply trains had crossed at various fords, and to camp near Wilderness Tavern. This stage of this operation was accomplished without interruption. Major-General Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps had crossed earlier further to the east at Ely’s Ford and advanced as far as Chancellorsville, marching in the direction of Spotsylvania Court House by way of Todd’s Tavern.
Speed was of the essence to Grant’s plan because the army was vulnerable on the march. Although Grant insisted that the army must travel light with minimal artillery and supplies, its supply train nevertheless extended for the equivalent of almost 70 road miles. The army’s supply trains included at least 4,300 wagons, 56,000 mules and horses, 835 ambulances, and a herd of cattle for slaughter.
After crossing the Rappahannock River at three points, the head of the Army of the Potomac converged and halted in the wilderness to allow the long supply trains to complete their two-day passage of the river. Hancock’s II Corps left its bivouac at Chancellorsville during the afternoon with the objective of passing through Todd’s Tavern to Shady Grove Church on the Catharpin Road. Hancock was then to extend his right flank to Parker’s Store on the Orange Plank Road. Warren’s V Corps was at Wilderness Tavern and Old Wilderness Church and he was ordered to march to Parker’s Store, from where he would extend his right in turn towards Wilderness Tavern. Sedgwick’s VI Corps was marching southwards from the crossings of the Rappahannock behind Warren, ready to extend Warren’s lines across the Orange Turnpike at Wilderness Tavern. This would complete a single strong line facing west to protect the line of march and the trains from Confederate attack. Sedgwick would leave one division on guard at Germanna Ford until Major-General Ambrose Everett Burnside’s IX Corps arrived to begin its crossing. All the Union forces were ordered to move at sunrise around 5 am, with Hancock having to cover nine miles and Warren and Sedgwick having only to traverse four or five miles.
Once in this temporary holding position, the Union army was ordered to prepare for a rapid march southward and out of the wilderness on the morning. Grant was confident that his plan was on schedule and working efficiently. Reports from signallers on Stony Mountain informed him at 3 pm that Confederate columns were on the move towards Verdiersville, a direction more suggestive of a withdrawal than an advance. While Grant had taken care to station a strong force on each of the three roads along which the Confederates might advance from the west, he had no information to warn him that the enemy was in fact coming in his direction along all three available roads.
Confederate General Robert Edward Lee continued with his plans to engage and pin the Union army before it could escape the constricting terrain of the Wilderness. He received encouraging news that a small brigade of reinforcements was on its way from Hanover Junction. Lee sent Lieutenant-General Richard Stoddert Ewell’s II Corps eastwards along the Orange Turnpike to commence the operation. With the arrival of the reinforcing brigade, Lee would have available 65,000 men in three cavalry divisions and eight of his nine divisions of infantry. Major-General George Edward Pickett’s division was still on its way from protecting Richmond, and Brigadier-General Robert Frederick Hoke’s division was in North Carolina. Lee estimated that the Army of the Potomac had only about 75,000 men but that was wildly optimistic and did not reflect the efforts made by Grant to replenish and concentrate all available troops for the campaign. The low estimate of Union numbers justified Lee in his audacious plan, but he actually faced about 120,000 men.
At about 7.15 am, Warren’s Corps was marching by farm lanes towards the Orange Plank Road when his scouts detected considerable Confederate forces along the turnpike two miles to the west of Wilderness Tavern. Grant was notified of the encounter and, thinking the opposition could be no more than one division, he instructed Warren to fight if an opportunity presented itself.
Before noon, Grant and the army commander Major-General George Gordon Meade exchanged their ideas and intentions at their new headquarters near the Lacy House to the southwest of the intersection of the Orange Plank Road and Orange Turnpike. They concluded that aggression was needed to drive off the harassing Confederate forces to the west. Meade halted his army and also directed Warren to back-track and to attack with all three of his divisions down the Orange Turnpike, agreeing with Grant’s assumption that the Confederate opposition was a small and isolated part of the enemy army, perhaps even a rear-guard covering a withdrawal.
Ewell’s men were erecting earthworks on the western end of a clearing known as Saunders Field, with Major-General Edward Johnson’s division in front and Major-General Robert Emmett Rodes’ division in reserve. The division of Brigadier-General Samuel Wylie Crawford (3/V) was ordered to hold his position at Chewning farm to the southeast of Saunders’ Field but to prepare one of his brigades to support Brigadier-General Charles Griffin’s division (1/V) as it advanced along the turnpike towards Ewell’s lines. Warren approached on the eastern end with Griffin’s division on the right. The division of Brigadier-General James Samuel Wadsworth (4/V) arrived on Griffin’s left, but he hesitated to attack because he found that the Confederate position actually extended beyond Griffin’s flank, subjecting him to the risk of enfilade fire. Warren requested a delay from Meade so that Major-General John Sedgwick’s VI Corps could be brought up on his right to extend his line. By 1 pm, Meade was frustrated by the delay and he impatiently ordered Warren to attack before Sedgwick could arrive.
Warren was right to be concerned about his right flank. As the Union men advanced, Brigadier-General Romeyn Beck Ayres’ brigade had to take cover in a gully to avoid enfilading fire. Although initially pushed back, Ewell sent for his third division of Major-General Jubal Anderson Early. The Confederates counterattacked with Early’s leading brigade of Brigadier-General John Brown Gordon. One regiment drove up the turnpike and the others pushed to the right, while two of Johnson’s intact brigades pushed through thick undergrowth to join in. Warren ordered an artillery section into Saunders Field to support his attack, but it was captured by Confederate soldiers, who were then pinned down by rifle fire and prevented from removing the guns until nightfall.
The Union brigade of Brigadier-General Joseph Jackson Bartlett made better progress to Ayres’ left and overran the position of Confederate Brigadier-General John Marshall Jones’ brigade. Jones was killed in one of the first volleys. Bartlett pressed on against the troops of Rodes’ division, who sent the brigades of Brigadier-General Cullen Andrews Battle and Brigadier-General George Pierce Doles to the front. To the left of Bartlett, the Union Iron Brigade, led by Brigadier-General Lysander Cutler, advanced through woods south of the field and struck Battle’s brigade. Further to the left, near the Higgerson farm, the Union brigades of Colonel Roy Stone and Brigadier-General James Clay Rice attacked the brigades of Doles and Brigadier-General Junius Daniel. Both attacks failed under heavy fire and Crawford ordered his men to pull back. The commitment of four of Rodes’ brigades turned the tide in favour of the Confederates. They forced Cutler’s Iron Brigade to retreat and then Ayres’ men found themselves unable to advance and Bartlett’s right flank was now exposed to attack. Ayres’ brigade (1/1/V) was pushed back and Griffin was forced to withdraw his entire division to conform. Bartlett was hit on his exposed right flank by the brigades of Daniel and Gordon. Gordon’s and Daniel’s Confederate brigades extended their advance against Griffin’s broken division and forced Wadsworth’s men back in disorder in turn. The Confederates pressed on through the gap and overran Colonel Andrew Woods Denison’s brigade (3/2/V). Gordon’s Confederates broke through the remnants of Denison’s brigade and then hit Colonel William McCandless’ brigade (1/3/V). McCandless was meant to be on the left of Wadsworth, but Wadsworth had already moved forward before they made contact and were properly aligned. Gordon and McCandless were heavily engaged and then McCandless also fell back. Having gained ground on his entire front Ewell ordered his II Corps to entrench across the Orange Turnpike. Ewell had reached the limit he thought Lee intended to pin down the enemy and he declined to lose more casualties in a further advance.
The Union V Corps now lay across and south of the turnpike. Union Brigadier-General Horatio Gouverneur Wright’s division of VI Corps (1/VI) was supposed to form on Griffin’s right to protect it but it was delayed by the close terrain and was too late to prevent the repulse of Warren’s men. The leading elements of VI Corps reached Saunders Field at 3 pm, by which time Warren’s men had ceased fighting. After Wright took up his position, he was attacked by two brigades from Johnson’s division. VI Corps was now mainly to the north and right of Warren’s V Corps, except for Brigadier-General George Washington Getty’s 2^nd Division which was diverted to oppose a new threat emerging from the south. Late in the day, the third division of Sedgwick’s VI Corps (Brigadier-General James Brewerton Ricketts’) arrived from guarding Germanna Ford and formed on the army’s right north of the Plank Road.
At about 5 pm, the Union launched a counterattack on the Turnpike with Brigadier-General Truman Seymour’s brigade (2/3/VI), Brigadier-General Thomas Hewson Neill’s brigade (3/2/VI), and Colonel William Henry Penrose’s brigade (1/1/VI). Neill and Penrose met the recently-entrenched brigades of Brigadier-General Harry Thompson Hays and Brigadier-General John Pegram (of Early’s Division) south of Flat Run and lost heavily to the artillery that Pegram had emplaced to enfilade his front. Seymour persisted in attacking until darkness fell but without making progress. Confederate Brigadier-General Leroy Augustus Stafford was severely wounded in the action.
Further south, Brigadier-General James Harrison Wilson’s cavalry division moved towards Craig’s Meeting House, leaving Parker’s Store in the hands of the detached 5^th New York Cavalry and 3^rd Pennsylvania Cavalry. Wilson’s cavalry moved along the Orange Plank Road and was met by Confederate Brigadier-General William Whedbee Kirkland’s brigade from Major-General Henry Heth’s division (III Corps). They retreated towards Wilderness Tavern but brought a warning of the presence of Confederate infantry in that direction. Unable to duplicate the surprise that was achieved by Ewell on the Turnpike, the approach of Confederate Lieutenant-General Ambrose Powell Hill’s III Corps was now revealed to two divisions of Crawford’s men in their position at the Chewning farm. As a precaution, Meade ordered Getty’s division (2/VI) to defend the important intersection of the Orange Plank Road and the Brock Road. Getty’s division was already marching across the crossroads at Wilderness Tavern, so it was conveniently diverted along the Plank Road to block this advance. Wilson’s Union cavalry used their repeating carbines to delay Hill’s approach briefly until Getty had deployed. Getty encountered Heth’s advancing Confederates at the junction of the Plank Road and the Brock Road, and a brief skirmish resulted in Heth’s men withdrawing a few hundred yards west of the intersection.
Lee established his army headquarters at the Widow Tapp’s farm A mile to the rear of Heth’s line. He ordered Major-General Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox to move his division onto Heth’s left to close the gap with Ewell’s Corps. Lee, Hill, and Major-General James Ewell Brown Stuart were conferring when they were surprised by a party of Union soldiers entering the clearing. The three generals ran for safety and the Union men, who were equally surprised by the encounter, returned to the woods, oblivious of their opportunity of capturing the Confederacy’s greatest commander and two of his most pugnacious subordinates.
Before Lee could organise his troops to advance again towards the Brock Road junction, growing Union strength took away that opportunity. Meade sent new orders to Hancock, directing him to halt the II Corps on the Catharpin Road and to counter-march north to come to Getty’s assistance at the Brock Junction. Hancock had already passed Todd’s Tavern and was two miles beyond it at Shady Grove Church. Grant told Hancock to follow the Brock Road once he had returned to Todd’s Tavern. Hancock complied, although he was delayed by the artillery reserve of V Corps across his path. At about 2 pm the first of his divisions under Major-General David Bell Birney (3/II) arrived and formed on the right of Getty’s division south of the Plank Road. The line was extended southwards in turn by the other divisions of II Corps. Brigadier-General Gershom Mott’s 4^th Division formed to the left of Getty, and Brigadier-General John Gibbon’s 2^nd Division and Brigadier-General Francis Channing Barlow’s 1^st Division were kept in reserve behind. Hancock ordered the line to be entrenched immediately. Brigadier-General Henry Baxter’s brigade (2/2/V) from Crawford’s Division arrived later in the afternoon to provide more strength.
As Hancock extended his Union line south of the Plank Road, Hill’s Confederate III Corps was concentrating on the Plank Road and extending northwards to connect with Ewell’s II Corps on the Turnpike. Hancock finally received peremptory orders for his II Corps to advance at about 3.15 pm and their entrenching work was suspended. The start of the attack was delayed for an hour until 4.15 pm while Getty’s division shifted to make space for Hancock’s men to deploy. Birney’s division (3/II) reinforced Getty on the road and Mott’s division (4/II) reinforced the right flank and then Colonel Samuel Sprigg Carroll’s brigade (3/2/II) was added to the right of the Plank Road behind Brigadier-General Henry Lawrence Eustis’ brigade (4/2/VI), both drawn from Gibbon’s division. The Union advance by these 25,000 men against Heth’s 7,500 Confederates made early progress, but the terrain blinded both sides, slowed manoeuvre, and prevented each side from seeing in any direction except by groping blindly forwards. Mott’s 4^th Division got bogged down in swampland on the left and fell back, unable to gain momentum under heavy fire. Union Colonel Lewis Addison Grant’s brigade (2/2/VI) lost half of its men in its futile attack.
Desperate fighting ensued, and Hill was forced at 5.30 pm to commit Wilcox’s division to reinforce Heth. Wilcox’s arrival allowed the Confederates to regain just 50 yards of ground. Hill’s right was then driven back by two brigades from Barlow’s division (1/II). A second and then a third, and a fourth Union advance were made to no avail. Conscious that the Brock Road intersection was vital, Meade sent Wadsworth’s division (4/V), which had already become lost once in its attempt to strengthen V Corps on the Turnpike, to help Hancock by attacking the Confederate flank north of the Plank Road. The plan was sound and should have been effective, but the underbrush was too dense for Wadsworth’s men to make any effective progress and again they failed to join the fight. After three hours of chasing the sound of gunfire, Wadsworth found the Confederate left flank, but a single Confederate battalion of 125 Alabama riflemen fought so aggressively that they deterred his further progress into the dangerous unknown.
The fighting did not cease until 8 pm after darkness had fallen. By nightfall, five Union divisions with 38,000 men had damaged but failed to dislodge Hill’s two divisions with their 14,000 men on the Plank Road front. Hill waited anxiously for the arrival of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet’s Confederate I Corps after dark. Longstreet awaited permission to move along the Catharpin Road rather than behind Hill’s line of advance on the Plank Road. Expecting an earlier arrival by Longstreet, Hill advised Heth to rest his men rather than tire them out by entrenching. Hill expected Longstreet to arrive in good time before dawn to relieve his division. Heth urged the construction of earthworks but Hill denied him permission. Then Heth and Wilcox together requested permission to withdraw to a better line and to dig in, but Hill once again insisted that the tired men should not be disturbed. Heth persisted for a third time but the exasperated Hill reassured him that Longstreet would arrive by dawn. Nevertheless, Wilcox and Heth sent for a battalion of engineers to work belatedly on laying out a line of entrenchments while the infantry slept.
Longstreet’s original orders to approach along the Catharpin Road had been changed at 7 pm. The desperate fighting on Hill’s front led Lee to bring Longstreet forward along the Plank Road instead of the Catharpin Road, so that he could arrive directly behind Hill’s positions. Longstreet could then relieve Hill, who could sidle northwards to link finally with Ewell’s right and fill the void. Lee also sent for Major-General Richard Heron Anderson to bring his third division of III Corps, which had moved from Orange to Verdiersville the day before, to follow the Plank Road overnight through Parker’s Store to join Hill’s two divisions. With the arrival of Longstreet’s two divisions and Anderson’s division, Lee hoped to marshal enough force to launch a new attack in the late morning. Longstreet calculated that he had sufficient time to allow his men, tired from marching all day, to rest for a while and I Corps did not resume its march until after midnight. Hill was not notified and he remained unaware that his expectations of Longstreet’s timely arrival would be disappointed.
At 10 pm, an officer from Lee’s staff arrived at Parker’s Store to convey the new line of march to Longstreet. He spoke to Major-General Charles William Field, commanding the lead division, and urged him to hurry as he was still twelve miles from their destination. Field dismissed the garbled account and impetuosity of the junior officer and rested his men until 1 am. Finally setting out at about 1 am they moved partially cross-country in the dark, making slow progress on poor roads and losing their way at times. By sunrise, they were still far from their designated position behind Hill’s Corps.
During the night the four divisions of Major-General Ambrose Everett Burnside’s IX Corps completed their long march to join the army and were located as a general reserve on the Germanna Plank Road. One division was left to guard the fords and one was then moved further southwards to strengthen Hancock’s II Corps. The two remaining divisions provided a strong reserve for the next morning’s attack. Their line of attack was obvious: to split Hill and Ewell by advancing west from the junction of the Orange Turnpike and then turning south into the flank of the enemy facing Hancock.
Grant had not yet identified any enemy troops from Longstreet’s Corps or Anderson’s division. Assuming that they were not yet present, he wanted to attack at dawn before they could arrive to strengthen the Confederate defenders. Grant improvised a change of plan for the following day. He assumed that Hill’s Corps was essentially spent and was a prime target for attack. He ordered an early morning assault down the Orange Plank Road by the II Corps and Getty’s division of VI Corps. At the same time, the V Corps and VI Corps were to resume diversionary attacks against Ewell’s position on the Turnpike, preventing him from coming to Hill’s aid. The newly arriving IX Corps of Burnside would deliver the decisive blow. Burnside was to move through the area between the Turnpike and the Plank Road and to break into Hill’s flank or rear. If Grant’s plan were successfully executed, Hill’s Corps would be destroyed and then the full weight of the Union army could deal with Ewell’s Corps. The attack was scheduled for 4 am but Meade and Grant then decided to wait for an extra hour of daylight to help the troops to deploy and it was deferred to 5 am.

ORDER OF BATTLE: THE WILDERNESS, VA
General-in-Chief Lieutenant-General Ulysses Simpson Grant
IX Corps: Major-General Ambrose Everett Burnside
1st Division, IX Corps: Brigadier-General Thomas Greeley Stevenson
1st Brigade, 1^st Division, IX Corps: Colonel Sumner Carruth
2nd Brigade, 1^st Division, IX Corps: Colonel Daniel Leasure
2nd Division: Brigadier-General Robert Brown Potter
1st Brigade, 2^nd Division, IX Corps: Colonel Zenas Bliss
2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, IX Corps: Colonel Simon Goodell Griffin
3rd Division, IX Corps: Brigadier-General Orlando Bolivar Willcox
1st Brigade, 3^rd Division, IX Corps: Colonel John F Hartranft
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, IX Corps: Colonel Benjamin C Christ
4th Division, IX Corps: Brigadier-General Edward Ferrero
1st Brigade, 4^th Division, IX Corps: Colonel Joshua K Sigfried
2nd Brigade, 4^th Division, IX Corps: Colonel Henry G Thomas
Provisional Brigade, IX Corps: Colonel Elisha G Marshall
Department of the Potomac: Major-General George Gordon Meade
Army of the Potomac: Major-General George Meade
Provost Guard (Potomac): Brigadier-General Marsena Rudolph Patrick
Volunteer Engineer Brigade (Potomac): Brigadier-General Henry Washington Benham
Artillery Reserve (Potomac): Chief of Artillery: Brigadier-General Henry Jackson Hunt Colonel Henry S Burton
II Corps (Potomac): Major-General Winfield Scott Hancock
1st Division, II Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Francis Channing Barlow
1st Brigade, 1^st Division, II Corps (Potomac): Colonel Nelson Appleton Miles
2nd Brigade, 1^st Division, II Corps (Potomac): Colonel Thomas Alfred Smyth
3rd Brigade, 1^st Division, II Corps (Potomac): Colonel Paul Frank
4th Brigade, 1st Division, II Corps (Potomac): Colonel John Rutter Brooke
2nd Division, II Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General John Gibbon
1st Brigade, 2^nd Division, II Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Alexander Stewart Webb
2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Joshua Thomas Owen
3rd Brigade, 2^nd Division, II Corps (Potomac): Colonel Samuel Sprigg Carroll
3rd Division, II Corps (Potomac): Major-General David Bell Birney
1st Brigade, 3^rd Division, II Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General John Henry Hobart Ward
2nd Brigade, 3^rd Division, II Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Alexander Hays
4th Division, II Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Gershom Mott
1st Brigade, 4^th Division, II Corps (Potomac): Colonel Robert McAllister
2nd Brigade, 4^th Division, II Corps (Potomac): Colonel William R Brewster
V Corps (Potomac): Major-General Gouverneur Kemble Warren
1st Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Charles Griffin
1st Brigade, 1^st Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Romeyn Beck Ayres
2nd Brigade, 1^st Division, V Corps (Potomac): Colonel Jacob Bowman Sweitzer
3rd Brigade, 1^st Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Joseph Jackson Bartlett
2nd Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General John Cleveland Robinson
1st Brigade, 2^nd Division, V Corps (Potomac): Colonel Samuel H Leonard
2nd Brigade, 2^nd Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Henry Baxter
3rd Brigade, 2^nd Division, V Corps (Potomac): Colonel Andrew W Denison
3rd Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Samuel Wylie Crawford
1st Brigade, 3^rd Division, V Corps (Potomac): Colonel William McCandless
3rd Brigade, 3^rd Division, V Corps (Potomac): Colonel Joseph Washington Fisher
4th Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General James Samuel Wadsworth
1st Brigade, 4^th Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Lysander Cutler
2nd Brigade, 4^th Division, V Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General James Clay Rice
3rd Brigade, 4^th Division, V Corps (Potomac): Colonel Roy Stone
VI Corps (Potomac): Major-General John Sedgwick
1st Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Horatio Gouverneur Wright
1st Brigade, 1^st Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Colonel Henry W Brown
2nd Brigade, 1^st Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Colonel Emory Upton
3^rd Brigade, 1^st Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General David Allen Russell
4th Brigade, Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Alexander Shaler
2nd Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General George Washington Getty
1st Brigade, 2^nd Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Frank Wheaton
2nd Brigade, 2^nd Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Colonel Lewis Addison Grant
3rd Brigade, 2^nd Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Thomas Hewson Neill
4th Brigade, 2^nd Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Henry Lawrence Eustis
3rd Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General James Brewerton Ricketts
1st Brigade, 3^rd Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General William Hopkins Morris
2nd Brigade, 3^rd Division, VI Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Truman Seymour
Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Major-General Philip Henry Sheridan
1st Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert
1st Cavalry Brigade, 1^st Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General George Armstrong Custer
2nd Cavalry Brigade, 1^st Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Colonel Thomas Casimer Devin
Reserve Cavalry Brigade, 1^st Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Wesley Merritt
2nd Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps: Brigadier-General David McMurtrie Gregg
1st Cavalry Brigade, 2^nd Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General Henry Eugene Davies
2nd Cavalry Brigade, 2^nd Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Colonel John Irvin Gregg
3rd Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Brigadier-General James Harrison Wilson
1st Cavalry Brigade, 3^rd Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Colonel Timothy M Bryan Colonel John Baillie McIntosh
2nd Cavalry Brigade, 3^rd Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Potomac): Colonel George Henry Chapman

Confederate Army of Northern Virginia: General Robert Edward Lee

Army of Northern Virginia: General Robert Edward Lee
I Corps (Northern Virginia): Lieutenant-General James Longstreet
Kershaw’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Joseph Brevard Kershaw
Kershaw’s Brigade, Kershaw’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Colonel John Williford Henagan
Humphreys’ Brigade, Kershaw’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Benjamin Grubb Humphreys
Wofford’s Brigade, Kershaw’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General William Tatum Wofford
Bryan’s Brigade, Kershaw’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Goode Bryan
Field’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Charles William Field
Jenkins’ Brigade, Field’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Micah Jenkins
Anderson’s Brigade, Field’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General George Thomas Anderson
Law’s Brigade, Field’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Evander McIver Law
Gregg’s Brigade, Field’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General John Gregg
Benning’s Brigade, Field’s Division, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Henry Lewis Benning
Artillery, I Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Edward Porter Alexander
II Corps (Northern Virginia): Lieutenant-General Richard Stoddert Ewell
Early’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Jubal Anderson Early
Hays’ Brigade, Early’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Harry Thompson Hays
Pegram’s Brigade, Early’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General John Pegram
Gordon’s Brigade, Early’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General John Brown Gordon
Johnson’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Edward Johnson
Stonewall Brigade, Johnson’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General James Alexander Walker
Steuart’s Brigade, Johnson’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General George Hume Steuart
Jones’ Brigade, Johnson’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General John Marshall Jones
Stafford’s Brigade, Johnson’s Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Leroy Augustus Stafford
Rodes’ Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Robert Emmett Rodes
Daniel’s Brigade, Rodes’ Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Junius Daniel
Ramseur’s Brigade, Rodes’ Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Stephen Dodson Ramseur
Doles’ Brigade, Rodes’ Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General George Pierce Doles
Battle’s Brigade, Rodes’ Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Cullen Andrews Battle
Johnston’s Brigade, Rodes’ Division, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Robert Daniel Johnston
Artillery, II Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Armistead Lindsay Long
III Corps (Northern Virginia): Lieutenant-General Ambrose Powell Hill
Anderson’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Richard Heron Anderson
Perrin’s Brigade, Anderson’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Abner Monroe Perrin
Mahone’s Brigade, Anderson’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General William Mahone
Harris’ Brigade, Anderson’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Nathaniel Harrison Harris
Wright’s Brigade, Anderson’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Ambrose Ransom Wright
Perry’s Brigade, Anderson’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Edward Aylesworth Perry
Heth’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Henry Heth
Davis’ Brigade, Heth’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Joseph Robert Davis
Cooke’s Brigade, Heth’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General John Rogers Cooke
Kirkland’s Brigade, Heth’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General William Whedbee Kirkland
Walker’s Brigade, Heth’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General William Henry Walker
Archer’s Brigade, Heth’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General James Jay Archer
Wilcox’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox
Lane’s Brigade, Wilcox’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General James Henry Lane
Scales’ Brigade, Wilcox’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Alfred Moore Scales
McGowan’s Brigade, Wilcox’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Samuel McGowan
Thomas’ Brigade, Wilcox’s Division, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Edward Lloyd Thomas
Artillery, III Corps (Northern Virginia): Colonel Reuben Lindsay Walker
Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General James Ewell Brown Stuart
Hampton’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Wade Hampton
Young’s Cavalry Brigade, Hampton’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Pierce Manning Butler Young
Rosser’s Cavalry Brigade, Hampton’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Colonel Thomas Lafayette Rosser
Butler’s Cavalry Brigade, Hampton’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Matthew Calbraith Butler
F H Lee’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General Fitzhugh Lee
Lomax’s Cavalry Brigade, F H Lee’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Lunsford Lindsay Lomax
Wickham’s Cavalry Brigade, F H Lee’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General Williams Carter Wickham
W H F Lee’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Major-General William Henry Fitzhugh Lee
Chambliss’ Cavalry Brigade, W H F Lee’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General John Randolph Chambliss
Gordon’s Cavalry Brigade, W H F Lee’s Cavalry Division, Cavalry Corps (Northern Virginia): Brigadier-General James Byron Gordon

Virginia. Union Major-General Philip Henry Sheridan had ordered two divisions of the Cavalry Corps to operate beyond the wilderness to the east, as Confederate cavalry was believed to be concentrated near Fredericksburg. One division under Brigadier-General James Harrison Wilson concentrated at Piney Branch Church on that flank at while Brigadier-General David McMurtrie Gregg’s division rendezvoused at Todd’s Tavern, about a mile from the southern edge of the Wilderness. Confederate Brigadier-General Thomas Lafayette Rosser’s cavalry encountered the Union cavalry south of the wilderness and was reinforced by more Confederate cavalry arriving from Fredericksburg. Fighting was fierce but inconclusive as both sides attempted to manoeuvre in the dense woods. Darkness halted the fighting, and both sides rushed their remaining reinforcements forward.

West Virginia. Confederate raid to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad between Bloomington and Piedmont. Confederate Captain John H McNeill’s partisan rangers captured Piedmont and seized a major depot of freight trains, a mail train, bridging equipment, and railroad cars. Everything captured was burned and 104 prisoners were taken.

West Virginia. Union Brigadier-General William Woods Averell’s cavalry left Logan’s Court House with 2,000 cavalrymen with the intended objective of Saltville.

Union Organisation

USA: Major-General John Gray Foster was appointed to command the Department of the South, arriving on 26 May 1864.

USA: Brigadier-General Alexander Hays was killed at the Wilderness, Virginia.

Commander in Chief: President Abraham Lincoln
Vice-President: Hannibal Hamlin
Secretary of War: Edwin McMasters Stanton
Secretary of the Navy: Gideon Welles

North Atlantic Blockading Squadron: Samuel Phillips Lee
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron: John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren
West Gulf Blockading Squadron: David Glasgow Farragut
East Gulf Blockading Squadron: Theodorus Bailey
Pacific Squadron: John Berrien Montgomery
Mississippi River Squadron: David Dixon Porter
Potomac Flotilla: Andrew Allen Harwood

General–in-Chief: Ulysses Simpson Grant

Military Division of the Mississippi: William Tecumseh Sherman

• Department of the Cumberland: George Henry Thomas
  • District of Nashville: Lovell Harrison Rousseau
  • District of Western Kentucky: Eleazer Arthur Paine
  • Army of the Cumberland: George Henry Thomas
    • IV Corps Cumberland: Oliver Otis Howard
    • XIV Corps Cumberland: John McAuley Palmer
    • XX Corps Cumberland: Joseph Hooker
    • Cavalry Corps Cumberland: Washington Lafayette Elliott
• Department of the Ohio: John McAllister Schofield
  • District of East Tennessee: Jacob Ammen
  • District of Kentucky: Stephen Gano Burbridge
  • Army of the Ohio: John McAllister Schofield
    • XXIII Corps Ohio: John McAllister Schofield
• Department of the Tennessee: James Birdseye McPherson
  • District of West Tennessee: Cadwallader Colden Washburn
    • Sub-District of Memphis: Ralph Pomeroy Buckland
  • District of Vicksburg: Henry Warner Slocum
  • Army of the Tennessee: James Birdseye McPherson
    • XV Corps Tennessee: John Alexander Logan
    • XVI Corps Tennessee: vacant
      • Right Wing XVI Corps Tennessee: Andrew Jackson Smith
      • Left Wing XVI Corps Tennessee: Grenville Mellen Dodge
    • XVII Corps Tennessee: Francis Preston Blair

Department of Arkansas: Nathan Kimball temporary

• District of Eastern Arkansas: Napoleon Bonaparte Buford
• District of Northern Arkansas: Robert Ramsey Livingston
• District of the Frontier: James Gilpatrick Blunt
• Army of Arkansas: Frederick Steele
  • VII Corps Arkansas: Nathan Kimball temporary

Department of the East: John Adams Dix

Department of the Gulf: Nathaniel Prentiss Banks

• District of Baton Rouge: Henry Warner Birge
• District of Port Hudson: Daniel Ullmann
• District of La Fourche: John McNeil
• District of Carrollton: Nelson B Bartram
• District of Key West and Tortugas: Daniel Phineas Woodbury
• Defences of New Orleans: Joseph Jones Reynolds
• Army of the Gulf: Nathaniel Prentiss Banks
  • XIII Corps Gulf: Michael Kelly Lawler
  • XIX Corps Gulf: William Hemsley Emory

Department of Kansas: George Sykes

• District of Nebraska Territory: Robert Byington Mitchell
• District of North Kansas: Thomas Alfred Davies
• District of South Kansas: Thomas Jefferson McKean
• District of the Border: William Russell Judson
• District of Colorado Territory: John Milton Chivington

Middle Department: Lewis Wallace

• District of Delaware: John Reese Kenly
• District of the Eastern Shore of Maryland: Henry Hayes Lockwood
• VIII Corps Middle: Lewis Wallace

Department of the Missouri: William Starke Rosecrans

• District of St Louis: vacant
• District of Southwest Missouri: John Benjamin Sanborn
• District of North Missouri: Clinton Bowen Fisk
• District of Central Missouri: Egbert Benson Brown
• District of Rolla: Odon Guitar

Department of New Mexico: James Henry Carleton

• District of Arizona: George Washington Bowie

Northern Department: Samuel Peter Heintzelman

• District of Indiana: John Smith Simonson

Department of the Northwest: John Pope

• District of Minnesota: Henry Hastings Sibley
• District of Wisconsin: Thomas Church Haskell Smith
• District of Iowa: Alfred Sully

Department of the Pacific: George Wright

• District of the Humboldt: Henry M Black
• District of Oregon: Benjamin Alvord
• District of Southern California: James Freeman Curtis
• District of Utah: Patrick Edward Connor

Department of the Potomac: George Gordon Meade

• IX Corps Potomac: Ambrose Everett Burnside
• Army of the Potomac: George Gordon Meade
  • II Corps Potomac: Winfield Scott Hancock
  • V Corps Potomac: Gouverneur Kemble Warren
  • VI Corps Potomac: John Sedgwick
  • Cavalry Corps Potomac: Philip Henry Sheridan

Department of the South: John Porter Hatch interim John Gray Foster awaited

• Northern District (South): Alexander Schimmelfennig
• District of Beaufort (SC): Rufus Saxton
• District of Hilton Head: William Watts Hart Davis
• District of Florida: William Birney
• District of West Florida: Alexander Asboth

Department of the Susquehanna: Darius Nash Couch

• Lehigh District: Franz Sigel

Department of Virginia and North Carolina: Benjamin Franklin Butler

• District of St Mary’s: Alonzo Granville Draper
• District of Currituck: Samuel Henry Roberts
• District of North Carolina: Innis Newton Palmer
  • Sub-District of Beaufort NC: James Jourdan
  • Sub-District of New Bern: Edward Harland
• District of Yorktown: Joseph Bradford Carr
• Army of the James: Benjamin Franklin Butler
  • X Corps James: Quincy Adams Gillmore
  • XVIII Corps James: William Farrar Smith

Department of Washington: Christopher Columbus Augur

• District of Alexandria: John Potts Slough
• District of Washington: Moses N Wisewell
• XXII Corps Washington: Christopher Columbus Augur

Department of Western Virginia: Franz Sigel

• Army of the Kanawha: George Crook

Confederate Organisation

CSA: Brigadier-General John Marshall Jones was killed at the Wilderness, Virginia.

CSA: Brigadier-General Leroy Augustus Stafford was mortally wounded at the Wilderness, Virginia.

Commander in Chief: President Jefferson Finis Davis
Vice-President: Alexander Hamilton Stephens
Secretary of War: James Alexander Seddon
Secretary of the Navy: Stephen Russell Mallory

Military Adviser to the President: Braxton Bragg

Department of Alabama and East Mississippi: Leonidas Polk interim Stephen Dill Lee awaited

• District of Mississippi and East Louisiana: John S Scott
• Gulf District: Dabney Herndon Maury
• District of Northern Alabama: Jones Mitchell Withers
• District of West Tennessee: Nathan Bedford Forrest

Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia: George Edward Pickett interim Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard awaited

Department of Northern Virginia: Robert Edward Lee

• Army of Northern Virginia: Robert Edward Lee
  • I Corps Northern Virginia: James Longstreet
  • II Corps Northern Virginia: Richard Stoddert Ewell
  • III Corps Northern Virginia: Ambrose Powell Hill
  • Cavalry Corps Northern Virginia: James Ewell Brown Stuart
• Valley District: Jubal Anderson Early

Department of Richmond: Robert Ransom

Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida: Samuel Jones

• District of Georgia: Hugh Weedon Mercer interim Henry Rootes Jackson awaited
• District of South Carolina: Roswell Sabine Ripley
  • 1^st Sub-District of South Carolina: Nathan George Evans
  • 2^nd Sub-District of South Carolina: Johnson Hagood
  • 3^rd Sub-District of South Carolina: William Stephen Walker
  • 4^th Sub-District of South Carolina: James Heyward Trapier
  • 5^th Sub-District of South Carolina: Alfred Moore Rhett
  • 6^th Sub-District of South Carolina: Henry Alexander Wise
  • 7^th Sub-District of South Carolina: Johnson Hagood
• District of Florida: James Patton Anderson
• Defences of Savannah: Samuel Jones

Department of Tennessee: Joseph Eggleston Johnston

• District of Western North Carolina: James Green Martin
• Army of Tennessee: Joseph Eggleston Johnston
  • I Corps Tennessee: William Joseph Hardee
  • II Corps Tennessee: John Bell Hood
  • III Corps Tennessee: Leonidas Polk
  • Cavalry Corps Tennessee: Joseph Wheeler

Trans-Allegheny Department: John Cabell Breckinridge

Trans-Mississippi Department: Edmund Kirby Smith

• District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona: John Bankhead Magruder
  • Western Sub-District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona: Hamilton Prioleau Bee
    • Sub-District of the Rio Grande: Hamilton Prioleau Bee
  • Eastern Sub-District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona: William Steele
  • Sub-District of Houston: Xavier Blanchard Debray
  • Northern Sub-District Texas, New Mexico and Arizona: Henry Eustace McCullough
• District of Arkansas: Sterling Price
• District of West Louisiana: Richard Taylor
• District of Indian Territory: Douglas Hancock Cooper temporary
• Trans-Mississippi Army: Edmund Kirby Smith

Reserve Forces of Alabama: Jones Mitchell Withers

Reserve Forces of Florida: John King Jackson

Reserve Forces of Georgia: Thomas Howell Cobb

Reserve Forces of North Carolina: Theophilus Hunter Holmes awaited

Reserve Forces of South Carolina: James Chesnut

Reserve Forces of Virginia: James Lawson Kemper

Union Generals

Note: Italics, awaiting confirmation of the commission

Lieutenant-General USA

Ulysses Simpson Grant

Major-General USA

George Brinton McClellan
John Charles Frémont
Henry Wager Halleck

Major-General USV

Asterisk indicates concurrently Brigadier-General USA

John Adams Dix
Nathaniel Prentiss Banks
Benjamin Franklin Butler
David Hunter
Ethan Allen Hitchcock
Irvin McDowell*
Ambrose Everett Burnside
William Starke Rosecrans*
Don Carlos Buell
John Pope*
Samuel Ryan Curtis
Franz Sigel
John Alexander McClernand
Lewis Wallace
George Henry Thomas*
George Cadwalader
William Tecumseh Sherman*
Edward Otho Cresap Ord
Samuel Peter Heintzelman
Erasmus Darwin Keyes
Joseph Hooker*
Silas Casey
William Buel Franklin
Darius Nash Couch
Henry Warner Slocum
John James Peck
John Sedgwick
Alexander McDowell McCook
Thomas Leonidas Crittenden
John Gray Foster
John Grubb Parke
Christopher Columbus Augur
Stephen Augustus Hurlbut
Gordon Granger
Lovell Harrison Rousseau
James Birdseye McPherson*
George Stoneman
George Gordon Meade*
Oliver Otis Howard
Daniel Edgar Sickles
Robert Huston Milroy
Daniel Butterfield
Winfield Scott Hancock
George Sykes
William Henry French
David Sloane Stanley
James Scott Negley
John McAllister Schofield
John McAuley Palmer
Frederick Steele
Abner Doubleday
Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana
Richard James Oglesby
John Alexander Logan
James Gilpatrick Blunt
George Lucas Hartsuff
Cadwallader Colden Washburn
Francis Jay Herron
Francis Preston Blair
Joseph Jones Reynolds
Philip Henry Sheridan
Julius Stahel
Carl Schurz
Gouverneur Kemble Warren
David Bell Birney
Alfred Pleasonton
Andrew Atkinson Humphreys
Quincy Adams Gillmore
William Farrar Smith
James Blair Steedman

Brigadier-General USA

Brackets indicates concurrently Major-General USV

(Irvin McDowell)
(William Starke Rosecrans)
Philip St George Cooke
(John Pope)
(Joseph Hooker)
(George Gordon Meade)
(William Tecumseh Sherman)
(James Birdseye McPherson)
(George Henry Thomas)

Brigadier-General USV

Thomas West Sherman
Benjamin Franklin Kelley
Jacob Dolson Cox
Alpheus Starkey Williams
James Brewerton Ricketts
Orlando Bolivar Willcox
Henry Hayes Lockwood
James Samuel Wadsworth
George Webb Morell
John Henry Martindale
Samuel Davis Sturgis
Henry Washington Benham
William Farquhar Barry
John Joseph Abercrombie
Lawrence Pike Graham
Eleazar Arthur Paine
Horatio Gouverneur Wright
William Thomas Ward
John Gross Barnard
Innis Newton Palmer
Seth Williams
John Newton
George Wright
William Thomas Harbaugh Brooks
John Milton Brannan
John Porter Hatch
Albin Francisco Schoepf
Thomas John Wood
Richard W Johnson
Adolph Wilhelm August Friedrich Von Steinwehr
George Washington Cullum
Thomas Jefferson McKean
Zealous Bates Tower
Jefferson Columbus Davis
James Henry Lane
William Scott Ketchum
John Wynn Davidson
James Gallant Spears
Eugene Asa Carr
Thomas Alfred Davies
William Hemsley Emory
Andrew Jackson Smith
Marsena Rudolph Patrick
Orris Sanford Ferry
Daniel Phineas Woodbury
Henry Moses Judah
John Cook
John McArthur
Jacob Gartner Lauman
Horatio Phillips Van Cleve
Speed Smith Fry
Alexander Asboth
James Craig
Mahlon Dickerson Manson
Edward Richard Sprigg Canby
Grenville Mellen Dodge
Robert Byington Mitchell
Cuvier Grover
Rufus Saxton
Benjamin Alvord
Napoleon Bonaparte Buford
William Sooy Smith
Nathan Kimball
Charles Devens
Samuel Wylie Crawford
Henry Walton Wessells
Milo Smith Hascall
John White Geary
Alfred Howe Terry
James Henry Carleton
Absalom Baird
John Cleveland Robinson
Truman Seymour
Henry Prince
Maximilian Weber
Jeremiah Cutler Sullivan
Alvin Peterson Hovey
James Clifford Veatch
William Plummer Benton
John Curtis Caldwell
Neal Dow
George Sears Greene
Samuel Powhatan Carter
John Gibbon
Erastus Barnard Tyler
Charles Griffin
George Henry Gordon
James Madison Tuttle
Julius White
Peter Joseph Osterhaus
Stephen Gano Burbridge
Washington Lafayette Elliott
Albion Parris Howe
Benjamin Stone Roberts
Jacob Ammen
Fitz-Henry Warren
Morgan Lewis Smith
Charles Cruft
Frederick Salomon
John Basil Turchin
Henry Shaw Briggs
James Dada Morgan
Johann August Ernst Willich
Henry Dwight Terry
George Foster Shepley
John Reese Kenly
John Potts Slough
Godfrey Weitzel
George Crook
Gershom Mott
Henry Jackson Hunt
Francis Channing Barlow
Mason Brayman
Nathaniel James Jackson
George Washington Getty
Alfred Sully
William Woods Averell
Alexander Hays KIA
Francis Barretto Spinola
John Henry Hobart Ward
Solomon Meredith
James Bowen
Eliakim Parker Scammon
Robert Seaman Granger
Joseph Rodman West
Alfred Washington Ellet
George Leonard Andrews
Clinton Bowen Fisk
William Hays
Israel Vogdes
David Allen Russell
Lewis Cass Hunt
Frank Wheaton
John Sanford Mason
David McMurtrie Gregg
Robert Ogden Tyler
Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert
Gilman Marston
William Dwight
Sullivan Amory Meredith
Nathaniel Collins McLean
William Vandever
Alexander Schimmelfennig
Charles Kinnaird Graham
John Eugene Smith
Joseph Tarr Copeland
Charles Adam Heckman
Edward Elmer Potter
Henry Beebee Carrington
John Haskell King
Adam Jacoby Slemmer
Thomas Hewson Neill
Thomas Gamble Pitcher
Thomas William Sweeny
William Passmore Carlin
Romeyn Beck Ayres
William Babcock Hazen
Joseph Anthony Mower
Richard Arnold
Edward Winslow Hinks
Michael Kelly Lawler
George Day Wagner
Lysander Cutler
Joseph Farmer Knipe
James Barnes
Edward Harland
Samuel Beatty
Isaac Jones Wistar
Franklin Stillman Nickerson
Edward Henry Hobson
Ralph Pomeroy Buckland
Joseph Dana Webster
William Harrow
William Hopkins Morris
Thomas Howard Ruger
Thomas Edward Greenfield Ransom
Elias Smith Dennis
Thomas Church Haskell Smith
Mortimer Dormer Leggett
Davis Tillson
Hector Tyndale
Albert Lindley Lee
Charles Leopold Matthies
Marcellus Monroe Crocker
Egbert Benson Brown
John McNeil
George Francis McGinnis
Hugh Boyle Ewing
James Winning McMillan
Daniel Ullmann
George Jerrison Stannard
Henry Baxter
John Milton Thayer
Charles Thomas Campbell
Halbert Eleazer Paine
Robert Brown Potter
Thomas Ewing
Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn
Thomas Greely Stevenson
Henry Hastings Sibley
Joseph Bradford Carr
Joseph Jackson Bartlett
Joshua Thomas Owen
Patrick Edward Connor
John Parker Hawkins
Gabriel René Paul
Edward Augustus Wild
Edward Ferrero
Adelbert Ames
William Birney
Daniel Henry Rucker
Robert Allen
Rufus Ingalls
Gustavus Adolphus De Russy
Alexander Shaler
Benjamin Henry Grierson
Robert Sanford Foster
Hugh Judson Kilpatrick
Alexander Stewart Webb
Alfred Napoleon Alexander Duffié
Walter Chiles Whitaker
Wesley Merritt
George Armstrong Custer
William Denison Whipple
John Converse Starkweather
Kenner Garrard
Charles Robert Woods
John Benjamin Sanborn
Giles Alexander Smith
Samuel Allen Rice
Jasper Adalmorn Maltby
Thomas Kilby Smith
Walter Quintin Gresham
Manning Ferguson Force
Robert Alexander Cameron
John Murray Corse
John Aaron Rawlins
Alvan Cullem Gillem
James Clay Rice
John Wesley Turner
Henry Lawrence Eustis
Henry Eugene Davies
Andrew Jackson Hamilton
Henry Warner Birge
Charles Garrison Harker
James Hewitt Ledlie
James Harrison Wilson
Adin Ballou Underwood
Augustus Louis Chetlain
Thomas Francis Meagher
William Anderson Pile
John Wallace Fuller
John Franklin Miller
Philippe Régis Dénis de Keredern De Trobriand
Cyrus Bussey
Christopher Columbus Andrews
Hiram Burnham
Edward Moody McCook
Lewis Addison Grant
Edward Hatch
August Valentine Kautz

Brigadier-General USA (Staff)

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs (Quartermaster-General)
Lorenzo Thomas
William Alexander Hammond (Surgeon-General)
Joseph Pannell Taylor (Commissary-General of Subsistence
George Douglas Ramsay (Ordnance)
James Barnet Fry (Provost Marshal)
Richard Delafield (Engineers)

Confederate Generals

Note: Italics, awaiting confirmation of the commission

General ACSA/PACS

Samuel Cooper
Robert Edward Lee
Joseph Eggleston Johnston
Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Braxton Bragg
Edmund Kirby Smith

Lieutenant-General PACS

James Longstreet
Leonidas Polk
Theophilus Hunter Holmes
William Joseph Hardee
John Clifford Pemberton
Richard Stoddert Ewell
Ambrose Powell Hill
John Bell Hood
Richard Taylor

Major-General PACS

Benjamin Huger
John Bankhead Magruder
Mansfield Lovell
William Wing Loring
Sterling Price
Benjamin Franklin Cheatham
Samuel Jones
John Porter McCown
Daniel Harvey Hill
Thomas Carmichael Hindman
John Cabell Breckinridge
Lafayette McLaws
Richard Heron Anderson
James Ewell Brown Stuart
Simon Bolivar Buckner
Samuel Gibbs French
George Edward Pickett
Carter Littlepage Stevenson
John Horace Forney
Dabney Herndon Maury
Martin Luther Smith
John George Walker
Arnold Elzey
Patrick Ronayne Cleburne
Franklin Gardner
Isaac Ridgeway Trimble
Jubal Anderson Early
Joseph Wheeler
Edward Johnson
William Henry Chase Whiting
Robert Emmett Rodes
William Henry Talbot Walker
Henry Heth
Robert Ransom
Alexander Peter Stewart
Jones Mitchell Withers
Stephen Dill Lee
Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox
Wade Hampton
Fitzhugh Lee
Howell Cobb
John Austin Wharton
William Thompson Martin
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Charles William Field
James Patton Anderson
William Brimage Bate
Camille Armand Jules Marie de Polignac
Robert Frederick Hoke
William Henry Fitzhugh Lee
James Fleming Fagan

Brigadier-General PACS

Alexander Robert Lawton
Henry Alexander Wise
Henry Hopkins Sibley
John Henry Winder
Gideon Johnson Pillow
Daniel Ruggles
Roswell Sabine Ripley
Paul Octave Hébert
Albert Gallatin Blanchard
Gabriel James Rains
Thomas Fenwick Drayton
Nathan George Evans
James Heyward Trapier
Hugh Weedon Mercer
William Montgomery Gardner
William Mahone
Raleigh Edward Colston
John King Jackson
Bushrod Rust Johnson
George Wythe Randolph
Joseph Brevard Kershaw
James Ronald Chalmers
Daniel Leadbetter
William Whann Mackall
Winfield Scott Featherston
Thomas James Churchill
William Booth Taliaferro
Albert Rust
Samuel Bell Maxey
Hamilton Prioleau Bee
James Morrison Hawes
George Hume Steuart
James Edwin Slaughter
Seth Maxwell Barton
Henry Eustace McCullough
John Selden Roane
States Rights Gist
William Nelson Pendleton
Joseph Finegan
William Nelson Rector Beall
Thomas Jordan
William Preston
John Echols
George Earl Maney
John Stuart Williams
James Green Martin
Thomas Lanier Clingman
Daniel Weisiger Adams
Louis Hébert
Ambrose Ransom Wright
James Lawson Kemper
James Jay Archer
Beverley Holcombe Robertson
St John Richardson Liddell
Johnson Hagood
Micah Jenkins
Harry Thompson Hays
Albert Gallatin Jenkins
Matthew Duncan Ector
Edward Aylesworth Perry
John Gregg
John Calvin Brown
Alfred Holt Colquitt
Junius Daniel
Abraham Buford
William Steele
Francis Asbury Shoup
Joseph Robert Davis
William Edmondson Jones
John Crawford Vaughn
Evander McIvor Law
Elkanah Brackin Greer
Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls
Alfred Cumming
William Stephen Walker
George Pierce Doles
Montgomery Dent Corse
George Thomas Anderson
Alfred Iverson
James Henry Lane
Edward Lloyd Thomas
Stephen Dodson Ramseur
John Rogers Cooke
Jerome Bonaparte Robertson
Evander McNair
Archibald Gracie
William Robertson Boggs
James Camp Tappan
Dandridge McRae
Mosby Monroe Parsons
John Pegram
John Sappington Marmaduke
John Hunt Morgan
Marcus Joseph Wright
Zachariah Cantey Deas
Lucius Eugene Polk
Edward Cary Walthall
John Adams
William Hicks Jackson
James Cantey
Henry Lewis Benning
William Tatum Wofford
Samuel McGowan
Marcellus Augustus Stovall
George Blake Cosby
Francis Crawford Armstrong
William Lewis Cabell
John Daniel Imboden
Alfred Eugene Jackson
Robert Brank Vance
Henry Delamar Clayton
Arthur Middleton Manigault
Douglas Hancock Cooper
John Brown Gordon
John Wilkins Whitfield
James Alexander Walker
John Marshall Jones KIA
Matthew Whitaker Ransom
Alfred Moore Scales
George Washington Custis Lee
Henry Harrison Walker
Gabriel Colvin Wharton
Francis Marion Cockrell
James Patrick Major
Samuel Wragg Ferguson
Lunsford Lindsay Lomax
Laurence Simmons Baker
Otho French Strahl
Philip Dale Roddey
Eppa Hunton
Thomas Pleasant Dockery
Benjamin Grubb Humphreys
Henry Brevard Davidson
Cullen Andrews Battle
William Andrew Quarles
William Whedbee Kirkland
Goode Bryan
Matthew Calbraith Butler
Williams Carter Wickham
Robert Daniel Johnston
Abner Monroe Perrin
Alexander Welch Reynolds
Thomas Neville Waul
Edmund Winston Pettus
Armistead Lindsay Long
Henry Rootes Jackson
William Wirt Adams
Thomas Lafayette Rosser
Pierce Manning Butler Young
James Byron Gordon
James Argyle Smith
Joseph Horace Lewis
Mark Perrin Lowrey
Leroy Augustus Stafford
Edward Higgins
John Tyler Morgan
John Herbert Kelly
William Young Conn Humes
Jesse Johnson Finley
James Holt Clanton
Alfred Jefferson Vaughan
Joseph Orville Shelby
John Randolph Chambliss
Lawrence Sullivan Ross
Daniel Chevilette Govan
Randall Lee Gibson
Clement Hoffman Stevens
Nathaniel Harrison Harris
Allen Thomas
Alexander Travis Hawthorn
Robert Charles Tyler
Edward Porter Alexander
William Wirt Allen
Hiram Bronson Granbury
Claudius Wistar Sears
William Feimster Tucker
Richard Lucian Page
Alpheus Baker
Daniel Harris Reynolds
James Chesnut
Richard Waterhouse