In This Episode

It’s 1:00 PM on May 5th, 1864 — Grant had given the order, Warren has given the signal, and now Griffin and Wadsworth’s divisions are emerging from the eastern edge of Saunders Field to pitch into the enemy. However, as the bugles sound and the men rise to their feet, a “wild and wicked roar” erupts from the Confederate defenses just as Col. Paddy Ryan and his 140th New York Zouaves charge forward and race across 400 yards of open ground.

Notable Quotes

“stand up…forward, double-quick, CHARGE!”
— Col. George “Paddy” Ryan, 140th New York “Zouaves” Regiment

“[The] wild, wicked roar of musketry”
— Wilderness Veteran

“Down the slope we rushed…killed and wounded men plunging to the ground.”
— Zouave Veteran

“It might be better if we bring up artillery and fire back!”
— General Ulysses S. Grant

In This Episode

It’s 1:00 PM on May 5th, 1864 — Grant has had enough of both General Meade’s and General Warren’s excuses and has now directed them to send Griffin and Wadsworth’s divisions forward and pitch into the enemy at once. Unfortunately, Grant does not yet know that General Sedgwick’s 6th Corps, overcome by the tangles of The Wilderness, will not arrive on Griffin’s RIGHT flank for hours. Worse yet, Wadsworth’s men are also stuck trying to push through the dense Wilderness. When the order comes to march, Griffin’s men will be stepping out into an open cornfield to confront the enemy… alone.

Notable Quotes

“[moments before the fighting began, the men], for those few minutes lay there and faced the possibilities of tragedy then inevitable.”
— Wrote a Zouave Soldier, after the Battle of Saunders Field

“Suspense and dread and hope which possess men during such minutes cannot be adequately told in words.”
— Zouave Veteran

“stand up…forward, double-quick, CHARGE!”

— Col. George “Paddy” Ryan, 140th New York “Zouaves” Regiment

In This Episode

It's noon on May 5th, 1864 -- The Army of the Potomac has captured the Brock Road Intersection with Orange Plank Road, has discovered Confederate cavalry probing their left flank along the Catharpin Road, and now must deal with the growing threat of Rebels digging in along the Orange Turnpike. After waiting for hours for Meade to stop talking about attacking, and actually attack, Grant has had enough. But will he intervene in time to win his first battle against Lee?

Notable Quotes

"If [this] is what Meade meant by attacking 'at once', as he said he would at 7:30 AM (it's now after 10:00 AM) no wonder Lee was running circles around him."
-- Gordon Rhea, Battle of the Wilderness

"The only time I ever feel impatient is when I give an order for an important movement of troops in the presence of the enemy and am waiting for them to reach their destination. Then the minutes seem like hours."
-- Grant's comment to Porter, from Hell Itself by Chris Mackowski

In This Episode

It's afternoon on May 5th, 1864 -- Greenhorn cavalry officer Brig. Gen. Harry Wilson has stumbled onto a third Confederate cavalry force coming down the Catharpin Road. While he prepares his troopers to repeal a rebel counter-attack from his former West Point classmate Gen. Thomas "Tex" Rosser of Virginia, he is desperate to get this new information to Meade before it is too late. The only problem is that Wilson's entire cavalry division -- over 3,000 men and horses -- is completely cut off from the rest of the Union Army. No one is coming to save him or his men.

Notable Quotes

"I had had no word from Sheridan that day and knew absolutely nothing as to his whereabouts or even as to the position of any part of the army except my own."
-- Brig. Gen. Harry Wilson

"Pistol and sabre were busy in slaughter while the shrieks of the stricken and the shouts of the victors mingled with the roar of battle."
-- Confederate Cavalryman

"General Wilson is falling back to this point, followed by the enemy. Col. Chapman reports the enemy that attacked very superior to his [force] and compelled him to retire. Wilson himself had not yet arrived and I can't say what I will do. I have my command here and will receive the enemy."
-- Brig.Gen. Gregg

"Artilleryyy-ist... Artilllllery-ist? Artiller-ist? No. Can't say it. How's about, 'good shot with a cannon!'"
-- Kyle M. Bondo, Amateur Cannoneer

In This Episode

It's noon on May 5th, 1864 -- Greenhorn cavalry officer Brigadier General James Harrison "Harry" Wilson started the Overland Campaign with high expectations. Now, after a series of tactical shortcomings and conflicting orders, his actions allowed rebel forces to approach the Union army almost undetected. To make matters worse, Wilson's entire cavalry division -- over 3,000 men and horses -- is missing. No one has seen or heard from Wilson since 5:00 AM. With the Orange Plank Road now engulfed by an endless column of Confederate infantry, Grant and Meade are desperate to know: Where the hell is Harry Wilson's Cavalry Division?

Notable Quotes

"My pickets report nothing new from the enemy this morning."
-- Brig.Gen. James Harrison Wilson's last message to Maj.Gen Meade, 5:00 AM, May 5th, 1864

In This Episode

It's the mid-morning of May 5th, 1864 -- The Army of the Potomac has now discovered two massive rebel forces forming on both sides of Warren's 5th Corps still stung out over 5 miles within the tangles of The Wilderness. Now, as new intelligence arrives, they are becoming painfully aware that General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia has launched a counter-crossing attack along the Orange Turnpike AND the Orange Plank Roads. As Meade falls back into his old Eastern Army habits by going on defense, will Grant be able to finally push the Army of the Potomac into an aggressive Federal position?

Notable Quotes

"What had begun as a hopeful morning's march was rapidly taking an ugly, familiar turn. Once again, the Union high command had underestimated Lee's audacity."
-- Gordon Rhea, Battle of the Wilderness

"If [this] is what Meade meant by attacking 'at once', as he said he would at 7:30 AM [it's now after 10:00 AM] no wonder Lee was running circles around him."
-- Gordon Rhea, Battle of the Wilderness

"Double-Quick!"
-- Maj. Gen. George Getty, Running to Brock Road Intersection, May 5th, 1864

"We must hold this point at any risk -- Our men will soon be up!"
-- Maj. Gen. George Getty, Arriving at the Brock Road Intersection, May 5th, 1864

Overview

It's May 1864, You are an officer in the Army of the Potomac during the first week of the Overland Campaign leading men into The Wilderness against the Confederacy. As you struggle to maneuver your soldiers in a straight enough line to engage the rebels within this 70-square-mile tract of thickets and dense forest... you may ask yourself... How did I get here?

Quotes

"Let no man be so rash as to suppose that in donning a general’s uniform, he is forthwith competent to perform a general’s functions."

— Prof. Dennis Hart Mahan, USMA (1824-1871)

"[I] hail the day [I] left public office as the happiest of my life, except possibly the day I left West Point, a place I felt I had been at always and that my stay had no end."

— Lt.Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1871)

"I was always a friend of southern rights but an enemy of southern wrongs."

— Maj.Gen. Benjamin Butler (1861)