Battle of the Wilderness • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments & MarkersThe Armies


The Battle of the WIlderness was fought on May 5-6, 1864. The armies held their positions on the field until May 7, and some historians consider that the third day of the battle. But there was little fighting. It was the first battle of Grant’s 1864 Overland Campaign.

The battle took place about 15 miles west of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The fight was in an area of dense second-growth forest locally known as the Wilderness, just to the west of and sometimes overlapping the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville, which was fought almost exactly a year earlier.

The battle was a stalemate with heavy casualties on both sides. It is is estimated to be the fourth bloodiest battle of the Civil War. But unlike previous battles where the battered Army of the Potomac pulled back across the river to regroup and try again some other day, this time Grant headed his men around Lee’s flank to continue the advance. The fighting would continue until he was at the gates of Richmond.

Entry sign from the Wilderness Battlefield


Explore the Battle of the Wilderness

Tour the Wilderness battlefield with the Wilderness Battlefield Auto Tour, seeing the sights at each Tour Stop.

View the monuments and historical markers on the battlefield. Each has photos and a transcription of the text from the monument or marker along with its map location.

See the organization of the Armies at the Battle of the Wilderness, which provides the Orders of Battle for the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia during the battle, as well as links to more in-depth information about the individuals and units on a companion website, Civil War in the East.


A wilderness of fire

Who fought in the Battle of the Wilderness?

CSA flagThe Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, 61,000 men commanded by General Robert E. Lee. For over a year Lee had successfully defended the Rappahannock River line.

USA flagThe Federal Army of the Potomac under Major General George G. Meade. Meade had commanded the Army of the Potomac since the victory at Gettysburg. Many wanted to replace him for his lack of progress in the nine months since, but Grant kept him on. The Federal 9th Army Corps was a separate command under Major General Ambrose Burnside. Both reported to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, for a total of 102,000 men.

The odd Union command structure grew out of two situations. Although Grant commanded the entire United States Army, he made his headquarters in the field with the Army of the Potomac. He felt this would be the best way to drive his main striking force in the east. (His main army in the west was under the command of his trusted friend Willliam Sherman.) So while Meade gave the day to day orders to the Army of the Potomac, Grant provided the strategic direction, without the critical delay and interferenceof the fiftty-mile communications line with Washington.

Burnside and his 9th Corps had just arrived from the Western Theater. He outranked Meade, and under normal circumstances might have taken command of the Army of the Potomac. But he had already commanded the army during the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign, and there was no chance he would ever be allowed to command it again. So he reported directly to Grant. It made an awkward command situation. Eventually good-natured Burnside offered to forego his seniority and take orders from Meade.

How many casualties were there in the Battle of the Wilderness? How many people died?

Sources vary. Record keeping in both armies suffered as, for the first time in the Civil War, they began fighting almost every day without pause. As the armies moved on they left behind and lost track of the wounded and missing. The situation was worse in the Confederate army, where so many of the company clerks who kept the records were lost and entire brigades would be annihilated over the next few weeks.

Most agree that Federal casualties were from around 17,700 to 18,400, with around 2,250 kiled, 10,200 wounded, and 2,900-3,400 captured or missing.

Confederate casualties are put as high as 11,400, with the most detailed estimates of around 1,500 killed, 8,000 wounded and 1,700 captured or missing.

Based on these numbers The Battle of the WIlderness was the fourth bloodiest battle of the Civil War, ranking only behind Gettysburg, Chickamauga and Spottsylvania.

Why was the Battle of the Wilderness fought?

For over a year the North had been trying to break through the Rappahannock River line to advance on Richmond and, hopefully, end the war. The Battles of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and Chancellorsville (May 1863) and the Mud March (January 1863) and Mine Run (November 1863) campaigns were all attempts to get around or through Lee’s excellent defensive position. After the Battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862 most of the attempts involved wide flanking movements to the west of the fortified high bluffs that lined the river near that city.

Who won the Battle of the Wilderness?

The battle was a tactical draw. The North lost more casualties, although both armies lost roughly the same percentage of men based on their armies’ size. Neither army retreated after the two days of fighting. But after a day of relative quiet Grant continued his movement south, sliding around Lee’s flank. For the first time Lee had failed to turn back the invasion, which was a strategic defeat.

Why was the Battle of the Wilderness important?

In the past when the Army of the Potomac had failed to win a victory south of the Rappahannock it had retreated back across the river to rest, recover, and rebuild its strength for the next attempt. This time Grant shrugged off the casualties and kept the initiative by continuing to move south. It was the beginning of a month and a half of almost continuous fighting that ripped the heart out of both armies and ended with Lee’s survivors desperately dug in to a final defensive line around Richmond and Petersburg.