The stories told at the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of the Wilderness begin to tell that tale. When the opening salvos of the battle rang across the corn stubble of Saunders Field across the Orange Turnpike (today's Route 20), it was in an area where the enemy had been found, but not the most adventageous to an army with an advantage in numbers. As the reenactors and spectators trudged up and down that first spark of battle, and spark would play a big part as the battle raged on for two days, through the muddy ravine and to the edge of the woods, they would learn the details of that story, a story that should wield a heavy mallet in the reason why the end of war would come.

The battleground at the Battle of the Wilderness, part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park for those less initiated, is in some way a hard place to interpret. Those thick woods, much thicker in 1864 than even today, the long winding path of the park roads without many view vistas that enable a visitor to see scope, to understand direction and movement, make that difficult. But this is the reason why celebrations like the 150th occur, as the Park Service does its magnificent jog, through battle walks and talks, to help bring all those into focus. And boy, did they do that, bringing it all to life again, and all without a spark that would set the woods ablaze, with the modest exception of a campfire or two at an evening talk, which is one of those rare treats if you get the chance to visit any of these places, you should take advantage of.

How Many Participated

May 5-6, 2014 - It's hard to put into numbers the amount of spectactors who visited the anniversary. It's hard to see one hundred yards in front of you through the woods here, let alone count. The battle walks were well attended, I'd venture a guess of 1,000 or so at the opening Saunders Field real time event, one of the few with a vista.

Wilderness Then

Soldiers at the Wilderness - There were approximately 120,000 Union soldiers and 60,000 Confederate soldiers engaged in the Battle of the Wilderness from May 5 to 6, 1864. Below photo is of a group of Union soldiers filling their canteens during the Wilderness campaign. Photo courtesy Library of Congress.

Wilderness Now

Ellwood (Lacy) House - The Ellwood Mansion was the headquarters of the Union Army, particularly General Warren and General Burnside, during the battle. Today the house has been restored and both the house and grounds are open for visiting daily. It was the location of the evening program detailing the last calm night, May 4, before the battle. The Ellwood house, then owned by the Lacy family, was part of a five thousand acre plantation, which had one hundred and seven slaves.

Widow Tapp Field and Farm - One of the few open spaces at the Wilderness Battlefield is the home of the Widow Tapp (photo below), who was eeking out a meager existence prior to the Civil War when suddenly onto her farm rode General Robert E. Lee. This was one of the last battlegrounds of the fight here, so desperate was Lee to stem a losing tide that he tried to lead his men personally into battle from the front. His men thought better of that and the call "Lee to the Rear" was heard. Lee would have another "Lee to the Rear" moment one week later at Spotsylvania.

The Actual Wilderness - Just one example of the forest in the Wilderness today. Although deep and surrounding, today's forest is much less imposing than in 1864. During the battle, it was shorter with more brush and brambles due to an overuse of the area for tobacco and logging in the past which would devastate the land. The growth there would have been a decade of so old, ten to twenty feet high, and packed much tighter than what the photo indicates.

Spotsylvania Court House - Not a courthouse, but a church (see photo below), this is one of the period buildings you can visit on a walking tour of the town of Spotsylvania Court House, which is located only a couple miles from both the Wilderness and Spotsylvania battlefields down the Brock Road.