The Civil War, Day by Day

On To Richmond


On to Richmond

The 1864 campaign had ground to a fiery halt in the inferno of the Battle of the Wilderness. For two days, Union and Confederate soldiers fought in an area of dense woods, interspersed with tangled thickets and small farm fields. Fires, kindled in the dry underbrush, added another element of horror to the battle as helpless wounded were burned alive. By the end of the second day, every Union soldier acknowledged the next move: north, once again in defeat. Instead, the tired columns were turned southward, toward Richmond. Through the column rode the new architect of their campaign, General Ulysses S. Grant. Colonel Horace Porter, who rode with Grant, wrote, “Wild cheers echoed through the forest. Men swung their hats…and pressed forward to within touch of their chief, speaking to him with the familiarity of comrades.” The veterans knew that this non-descript general was as determined to finish the war as they were. For Grant, it was a victory. For Lee, it was a new and more dangerous adversary.




May's Archived Features:

Monday May 1, 2023
Tuesday May 2, 2023
Wednesday May 3, 2023
Thursday May 4, 2023
Friday May 5, 2023
Saturday May 6, 2023
Sunday May 7, 2023
Monday May 8, 2023
Tuesday May 9, 2023
Wednesday May 10, 2023
Thursday May 11, 2023
Friday May 12, 2023
Saturday May 13, 2023
Sunday May 14, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Thursday May 18, 2023
Friday May 19, 2023
Saturday May 20, 2023
Sunday May 21, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
Tuesday May 23, 2023
Wednesday May 24, 2023
Thursday May 25, 2023
Friday May 26, 2023
Saturday May 27, 2023
Sunday May 28, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023

 

 

 
All illustrations by Mort Künstler. Text by Michael Aubrecht, Dee Brown, Henry Steele Commager, Rod Gragg, Mort Künstler, Edward Lengel, James McPherson, and James I. Robertson, Jr. - Copyright © 2001-2019. All Rights Reserved. No part of the contents of this web site may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means without written consent of the artist.