The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse

[The] Federal assaults were not only easily repulsed, but the forces making them were simply slaughtered. Private John Coxe, 2nd South Carolina Infantry

Before you lies Laurel Hill, one of the most important but least understood areas of the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield. On three separate days—May 8, 10, and12—Union troops charged across these fields, from right to left, in an effort to break the Confederate army's hold on the wooded ridge to your left. Each attack ended in bloody failure.With each repulse, the Union soldiers' enthusiasm for attacking the ridge diminished. "Every man in the ranks saw the folly of the attempt," wrote a soldier in the 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteers, "and judging from the undercurrent of their conversation, it is not probable that they would have made a very determined effort, or gone far."

In all, some 5,000 Union soldiers fell here—all to no purpose. On May 13, the Union army abandoned Laurel Hill and headed east. The Confederates followed.

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Union troops at Laurel Hill

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Show me all markers in:  Spotsylvania, VA  |  Spotsylvania County  |  22553  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

The Race for Spotsylvania Court House
Sedgwick
Spotsylvania Campaign
Spotsylvania Campaign
The Death of Sedgwick
A Different Kind of War
Testing the Line: May 8-10
The Battle of Spotsylvania
No Turning Back
Grant Finds an Opening: May 12

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