The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse

While the May 12 combat at the Bloody Angle marked the height of the Spotsylvania fighting, it was not the end of it. For nine more days, the Army of the Potomac hovered around the village, looking for opportunities to strike. Finding Lee heavily entrenched at Laurel Hill and the Muleshoe Salient, Grant began shifting his army across the Fredericksburg Road, to your left. Lee responded by moving elements of his army across the road as well.

The two sides clashed three more times at Spotsylvania—at Myers Hill on May 14, at the Harrison house on May 18, and at Harris farm on May 19—each time without decisive result. On May 21, Grant abandoned his efforts to drive Lee from Spotsylvania Court House and started for the North Anna River, 20 miles south. It was there, along the North Anna's muddy banks, that the next act of the bloody drama would unfold.

I?propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.
General Ulysses Grant, USA

(caption)
In an effort to locate Grant's right flank, Lee on May 19 sent his Second Corps on a reconnaissance toward the Fredericksburg Road, sparking a battle on the Harris farm.

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

The Fredericksburg Road
Heth's Salient Battle Site
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
17th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Heth's Salient
Confederate Soldiers
The Ninth Corps
Spotsylvania Court House
Spotsylvania Court House

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