The Battle of Spotsylvania

The Battle of Spotsylvania (HM6W2)

Location: Spotsylvania, VA 22553 Spotsylvania County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 13.149', W 77° 36.863'

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Inscription

Spotsylvania Exhibit Shelter

— West Wall —

"Nothing in history equals this contest. Desperate, long and deadly, it still goes on. From morn till night, nor ends the carnage there — all night it goes on too. I cannot tell you any of the particulars. You could not understand it. I do not understand it myself. I doubt if any one does... Who's able to describe these terrific cannonades, tearing men, animals, and the earth and the woods, the fierce charge and shout, the panic and stampede. The crush of horses, vehicles, and men [in] confused masses. The acres of dead and mutilated men? The usual course of feeling seems turned back or suspended..."
Corporal William Taylor
110th Pennsylvania Volunteers
May 17, 1864, letter to his wife

The Armies

The Army of the Potomac
Throughout the winter of 1863-1864, the armies rested and refitted on opposites sides of the Rapidan River. The ranks of the Union army swelled with thousands of new draftees and recruits - soldiers whose commitment to the cause many questioned.

"I determined, first, to use the greatest number of troops practicable...; second, to hammer continuously against the armed force of the enemy and his resources until by mere attrition...there would be nothing left to him."
General Ulysses S. Grant, USA

Commander: Major General George Gordon Meade
Strength: 100,000 men and 344 cannon

The Army of Northern Virginia
The Confederates struggled to keep their existing regiments full. In the Wilderness they would bring to the battle 13,000 fewer men than they had fielded at Gettysburg the year before.

"We had all discussed Grant in camp, and it was well known that he had taken command to hold on and fight until we were worn out. He could lose men and replace them, we could not."
Assistant Surgen Thomas F. Wood,
3rd North Carolina Infantry

Commander: General Robert E. Lee
Strength: 55,000 men and 228 cannon

Details

HM Number	HM6W2
Series	This marker is part of the Battlefield Trails - Civil War series
Tags	US Civil War
Marker Condition	No reports yet
Date Added	Monday, September 15th, 2014 at 7:22am PDT -07:00

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Locationbig map

UTM (WGS84 Datum)	18S E 271130 N 4233362
Decimal Degrees	38.21915000, -77.61438333
Degrees and Decimal Minutes	N 38° 13.149', W 77° 36.863'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds	38° 13' 8.94" N, 77° 36' 51.78" W
Driving Directions	Google Maps
Area Code(s)	540
Closest Postal Address	At or near 2601 Grant Dr, Spotsylvania VA 22553, US
Alternative Maps	Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap