Editing Battle of the Wilderness (section)

==Opposing forces==
===Union===
{{further|Wilderness Union order of battle|l1=Union order of battle}}
[[Image:Grant crop of Cold Harbor photo.png|thumb|upright=0.5|right|Lt Gen U. S. Grant|alt=American Civil War general standing by tree]]
[[Image:George Gordon Meade.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|right|Maj Gen G. Meade|alt=American Civil War general with bald head and beard]]

The Union force in the Battle of the Wilderness was the Army of the Potomac and a separate [[IX Corps (Union Army)|IX Corps]]. The Army of the Potomac was commanded by Major General George G. Meade, and Major General [[Ambrose Burnside|Ambrose E. Burnside]] was commander of the IX Corps.<ref name="Scott1891b-106-116">{{harvnb|Scott|1891b|pp=106–116}}</ref> Both Meade and Burnside reported to Grant, who rode with Meade and his army.{{#tag:ref|Burnside was senior to Meade, so his corps was not combined into the Army of the Potomac because of his higher ranking.<ref name="Hogan16">{{harvnb|Hogan|2014|p=16}}</ref> A few weeks later on May 24, Grant assigned the IX Corps to the Army of the Potomac, with Burnside commanding the IX Corps and Meade commanding the Army of the Potomac. Burnside did not object to the new command structure, and thought "good will result from it".<ref name="Rhea352-353">{{harvnb|Rhea|2000|pp=352–353}}</ref>|group=Note}} The II Corps was the largest of the corps, with 28,333 officers and enlisted men present for duty and equipped as of April 30, 1864.<ref name="Scott1891a-1036">{{harvnb|Scott|1891a|p=1036}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|"Present for Duty and Equipped" is defined as officers and men actually available for battle. Certain non-combatants are not included.<ref name="Bigelow135">{{harvnb|Bigelow|1910|p=135}}</ref>|group=Note}} At the beginning of the campaign in May, Grant's Union forces totaled 118,700 men and 316 artillery pieces including Meade's Army of the Potomac and Burnside's IX Corps.<ref name="Eicher660">{{harvnb|Eicher|2001|p=660}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Counts of the Union soldiers from other sources do not differ by much. The [[National Park Service]] uses 120,000, and historian [[Gordon C. Rhea]] uses "nearly 120,000".<ref name="NPSHistOfWilderness">{{cite web |title=Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania - History of the Battle of the Wilderness |publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/wildspot.htm |access-date=July 28, 2021 |archive-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925134415/https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/wildspot.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rhea34">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=34}}</ref> Historian David W. Hogan Jr. uses 100,000 for Meade and 16,000 for Burnside.<ref name="Hogan15-16">{{harvnb|Hogan|2014|pp=15–16}}</ref> The [[American Battlefield Trust]] says 101,895 Union forces ''engaged''.<ref name="ABTTheWilderness">{{cite web |title=The Wilderness |publisher=American Battlefield Trust |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/wilderness |access-date=July 28, 2021 |archive-date=September 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928005625/https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/wilderness |url-status=live}}</ref>|group=Note}}

* [[II Corps (Union Army)|II Corps]], commanded by Major General [[Winfield S. Hancock]], consisted of four divisions of infantry.<ref name="Eicher660-661">{{harvnb|Eicher|2001|pp=660–661}}</ref> This was Meade's premier fighting unit.<ref name="Rhea38">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=38}}</ref>
* [[V Corps (Union Army)|V Corps]], commanded by Major General [[Gouverneur K. Warren]], had four divisions of infantry.<ref name="Eicher661">{{harvnb|Eicher|2001|p=661}}</ref>
* [[VI Corps (Union Army)|VI Corps]] had three divisions and was commanded by Major General [[John Sedgwick]].<ref name="Eicher661"/>
* [[Cavalry Corps (Union Army)|Cavalry Corps]], newly commanded by Major General [[Philip Sheridan]], had three divisions.<ref name="Eicher661"/> The 3rd Division's [[5th New York Cavalry Regiment]] was armed with seven-shot [[Spencer repeating rifle|Spencer carbines]], as was the First Brigade of the 1st Division, known as the [[Michigan Brigade]].<ref name="Gallagher118">{{harvnb|Rhea|1997|p=118}}</ref><ref name="Kidd77-78">{{harvnb|Kidd|1908|pp=77–78}}</ref>
* Additional men in Meade's army that were not part of the four corps were from the provost guard, a small group of guards and orderlies, and portions of the artillery not assigned to a corps.<ref name="Scott1891a-1036"/> 
* IX Corps, commanded by Burnside, consisted of four divisions of infantry, each with its own artillery. Burnside also had reserve artillery and two regiments of cavalry.<ref name="Eicher661"/> Only about 6,000 men in IX Corps were  veterans.<ref name="Rhea34"/>

===Confederate===
{{further|Wilderness Confederate order of battle|l1=Confederate order of battle}}
[[Image:Portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee, officer of the Confederate Army LOC cwpb.04402.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|right|Gen R. E. Lee|alt=American Civil War general with beard]]

The Confederate force in the Battle of the Wilderness was the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee. Listed below are Lee's three infantry corps and one cavalry corps, which totaled to 66,140 men including staff and men in the artillery.{{#tag:ref|The count for the size of the Army of Northern Virginia of 66,140 is from Alfred C. Young's detailed study of Confederate company records, reports, and newspaper accounts.<ref name="Young232">{{harvnb|Young III|2013|p=232}}</ref> The count used by other sources varies from about 61,000 to 65,000. Rhea uses 65,000.<ref name="Rhea34"/> Historian [[David J. Eicher]] uses "64,000 men in the field and 274 field guns".<ref name="Eicher660"/> The National Park Service and American Battlefield Trust use 61,025 engaged.<ref name="NPSWildernessDetail">{{cite web |title=Battle Detail - Battle of the Wilderness |publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |url=https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battles-detail.htm?battleCode=VA046 |access-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018182929/https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battles-detail.htm?battleCode=va046 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ABTTheWilderness"/>|group=Note}} Each corps had three divisions plus artillery except the First Corps, which had only two divisions. The Third Corps was the largest, with 22,675 men plus another 1,910 for artillery.<ref name="Young232"/>
* [[First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia|First Corps]] was commanded by [[General officers in the Confederate States Army#Lieutenant General|Lieutenant General]] [[James Longstreet]].<ref name="Eicher661"/> This was Lee's elite fighting unit.<ref name="Rhea13">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=13}}</ref>
* [[Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia|Second Corps]] was commanded by Lieutenant General [[Richard S. Ewell]].<ref name="Eicher661"/>
* [[Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia|Third Corps]] was commanded by Lieutenant General [[A.P. Hill|Ambrose Powell "A.P." Hill]].<ref name="Eicher661"/>
* [[Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia|Cavalry Corps]] was commanded by [[Major General (CSA)|Major General]] [[J.E.B. Stuart|James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart]].<ref name="Eicher661"/>