Editing Battle of the Wilderness (section)

==Disposition of forces and movement to battle==
===The Wilderness===
[[File:The Wilderness near Palmers and Spotswoods Houses.jpg|thumb|Portion of the Wilderness battlefield photographed in 1865 near Palmer and Spotswoods houses|alt=woods with skinny trees]]

[[The Wilderness (Virginia)|The Wilderness]] is located south of the Rapidan River in Virginia's [[Spotsylvania County, Virginia|Spotsylvania County]] and [[Orange County, Virginia|Orange County]].<ref name="PettyCh1">{{harvnb|Petty|2019|loc=Ch.1 of e-book}}</ref> Its southern border is [[Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia|Spotsylvania Court House]], and western border is usually considered the Rapidan River tributary Mine Run. Its eastern border is less definite, causing estimates of the size of the Wilderness to vary. While the maximum area for the Wilderness is {{convert|132|mi2|km2}} to {{convert|156|mi2|km2}}, historians discussing the battles fought there typically use {{convert|70|mi2|km2}}.<ref name="PettyCh1"/><ref name="ABTwildwilderness">{{cite web |title=Just How Wild Was the Wilderness? |date=March 22, 2013 |publisher=American Battlefield Trust |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/just-how-wild-was-wilderness |access-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802165503/https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/just-how-wild-was-wilderness |url-status=live}}</ref> At the time of the battle, the region was a "patchwork of open areas and vegetation of varying density."<ref name="PettyCh1"/> Much of the vegetation was a dense [[Secondary forest|second-growth forest]] consisting of small trees, bushes, shrubs, and [[pine]]s.<ref name="Chernow378">{{harvnb|Chernow|2017|p=378}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Early [[European colonization of the Americas|European settlers]] in the Wilderness area of Virginia had cut down the native forests for tobacco cultivation, which ended after the soil was exhausted.<ref name="PettyCh1"/> The depleted fields were then abandoned, and small trees and shrubs reclaimed the land. Next, smaller portions of the forest were again cut down, and then abandoned, as fuel for mining industries. In 1732, [[William Byrd II|William Byrd]] described land near an iron mine in what became known as the Wilderness as "exceeding barren, and the growth of trees upon it hardly big enough for coaling".<ref name="PettyCh1"/> In the 1850s, a small portion of the forest was used as material for building [[plank road]]s. This created newer sections of second-growth forest and dense shrubs.|group=Note}}

Since clearings were scarce, and the region had only a few narrow winding roads, mounted cavalry fighting was nearly impossible.<ref name="Starr89">{{harvnb|Starr|2007|p=89}}</ref> The dense woods, often filled with smoke, made it difficult to see enemy soldiers. This put attackers at a disadvantage, as soldiers often fired at sounds instead of visual cues. Infantry units had difficulty keeping alignment, and often became lost or were involved in friendly-fire incidents. The Confederates had a better knowledge of the terrain, and it diminished the Union advantage of greater manpower.<ref name="McPherson725">{{harvnb|McPherson|1988|p=725}}</ref> The terrain also diminished the effectiveness of artillery. Grant was aware of how the Wilderness made his advantages in size and artillery less effective, and preferred to move his army further south to fight Lee in open ground.<ref name="Chernow378"/>

===Lee prepares===
[[File:Wilderness VA May 2, 1864.png|thumb|upright=1.5|right|May 2 Virginia positions of Union (blue) and Confederate (red) forces, with the Wilderness Tavern area circled in green and main fords circled in blue|alt=map showing position of Union and Confederate armies on May 2]]On May 2, Lee met with his generals on Clark Mountain, obtaining a panoramic view of the Union camps.<ref name="Rhea25">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=25}}</ref> He realized that Grant was getting ready to attack, but did not know the precise route of advance. He predicted (correctly) that Grant would cross to the east of the Confederate fortifications on the Rapidan, using the Germanna and Ely fords, but he could not be certain.<ref name="Rhea25"/>

To retain flexibility of response, Lee had dispersed his army over a wide area. Longstreet's First Corps was around [[Gordonsville, Virginia|Gordonsville]], from where they had the flexibility to respond by railroad to potential threats to the Shenandoah Valley or to Richmond.<ref name="Rhea26">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=26}}</ref> Hill's Third Corps was outside [[Orange, Virginia|Orange Court House]]. Ewell's Second Corps was near Morton's Ford and Mine Run, northeast of Hill.<!--Rhea 84--> Stuart's cavalry was scattered further south from Gordonsville to Fredericksburg.<ref name="Eicher662">{{harvnb|Eicher|2001|p=662}}</ref><!--Rhea has a map on page 23-->

===Grant crosses the river===
[[File:Overland Campaign May4.png|thumb|upright=1.75|Overland Campaign begins as Union (blue) and Confederate (red) troops move to the Wilderness in Virginia|alt=old map with troop positions and movements]]On May 4, 1864, the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River at three places and converged on the Wilderness of Spotsylvania in east central Virginia.<ref name="Hogan17">{{harvnb|Hogan|2014|p=17}}</ref> [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[James H. Wilson]] led his 3rd Cavalry Division across the river at Germanna Ford between 4:00{{nbsp}}am and 6:00{{nbsp}}am, and drove off a small group of Confederate cavalry [[Picket (military)|pickets]]. After engineers placed [[pontoon bridge]]s, the V Corps (Warren) and later the VI Corps (Sedgwick) crossed safely. Wilson continued south on the Germanna Plank Road toward Wilderness Tavern and the Orange Turnpike. He halted at Wilderness Tavern at noon to wait for the V Corps, and sent scouts to the south and west.<ref name="Gallagher113-115">{{harvnb|Rhea|1997|pp=113–115}}</ref>

A few miles east, Brigadier General [[David McMurtrie Gregg|David M. Gregg]] led his 2nd Cavalry Division across the river at Ely's Ford.<ref name="Gallagher115">{{harvnb|Rhea|1997|p=115}}</ref> They tried to capture the nearby Confederate outpost, but the southerners fled into the darkness. By 9:00{{nbsp}}am a pontoon bridge was placed across the water, and the II Corps (Hancock) began crossing. Gregg's cavalry moved south to [[Chancellorsville, Virginia|Chancellorsville]], where Hancock's men planned to camp. Once Hancock's men began arriving, Gregg moved further south to Alrich near the intersection of the Orange Plank Road and Catharpin Road, where they would protect Hancock and the army's wagons.<ref name="Gallagher115"/>

The IX Corps (Burnside) remained north of the river near Germanna Ford, with orders to protect the supply train.<ref name="Gallagher11">{{harvnb|Simpson|1997|p=11}}</ref> Although Grant insisted that the army travel light with minimal artillery and supplies, its supply train was 60 to 70 miles (97 to 110&nbsp;km) long.<ref name="Esposito121">{{harvnb|Esposito|1959|p=121}}</ref> Meade had an estimated 4,300 wagons, 835 ambulances, and a herd of cattle.<ref name="Hogan16"/> The supply train crossed the Rapidan at Ely's and Culpeper Mine fords.<ref name="Hogan17"/> At Culpeper Mine Ford, it was guarded by Brigadier General [[Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert|Alfred T. A. Torbert]]'s 1st Cavalry Division. Grant and Meade gambled that they could move the army quickly enough to avoid being ensnared in the Wilderness, but Meade halted the II and V corps  to allow the wagon train to catch up.<ref name="Esposito121"/>

===Lee responds===
At the Wilderness a year earlier, Lee defeated the Army of the Potomac in the Battle of Chancellorsville despite having an army less than half the size of the Union army.<ref name="ABTchancellorsville">{{cite web |title=Chancellorsville |publisher=American Battlefield Trust |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/chancellorsville |access-date=September 7, 2021 |archive-date=September 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915224153/https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/chancellorsville |url-status=live}}</ref> Much of the fighting at that time occurred slightly east of the Union Army's current route. Having already secured a victory one year ago in similar circumstances, Lee hoped to fight Grant in the Wilderness.<ref name="Chernow378"/> However, Lee needed Longstreet's First Corps to be in position to fight before the battle started.<ref name="Eicher664">{{harvnb|Eicher|2001|p=664}}</ref>

As Grant's plan became clearer to Lee on May 4, Lee arranged his forces to use the advantages of the Wilderness.<ref name="Esposito121"/> He needed his Second and Third corps to delay Grant's army until Longstreet's First Corps could get in place. Ewell's Second Corps was sent east on the Orange Turnpike, reaching Robertson's Tavern at Locust Grove. His lead column camped about {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} from the unsuspecting Union soldiers.<ref name="Rhea85">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=85}}</ref> Hill was sent east on the Orange Plank Road and stopped at the hamlet of New Verdiersville.<ref name="Rhea85"/> Hill had two of his three divisions. The division commanded by Major General [[Richard H. Anderson (general)|Richard H. Anderson]] was left at Orange Court House to guard the river.<ref name="Gallagher146">{{harvnb|Carmichael|1997|p=146}}</ref> These two corps were to avoid battle, if possible, until Longstreet's First Corps arrived.<ref name="Gallagher147">{{harvnb|Carmichael|1997|p=147}}</ref> That evening, Lee decided that Ewell and Hill should strike first, preserving the initiative. Longstreet would arrive a day later, or Ewell and Hill could retreat west to Mine Run if necessary. Orders were sent around 8:00{{nbsp}}pm to move early in the morning.<ref name="Rhea87">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=87}}</ref>

===Union cavalry===
{{Quote box
|align=right
|width=30%;background-color:#E6F2FF"
|quote=The Wilderness was "peculiarly unsuitable for the operations of cavalry, covered ... in every direction with dense thickets that were impenetrable to horsemen and intersected by few and narrow paths which permitted of movement only in long-extended and thin columns...."
|source=Brigadier General James H. Wilson, 3rd Cavalry Division<ref name="Starr89"/>
}}

At Wilderness Tavern, Wilson sent a small force west on the Orange Turnpike.<ref name="Gallagher116">{{harvnb|Rhea|1997|p=116}}</ref> After the head of the V Corps reached Wilderness Tavern around 11:00{{nbsp}}am, Wilson continued south. He arrived at Parker's Store near the Orange Plank Road at 2:00{{nbsp}}pm. Scouts were sent south to Catharpin Road and west to Mine Run where they found only small enemy squads.<ref name="Gallagher115"/> During that time, his squad on the Orange Turnpike skirmished with Confederate soldiers near Robertson's Tavern (Locust Grove). Assuming they were fighting with a small group of Confederate pickets, they withdrew and by evening rejoined the division at Parker's Store.<ref name="Gallagher116"/>

Meade's original plan was to have Torbert's 1st Cavalry Division join Wilson, but he received an erroneous report that the Confederate cavalry was operating in his army's rear, in the direction of [[Fredericksburg, Virginia|Fredericksburg]].<ref name="Rhea91">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=91}}</ref> He ordered his 1st and 2nd cavalry divisions to move east to deal with that perceived threat, leaving only Wilson's division to screen for three corps. Wilson had little experience with cavalry, and the 3rd Division was the smallest of the three cavalry divisions.<ref name="Rhea91-92">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|pp=91–92}}</ref> Meade believed that Lee would fight from behind (west of) Mine Run, and aligned his army north to south from Germanna Ford to Shady Grove Church while it spent the night in the Wilderness. This change of plans by the Union leadership did not serve the army well. Not only were the Union forces spending the night in the Wilderness, "lax cavalry patrols" were causing leadership to be unaware of the proximity of Lee's Second Corps (Ewell).<ref name="Rhea93">{{harvnb|Rhea|2004|p=93}}</ref>