Editing Battle of the Wilderness (section)

===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"/>