When the Blue Meets the Gray

XXI. A Bloody Affair

Date: Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. May 8 - 21, 1864

Andrew's POV:

We were tired and men were injured from the previous battle, but we knew we had a chance.

On the ninth of May, a day after the fighting at the courthouse started, General Grant sent the II Corps, led by General Hancock, to turn the Rebels left. Unfortunately, General Lee countered it the next day, and stopped our attempt.

That same afternoon, on the tenth, five Union divisions attacked the left center of the Confederates along a mile-wide front. We found that General Lee had reinforced his line, which held strong despite our attacks.

The Confederates had created a salient, most noticeable, line pointing towards us. Late in the night on the tenth, twelve Union regiments, led by Colonel Upton, assaulted the salient, daring a charge of 200 yards. The regiments were close to the center of the salient, and it looked like they would make it, but they were forced back by Confederate artillery. We congratulated Colonel Upton for his efforts, despite that his charge failed.

On the eleventh of May, still at the courthouse, General Stuart and his Confederate cavalry made a stand against a Union cavalry advancing to Richmond. They managed to succeed, both sides sustaining heavy casualties.

At dawn on the twelfth, General Hancock's corps attacked the salient once again, at the section that became called the Bloody Angle. He captured a majority of a rebel division, like in our battle only a week prior. General Lee tried to counterattack, but his soldiers ordered him to the rear, which I know I thought was an interesting move.

General Lee had General Hood try to force us back. For 20 hours, we fired at the Bloody Angle and eventually, General Lee ordered his men to fall back. They formed a new line a half-mile back that had been hastily fortified.

After days of heavy rain, General Grant shifted us to the left as he looked for weak points in the Confederate line. We attempted a surprise attack on the Confederates, but it failed, and we had more casualties.

The Confederates attacked us with a flank attack at Harris Farm, and both sides suffered a heavy loss.

It occurred to General Grant that we could not gain an advantage, so we disengaged and were ordered to continue our flanking march to the southeast, which would take us to Richmond.

As we marched, I noticed Elizabeth looking exhausted. Daniel was ahead, discussing something with our commanding officer, so I turned to her and asked, "How much sleep have you been getting?"

She shook her head. "Not as much as I would like, but that's the price I have to pay. I was up for most of the past couple nights stitching up wounds, trying to save men. Too many died."

"Yeah. This one was bloody. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, but I appreciate you asking. I think I just need rest."

"Daniel and I will make sure you do. How is Mary doing?"

"She was in shock at first, but she catches on quickly. She's an excellent nurse, and I'm grateful that she decided to volunteer."