ABOUT WILDERNESS

At dawn on May 4, 1864, the Army of the Potomac reached Germanna Ford, initiating the spring campaign. Unlike previous campaigns, Ulysses S. Grant now led the Union forces, with George Meade officially in command. Grant, holding the new rank of lieutenant-general, aimed to target Lee’s army wherever it moved.

The Confederates began the 1864 campaign eager for revenge after Gettysburg, despite being outnumbered and undersupplied. Leadership issues arose as A. P. Hill and Richard S. Ewell struggled in their roles, leaving only Longstreet as an experienced corps commander for Lee.

Grant restructured his army into three corps under Generals Warren, Sedgwick, and Hancock, plus Burnside’s independent Ninth Corps, totaling 120,000 troops versus the Confederate 62,000.

Thus would begin what would be known as Grant’s Overland campaign.