Grant’s Headquarters

On May 5, 1864, Grant and Meade occupied a knoll bordered by a second growth of scraggly pines and scrub oak, where they could see little of the battle and instead relied on subordinates to keep them informed about the fighting at the front. In the evenings they retired to their camp at the foot of the knoll between there and the Germanna Plank Road, modern Route 3, but otherwise they rarely left the spot. Over the next three days, as the two armies grappled in the deep woods, they remained there sending and receiving dispatches while feeding troops into the battle. Meade more than once lost his temper, while Grant outwardly stayed calm though his nervous cigar puffing and stick whittling showed the strain. Adam Badeau recalled that they spent most of the day on the hill waiting for further intelligence, sitting or lying on the ground, discussing the chances, studying maps, reading dispatches, and listening for renewed musketry.

Lake of the Woods, Virginia · United States