The Race for Spotsylvania Court House

After two days of vicious fighting in the Wilderness, the armies trudged south toward Spotsylvania Court House. The Union army marched along the Brock Road, while the Confederates used a series of paths and country roads farther to the west. For both sides it was a miserable march, as deprived of sleep, sweat-soaked soldiers stumbled over narrow, dusty roads and in many places the woods beside the road caught fire, filling the air with suffocating smoke. On the morning of May 8, as Union soldiers approached Spotsylvania Court House, they learned that Confederate forces held the ridge one-quarter mile ahead, blocking their way. The Federals repeatedly attacked the position but could not drive the Confederates from it. What had started as a race to Spotsylvania ended in a two-week struggle for the village.

Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia · United States