Turning Lee’s Flank

Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia arrived at the North Anna River on May 22, 1864, and the next day the Union Army of the Potomac followed after maneuvering around the Confederates from the Wilderness through Spotsylvania Court House. Fighting raged along the river at Jericho Mill, Telegraph Road Bridge, Doswell House, and Ox Ford until May 26. Lee’s health declined just when his army needed him most, and while confined to his tent he urged that the enemy be struck before passing again. On May 27, however, the Federals turned Lee’s flank again and marched south, making the siege of Richmond he feared seem imminent and bringing the end of the Confederacy closer. Nearby civilians also suffered as Union soldiers plundered houses, carried off furniture and artwork, destroyed libraries, and scrawled graffiti on walls. Enslaved people who escaped through the lines brought useful intelligence to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who wrote that Lee’s army was really whipped and that success seemed already assured. A week later, the disastrous assault at Cold Harbor on June 3 dashed those hopes, and the struggle continued for another eleven months until the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Virginia · United States