First Blood in Saunders Field

Shortly after noon on May 5, the 140th New York Infantry became the first regiment to advance against Confederates in Saunders Field when its battleline burst from the woods to the right rear. Undaunted by devastating Confederate fire, the 529 New Yorkers sprinted across the field and assailed the Confederates along the woodline ahead, but supporting units caught in the tangled woods north of the field could not keep pace. Confederate fire then raked the 140th's exposed right flank. For perhaps 30 minutes, the regiment clung to its foothold in the woods before retreating with nearly half its men shot or captured. Its advance marked the first bloodletting in what became two days of savage fighting in and around Saunders Field.

Lake of the Woods, Virginia · United States