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Battle of the Wilderness, Federal Lines on North Side of Orange Plank Road, Photo

About This Image

The Battle of the Wilderness was the first major battle in Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign. Between May 5 and 7, 1864, the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George Meade, engaged the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, in a tangled area of dense forest and undergrowth in east-central Virginia, locally known as the Wilderness. Although both sides suffered heavy casualties, the battle was tactically inconclusive; neither army could claim a major victory. The battle ended when Grant ordered Meade to disengage, to march his army around Lee’s lines, and to forge farther into Confederate territory.  

Source and Copyright

CreatorPhotographed by a member of the field staff organized by M. B. Brady and possibly by George N. Barnard.
MediumBlack and White Photograph
SourceLibrary of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
CollectionCivil War Photograph Collection
NumberLC-DIG-ppmsca-23673
CopyrightPublic Domain
DisclaimerCourtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. There is no known restriction on the publication of this image.