Battle of the Wilderness

Battle context

The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, opened Ulysses S. Grant's Virginia Overland Campaign — his sustained offensive against Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia aimed ultimately at Richmond. The engagement produced nearly 29,000 combined casualties without a decisive result, a pattern that would define the campaign: Grant absorbed heavy losses and continued advancing rather than withdrawing, as Union commanders had done after earlier bloody engagements in Virginia. That decision to disengage and press south rather than retreat marked a strategic shift in Union operations. The battle's inconclusive outcome and staggering toll signaled the war of attrition Grant intended to wage against Lee's army, grinding down Confederate strength that could not be easily replaced.