Victory without Triumph

The Wilderness May 6th & 7th, 1864

John Michael Priest

• Publisher: Savas Publishing
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781940669557
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

In Victory Without Triumph: The Wilderness May 6th & 7th, 1864, John Priest meticulously details the vicious infantry fighting along the Plank Road, Longstreet's counterstrike against the II Corps, the cavalry operations of both armies near Todd's Tavern, and John B. Gordon's daring assault against the Army of the Potomac's right flank. Embellished with 38 detailed, two-color maps, Victory Without Triumph enables the reader to follow the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia through the last two days of the campaign which signaled the advent of Ulysses S. Grant into the Eastern theater of the war. John Priest has turned meticulous research into a gripping story that engages the reader from the very first page. No civil war studies collection can be considered complete without the acquisition of Victory Without Triumph.

ABLE OF CONTENTS

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE	“I don’t believe I ever saw troops behave so badly.”
May 6, 1864: Daylight to 6:00 A.M.—The Federal Assault on the Plank Road
CHAPTER TWO	“Sir, my men are not beaten; they only want a place to reform and fight.”
6:00 A.M. to 8:00 A.M.—The Fighting Around the Tapp Farm
CHAPTER THREE	“Remember your wives, your sweethearts, your sisters at home.”
8:00 A.M. to 11:30 A.M.—The Federal Assault Along the Plank Road Stalls
CHAPTER FOUR	“…the enemy ceased firing and stopped damaging the trees.”
6:00 A.M. to 4:00 A.M.—The Cavalry Engagements Along the Brock Road
CHAPTER FIVE	“Face the enemy; no Bull Run here.”
11:30 A.M. to Noon—Longstreet Flanks the Federals on the Plank Road
CHAPTER SIX	“This is the meanest thing I have ever seen…”
Noon to 5:30 P.M.—R. H. Anderson Continues the Attack to the Brock Road
CHAPTER SEVEN	“Halt! For God’s Sake, boys, rally!”
10:00 A.M. to Dark—Gordon and Johnston Flank the VI Corps
CHAPTER EIGHT	“I’d never believe that [the Federals] had such men as that in their army.”
May 7, 1864—The Federals Start South on the Brock Road

APPENDIX

ENDNOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

CKNOWLEDGMENTS

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My special thanks go out to the following individuals and institutions for their cooperation in making this book possible.

Mr. Donald Pfanz, historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Battlefield Park, read the first four chapters of the manuscript. His comments and advice were taken to heart. Mr. Pfanz also took my son and me on our first walking tour of the Wilderness. What a tremendous experience!

Mr. Paul Chiles, historian at Antietam National Battlefield, let me wade through the park’s microfilm copies of The National Tribune and gave me some valuable information on artillery projectiles.

Mr. Ted Alexander, historian at Antietam National Battlefield, generously opened the park’s library for my research.

Dr. Richard Sommers and his staff in the manuscripts department at the United States Army Military History Institute (USAMHI) were helpful in supplying me with manuscript material. Dr. Sommers also offered some valuable advice on verifying information which I had some questions about and also guided me to the Grand Army Scout and Soldiers’ Mail where I found two excellent accounts about the Wilderness.

Mr. Mike Winey and Mr. Randy Hackenburg, photograph division at USAMHI, once again opened their archives for my use. Most of the pictures in this book came from the collection at USAMHI.

Mr. Bryce Suderow generously provided me with his primary material on the cavalry in the Wilderness and lent me a copy of his monograph of the cavalry action there. He also supplied nominal lists of the Federal cavalry’s casualties, with their returns for the month of April 1864, and with the newspaper accounts for Confederate casualties.

Mr. John Horn shared his information on the 12th Virginia and Mahone’s brigade and on Longstreet’s wounding.

I would particularly like to thank Mr. and Mrs. G. B. Catlett of Spotsylvania, Virginia, who showed Mr. Suderow and me where the clash between Stuart and Custer occurred. They also pointed out locations of the Trigg, Stephens, and Rowe farms.

Mr. Wilmer D. Martin graciously gave me permission to use the diary of Thomas Alfred Martin, 38th North Carolina. Marjory G. Blubaugh granted me the use of the William Shaw Stewart reminiscences. Mr. Robert Trout, recognized expert on J. E. B. Stuart, provided information on Alexander Boteler. I am very grateful to all of them.

As always, the staffs of the Special Collections Department at Duke University and the Southern Historical Collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill went out of their way to make my visits there comfortable and profitable. Their friendly cooperation has always made my days spent with them pleasant.

The following institutions have also provided me with primary documents: Alabama State Archives, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Hampden-Sydney Library, Library of Congress, Michigan State University Press, the Museum of the Confederacy, the University of Georgia, the University of South Carolina, the University of Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society, Virginia Military Institute, and the Virginia State Archives.

Mr. James Kehoe, Antietam Gallery, Sharpsburg, Maryland, generously allowed me to work for him and write at the same time. Friends and employers like him are very rare indeed.

My longtime friend and colleague, William “Bill” Hilton loaned me any book which he had in his personal library as he had done for my earlier battle books. (Bill passed away on August 8, 1993.)

My wife and children deserve particular thanks for forfeiting my time with them so that I could do the research and writing necessary for the completion of this book. The Lord has blessed me more than abundantly with the fine family which He has given me.

NTRODUCTORY REMARKS

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Early in 1864 Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding the United States armies, prepared to launch an all out offensive against the Confederate armies. Major General William T. Sherman’s Union army in Tennessee was to leave Chattanooga and sweep into Georgia, intent upon destroying General Joseph Johnston’s Army of Tennessee before taking Atlanta. That would cut off troop movement and supply shipment intended to support the Confederate forces in Virginia and in the deep South. General Nathaniel Banks, commanding the Department of the Gulf, was to move north and besiege Mobile, Alabama. General Franz Sigel was to move his Federal army through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to destroy or capture Robert E. Lee’s major base of supply for his Army of Northern Virginia. Farther to the east, Major General Benjamin Butler and his Army of the James were to advance up the James River and invest Richmond and Petersburg. While those movements were occurring, Ulysses S. Grant, traveling with Major General George G. Meade, would take the bloodied Army of the Potomac across the Rapidan River along the Army of Northern Virginia’s eastern flank in an effort to keep Robert E. Lee away from Richmond. By positioning the Army of the Potomac between the Confederates and the east coast of Virginia, Grant could maintain a steady supply of material...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents