SPOTSYLVANIA
May 10 - 12, 1864

After the battle of Wilderness, Grant attempted to march around Lee's right flank to Spotsylvania and thus place himself between his opponent and his capital, Richmond. Lee, however, anticipated the movement and Anderson, leading the vanguard, was just in time to hold off Grant's lead elements. On 9th May there was some skirmishing, during which Sedgwick, one of Grant's ablest commanders, was killed by a sniper but the main activity was Confederate troops digging into a strongly fortified position. Grant was left with three unpalatable alternatives. Do nothing (the McClellan gambit). This would allow Lee to detach troops elsewhere. Manoeuvre around Lee again (the Sherman/Grant gambit). This would simply postpone the confrontation, shortening Lee's lines of communication in the process. Assault the fortifications (the Burnside gambit). This would almost certainly lead to a bloody repulse.
To one of Grant's temperament, option three was really the only choice despite the risks. A major assault was planned for 5 pm. Warren appealed for permission to attack early, believing he saw the possibility of a breakthrough. Grant let him have his head but Warren was repulsed in what was to prove the pattern of the day. Colonel Emory Upton, however, came up with a plan to assault on a narrow front in 4 lines, not returning fire until the entrenchments were reached. He achieved a penetration but a supporting action by Wright's Division was routed and Upton had to fight his way out again.

Nevertheless, Grant was impressed with the idea and planned to repeat the whole manoeuvre on a grand scale using Hancock's Corps. The 11th was spent in preparation and on the 12th, the attack went in. Hancock was to attack the salient frontally, supported by Burnside to the east and Wright to the west. Warren was to attack further west in order to tie up more of Lee's troops. Initially, the attack succeeded well. An intelligence error had led Lee to believe that Grant was retreating and consequently the 22 guns in the salient had been withdrawn. General Edward Johnson ordered them back again but they were still being moved when the attack went in and nearly all were captured without firing a shot. Three generals, 30 guns and a full division of men were taken in the first rush. However, the penetration was not smooth, being held up by stubborn pockets of resistance and by the unfamiliar terrain and soon 20,000 men were packed into an extremely small area.
A counter-attack by Gordon slammed into the packed mass of men with devastating effect and the assault degenerated into close fighting across barricades. The salient, soon to be known as the "Bloody Angle", was the scene of some of the nastiest and most prolonged fighting in the war. From early morning until midnight, men fought at arm's length across the barricades. The hail of lead was such that an oak, fully two feet in diameter, was felled by small-arms fire. Burnside's supporting attack was a total failure, his men contenting themselves with long distance sniping. Wright's attack went in much more vigorously but his men were held at the barricades and joined Hancock's Corps in the close fighting. Warren's attack, on the Confederate left flank, was late getting under way and did not close in until 9 am. It was soon repulsed and this enabled Lee to send more troops across to the salient.
Despite the long day's fighting, Lee's position held but at the cost of about 6,000 killed, wounded or captured. Grant's total was similar and slightly higher at 6,820. As at Wilderness, Grant had failed to break Lee's veteran army but again he refused to concede defeat. After a further week of skirmishing he set off again for another rendezvous at Cold Harbor.