062 - ”...Hell Can’t Beat That Terrible Scene”: Spotsylvania Court House

About this episode:

It was May 1864 and Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign was underway. After two days of violence in the Wilderness and a swing to the southeast, weary men from the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac found themselves eyeball to eyeball yet again. The fighting to come: savage, up close, personal, hand to hand. The consequences: bloody, even ghastly. This is the story of the most vicious episode of sustained combat ever to occur on the North American continent. This is the story of Spotsylvania Court House.

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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:

Gouverneur Warren

Richard S. Ewell

John B. Gordon

Wesley Merritt

Fitzhugh Lee

Philip Sheridan

Additional Resources:

Movements, May 7th-8th, 1864

Actions, May 8th, 1864

Situation 4 pm, May 9th, 1864

Actions, May 10th, 1864

Actions, May 12th, 1864

Movements, May 13th-14th, 1894

**Map Images by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW

For Further Reading:

The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7–12, 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea Esq.

Get The Guide:

Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.

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Producer: Dan Irving