Hell On Earth: The Battle Of The Wilderness
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Since the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863, the two, George Gordon Meade and Robert E. Lee, and their respective armies had shadowboxed down in Central Virginia. The sparring continued throughout the fall and winter, but in spring, there was a new federal presence, and he meant business.
General-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant now wore a third star; the first true lieutenant general since George Washington, and rather than be mired in political intrigue in the capital, he chose to travel with Meade's Army of the Potomac. Before, Union generals ordered the Army of the Potomac forward, gave battle, retreated, and then sat on its haunches for months at a time before the next offensive.
That would not be the case come spring of 1864. U.S. Grant was going to give battle and do so in relentless fashion, and so in May, he launched a campaign unlike anything the Federal Army of the Potomac had ever experienced before.
This is the story of the first battle in what would be called "The Overland Campaign." This is the story of the first encounter between Lee and Grant.
#civilwar #civilwarhistory #robertelee #ulyssesgrant
Narrated by Fred Kiger
Produced by Dan Irving
Published by Third Wheel Media
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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Winfield Scott Hancock
Ulysses S. Grant
Gouverneur K. Warren
Charles Griffin
James Wadsworth
Ambrose Burnside
James Longstreet
Richard Stoddert Ewell
I just cannot imagine this type of fighting. Mass infantry formations firing volleys at each other. Horrendous casualties. Yet the survivors went on. It is truly remarkable.
It began to change, somewhat, late in the war. The fighting at LRT on July 2 was broken up by the terrain in Devil's Den, and both sides began to build entrenchments and breastworks. The CSA, out of necessity created by manpower shortages, began fighting in "open order" - infantry spread out much more than the previous shoulder-to-shoulder line of battle. Much of the fighting in the Wilderness was broken up due to the nature of the terrain.
The tactics of the time were originally used because the older smoothbore muskets were very inaccurate, and condensed lines and volley fire produced the most efficient method of killing with these weapons. The rifle muskets, which began appearing with more frequency right after the war started, were far more accurate and from longer ranges. Some will say that the ACW was the first modern war. In truth, it was more like the last of the Napoleonic Wars.
Edit: Just to note the Henry Heth's name is misspelled early in the video.
The young in every generation believe death and other bad things happen to everyone but them. That is why survivors were able to always move on to the next battle, for the most part.
I wish technology wouldn't gmhave advanced past this. These were men of Honor
@@dannypickering5623 Indeed. Napoleonic infantry formations against then modern weapons. The British found this out the hard way when during the battle of the Somme they suffered over 19,000 dead in one day. It had to have been awful....
@@michaelnaretto3409the British already knew what the Mauser rifle could do, but they launched the battle of the Somme in order to get the French 'off the hook'!
When I was a kid I went to a cemetery in Mississippi where a lot of my relatives were buried. I found graves for my great, great, great grandmother and her children but not her husband. Four of the nine children died as infants. Always wondered what happened to him. Turns out he was a Capt in the 26th Mississippi under A.P. Hill and was killed in the Battle of the Wilderness and his body never made it home. Thanks for sharing.
my x3 great uncle was a Union sharpshooter who was highly decorated for his service at the Wilderness. It's still crazy to think that most Americans have a connection to that war and very few of us know the details. How many times did you meet a stranger and shake their hand in the last 10 years. Chances that one of our great great great grand daddy killed the others great great great grand daddy are not impossible odds. Just wild to think about.
Salute to your family
Late war civil war battles are so overlooked by history, the whole tempo of the war had changed, nothing to celebrate in the papers, just absolute and total carnage
War of attrition.
Yes, definitely a War of Attrition. But, the War of Attrition was a Plan B or C for Grant, not his Plan A of preference.@@davidbell1619
In 7th grade, our teacher shared a diary of a local boy, a private that fought from the wilderness to Appomattox. Very lucky to have survived the war. Thomas Gillis.
The intro at 1:27 describes the vegetative difficulty facing the troops in this battle. Having grown up in Virginia, and as a lover of the wilds in which my companions and I bushwhacked through portions of the multi-state region, I can attest to the great difficulty the vegetation may pose. The most difficult I encountered lay in the Great Smokey Mountains where thick groves of rhododendrons and azaleas grow densely, their branches entwined among the multitude of plants. Forging through their interlocked woody fiber is as if they consist of steel cables built to prevent passage.
Sir you’re an excellent writer!
@@waleedzq Thank you. The narrator inspired me!
Virginia son here, you ain’t lying
And poison ivy. Lots and lots of poison ivy.
@@fazole Yeah! At the time it didn’t affect me. That changed.
“Keep cool, keep cool, we’ll straighten this out in a short while “ James Longstreet
This is the greatest narration of a battle I ever heard. Good work, I would like to hear some other battles described.
i'm not quit e shur... Usur???
Echoes of Bruce Catton's 'A Stillness at Appomattox' in this narration. If you can choose one book to read on the American Civil War, read that one. Catton writes in such a way that it feels as if you were on the battlefield, watching history happen live. Well done!
First book on Civil War I ever read. My dad had it.
I'm a history lover of all military history no matter where, and must say finding this channel by chance it is frigging awesome. Yes I'm British lol and a fan of the Ken Burns civil war series, this channel is the filler and should be recommended by any and all who wants a true and not glossed over history of the American Civil War. History is not pretty nor should the teaching of it be, thank you to everyone involved in this channel.
You referred to one of Grant's generals as Winfield Scott Hancock, but the photo that accompanied the text showed Winfield Scott, a much older general.
@3:03 exactly. Winfield Scott was the head of the Army during the Mexican War 2 decades before, and the same who offered R.E.Lee overall command of the US Army in 1861.
Look who they have for Heath. OWH
Stopped watching right at that incorrect picture. Entire historical credibility is lost.
Nothing better on this Saturday afternoon but to sip on my coffee spark one and listen to greatness!
Thanks for sharing!
Amen
When Ewell's men dutifully followed Lee's order not to bring on a general engagement , I wonder if Heth's failure to do likewise at Gettysburg , and its consequences , was on their minds.
Another great episode in your telling of the story of the civil war , thank you.
Heth did carry out Lee's order not to bring on a general engagement at Gettysburg. Pettigrew's brigade withdrew in order not to do so on 30 June. On 1 July, Heth marched to Gettysburg on Hill's authority- with both under the impression that they would not do so either. When they ran into a battle with Buford, Hill referred to Lee- who escalated the battle himself.
I read somewhere that after 3 years off not persuing the Confederates after a major battle the Union troop cheered when they learned after the Battle of the Wilderness that they were heading south to chase the Confederates rather then back north to lick their wounds in camp which is what all the other generals had done to this point. My 2nd great grandfather fought in this battle.
Gordon Rhea cites that in his book on the Wilderness
Grant knew he would not stop until the thing was finished. Lee couldn't afford to lose any men. Even in a battlefield victory. His losses were never sustainable by 1864.Grant had more Men,more logistics, more everything. HE was called a butcher by his own men.Especially after Cold Harbor.
@@waynelayton8568 I understand there were near mutiny's in the Union ranks after Cold Harbor when the troops were ordered to do frontal assaults. Make you wonder how they took it as long as they did.
This channel is going to explode. Remember me, i was here since 20k
The smell of burning flesh coming from the fires was almost unbearable fortunately for us the wind was blowing the other way
Colonel William C Oates
15th Alabama Infantry
This was very informative and good . Thanks for your narrative of the Battle of the Wilderness.
💯👍
As a European this series is my first detailed look at the American Civil war. I feel blessed I can learn about it via this excellent channel.
We do get taught the general flow of this war but it doesn't have much importance to us unless you look at it in a geopolitical way over a 100 years timeframe and general history education doesn't seem to have that kind of scope. 😁
Lee defeated Grant.
@@marknewton6984 Boy, I've been dealing with REAL neo-nazi's and their re-writing of history my whole life. I'm completely unimpressed by your little white power tantrums. Now pretend like you're smart and shut up when your betters are talking.
It was a combination of things that led to Lee and the South's overall defeat, the same things that would lead to Ally victories in WW1 and WW2 with things like the cutting off of oil to Japanese forces and the strategic bombing campaigns of both Europe and the Pacific. Destroy your enemy's ability to wage war (his logistics) and then keep hammering by any means possible.
At the start of the video Grant took measures to outnumber Lee's army 2 to 1, and while he lost over 17,000 of those guys in a couple of days they could be replaced while the South had very little more to give Lee; particularly at this stage of the war when the Union had won the war out west and controlled the Mississippi River and had cut the Confederacy in half. Grant also ended all prisoner exchanges, which makes sense when you look at from that point of view of starving the South logistically. Soon Sherman would begin his march to the sea and destroy Confederate railways and weapon manufacturing factories, and burn the captured metropolis of Atlanta Georgia to the ground.
Another difference was how Lee was on the front lines rallying his men, prepared to go in with the Texans before he was told to get back. That part of the battle almost sounds romantic. Meanwhile Grant sat in his headquarters, smoked twenty cigars, whittled some wood, and told his guys to keep hammering. It wasn't so much as Grant versus Lee but the future versus the past. The narrator said it best, that the civil war was about to become an uncivil war. What isn't talked about are the amount of dead from 1861 to 1864 before Grant took command. However many lives were lost in the battles Grant commanded his body count did not outweigh the failures of previous Union commanders. And despite its "uncivility" the war would ultimately end a year later. In the meantine Grant would be called a butcher and Lincoln would be pressured that Grant be replaced; Lincoln's reply was that he cannot spare this man - he fights.
Its accepted by many that Grant was the first modern US general. When you look at future generals and how they commanded their forces, there was never: "We fought a couple days and lost 17% of our forces. Time to go back home." War is hell but, in my opinion, if you still have the resources and the know how to strategically win then you grit your teeth and continue regardless of the losses. It was that kind of mentality US troops had when they stormed Omaha beach and Mount Suribachi, and its the same mentality Grant used to defeat Lee. There is no romance to it, all war is hell. The Battle of the Wilderness and what the survivors had experienced was a badly needed wakeup call.
@@ndp7054Thank you for your comment mate.
What you describe is more or less what I'm taking away from this series.
I remember a few episodes back, I think it was in the episode about Antietam, that mr. Kiger in his dramatic way, said that it was the highest losses in a battle thus far.
I remember looking up a ranking for battles in the war and thinking: "those poor guys had no idea what's coming next."
I think you may have to revisit that statement!@@marknewton6984
Excellent narration, sir.
Your delivery of this nasty, ruthless battle was fascinating and kept me on the edge of my seat.
I remember watching a documentary video with reenactors about the wilderness battle that followed a very similar narrative path. The double summersault comment unlocked a deep childhood memory.
Warren reminds me of my old Manager… The great narrator kept me up until 1am. It was well worth it. ty
Two of my Confederate grandfathers were wounded at the battle of the wilderness …
Captain Bird, 15th South Carolina Infantry (Kershaw’s Brigade)
Lt. Hennington, 16th Mississippi Infantry
Another masterful telling of the Overland Campaign primarily from the union perspective is " A stillness at Appomattox". By Bruce Catton whose series of civil war volumes is among the best of the civil war histories.
Great job. Thank you sir.
Thank you for posting this video. I will share it! ....Two of my great great grandfather's fought in the Wilderness. One was wounded and then later captured. The other survived the battle but was wounded at Spotsyvania Court House and then captured.
What a powerful narration. Riveting, strong, and solemn
Good documentaries but it would benefit by maps showing where the fighting occurs, as the narrative moves through the battle.
Fair comment, but there are plenty of books with campaign maps. I am fortunate to have the Time Life edition of Civil War maps which I use in conjunction with documentaries.
Great documentary!!!
Very few have your expertise in presenting history. Nicely done, Fred. I've had the opportunity to view several of yours. Always keeping us riveted. Thanks
Thank you so much for these vidoes and the very good naratoion . So real you feel like you are there. Bravo
Wonderfull story telling. For a fleeting moment I fell present. You make history come a live.
Great video that I use in the classroom along with A Teenager’s Guide to the Civil War: A History Book for Teens.
Really great video! I enjoyed the story telling of it.
Another masterpiece!
Subscribed! Love this stuff. Thanks for creating.
Thank you for the support
22:55 I've never heard this before , what a savage expedient, the Confederates propped up wounded Union soldiers on trees in front of their positions to hopefully prevent their comrades from shooting, but it did not work
RIP
To the 2,246 Union troops and 1,477 Confederate troops who were killed in the Battle of the Wilderness
Great video!
..Superb..! Those deep tangled woods used to be a relic hunting paradise for us diggers.
What a fantastic find. Thank you
I'm going to guess that there were 70-80 pics featured here and yet most of the comments are gleefully pointing out the one pic that got the name wrong, an honest mistake given that the names are nearly identical. If these guys had served on opposing sides in the war, that might have made it more of a blatant mistake, but anyway, a gold star to all of the pedantic scholars on the job here. Yay..
So, when teaching about history, when mistakes are made, nobody should point them out, so that viewers don't get notified of the error, and pass it on? Have a gold star. Yay.
Winfield Scott Hancock, mentioned around 3 minute mark, and then Winfield Scott picture is shown.
Charles sedgwick also at 5 minute mark
When you two do your research, collect images, record a video and offer all of your time and effort for free, you can correct these absurdly minor infractions.
@@TheWartHawg If this is used for education, then they need to know there is an error, they can correct the error. I didn't belittle them, unlike you to me.
@@laramos3096 no, you aren’t claiming a moral high ground here. Nitpicking someone’s free labor isn’t kind. You have no idea how many hours goes into something like this and if “dat pickshure ain’t raite” is the extent of your feedback, you need to create your own content.
Be better or open yourself up to nitpickers and do a better job yourself.
@@TheWartHawg - I think you're out of line. laramos3096 was just pointing out an error that could be corrected in the video. I was going to do the same thing even though I love the channel and the content. It's an opportunity for someone to improve their work.
My third great grandfather was captured during this battle. He was then one of the “immortal 600”.
They have a plaque beside the road in tombs county ga!!!! Remembering those men and that’s what they are called immortal 600 the union was full of dirty tricks in that war !!!!! This was just a prime example !!!!!
Great presentation, the story without biased. Best way to learn history.
Definitely had a confederate bias as I listened to it. Not that I care either way. But it did.
One of my favorite books growing up as a kid was No Mans Land which one of the characters fought in the Wilderness.
Very good overall. BUT there's a major blunder in the video at 3.20. When he's talking about Winfield Scott Hancock, you show a pic of Winfield Scott - a completely different person (admittedly it's confusing). The senior man (WS) is an old hero from the Mexican war who was retired by this point. The younger (WSH) was very much an active General in Meade's army.
Nope he was actually still in office at the on set of the war. He actually had a part in the planning of the anaconda plan to blockade and stop trade in the South
A officer*
The younger Hancock was all over Cemetery Ridge, more so than Meade!
@@marknewton6984 I'd say you are correct, but also that Meade, as the commander of the army, did the right thing by staying where messengers from his subordinate generals would reach him without the delays caused by endless searching for him by runners. It was also necessitated by the Army of the Potomac's supplies being far off, so he had to deal with that, too.
Perhaps Lincoln's most unfair criticism was of Meade for failing to pursue Lee without any logistical support or time to reorganize. Starving troops with little ammunition weren't going to do much, especially if they followed Lee down the path his army had foraged bare. Shrug. Lincoln was the best available person to be president at the time, but he did have some flaws, same as everyone else.
Meade was mediocre but Lincoln was wrong about pursuing Lee after Gettysburg. Lee would have slaughtered him. Perhaps Lincoln confused him with McClellan or Pope. Grant was called in to mop up and it became a war of attrition. Thanks, Jefferson Davis-- for nothing!
Yeah the picture of Winfield Scott as others have said was an error but that one error should not tarnish the whole video or series. Short content like this is good for all history buffs especially with shorter attention spans. Thank you
There is a memorial stone in Oak Spring Cemetery in Canonsburg Pennsylvania for a Union soldier that was lost in the Battle of the Wilderness, his body never recovered. So heartbroken was his mother, that she kept the candle burning nightly in a window with the hope that he might return. Co. D 1Oth Pa. Reserves. Corp. James McCahon.
I used to play paintball at warplay next to the Wilderness battlefield, it lived up to the brutal reputation of thickets from hell.
I used to live near the battlefields, the earthworks are impressive.
The views breathtaking and the history horrifying.
Bravo. Well done documentary. Everytime inhear of thebtexas brigade i get chills down my spine as those boys tough. I believe it was general Lee that said if i had a division of texans no army could stop me
You can tell a great story 👍
Gordons attack was not stopped by any arrival of reinforcements.. He was still driving them as the union soldier stated just as they were at Chickamauga or at Chanslorsville as fast as they could run past nightfall at which time they had to just simply stop rather than kill their own men in the dark and if he had been allowed by the incompetent Early and Ewell to proceed when he first requested to in the morning, his overwhelming victory and rolling ip of Sedgwick would have admittedly resulted in a very likely defeat and retreat of the Union Army at the Wilderness possibly at least half the way to DC. Grant would have obviously had to pull at keastvan entire Core from somewhere who were all completely involved up the line. Spotsylvania and 2nd Cold Harbor might never have happened .
That way they could of eaten acorns for a few more months in 1865...
@@t.j.payeur5331 lol Spot on. I'm going to take the liberty of using your line...
My great grandfathers older brother was wounded listed missing. He was missing because he went home to recover and was done with the war. 5 brothers joined the 48th VA . Of the 5 Two died in the war, my 3x great grandfather Samuel Calton and his 18 yr old youngest brother Elias Calton who died at military hospital in Richmond, VA
My G-G-Grandfather, John McCall enlisted as a private with Company H, 10th Georgia Infantry Regiment, Wilcox County Rifles, on 20 May, 1861. He was promoted to 4th Corporal on 15 June, 1861 and to First Lieutenant on 2 December, 1864. John W. McCall saw action in the following engagements: Seven Days Battle; Gettysburg; THE WILDERNESS; Spotsylvania Court House; and the Shenadandoah Valley Campaign. G.M., BT3, USN; HSC, USCG, (Ret.)
Relentless.
Very detailed and inclusive. Thx!
Thanks
Clear! True! History
Need to run errands. I'll be back to finish
..this is one hell of a narrative...reminds me of Ed Bearss...Great...!!
Why did the southerners capitulate when their army surrendered? No resistance? No insurgency? Just submission. Odd.
Why not show a photo of Hancock, who was at Gettysburg, instead of Winfield Scott, who was not, at 3:22?
Ambrose Burnside, not Burnsides.
Henry Heth, not Heath.
I bet he put the picture of old Winfield Scott in just to get people worked up and get them into the comment section. Thats probably why this video is getting attention from the algorithum right now
This is a great earnest documentary. The people who did it have a lot of love for history. And so many smart alex are thinking there. So brilliant by pointing out that there is a wrong picture. Instead, they should read the comments and see that it's already been noted. They could really just ignore it and accept that
My 3x Great Grandfather died May 5th 1864; the first day of the battle
On the second night of this campaign General Lee comes up with a genius idea and created a v type trench fortification to draw in the federals at the same time blocking them from reinforcement i believe Lee was out numbered 50,000 to 100,000 and still won that battle though listed as inconclusive. I have a few buttons from Lees north anna camp i did videos on.
Whoops at 3:34. Winfield Scott != Winfield Scott Hancock.
At 24k subscribers, he's probably not monetized. So free labor it is Sparky
I had a family member pierce l Alford who fought and died in that battle.
My Lord knows the way thru the wilderness All of have to do is follow!
3x Great Uncle Mansford Calton was wounded at Gettysburg, captured sent to prison camp Maryland I believe
Anyone notice that by this time the whole brigade had 850 men. A brigade is officially suppose to have 5,000 men and these men moved a whole corps
Regiments and brigades are usually made anew rather than replaced or refitted. The south, by this time, is running very low on man power and can't replace them at all really. But once a regiment is considered combat ineffective due to losses, it's usually consolidated with another from the same state
Sideburns are named after General Burnside… probably
Man, Hancock looked really old at 40.
Put Hood's division in ,Texan's always move them!! Robert E Lee
Like these, but some of the photos and names are incorrect. Otherwise, love the content!
Battle wasn't hell.
Battle was nightmare, battle was awful, battle was wishing for the end, battle was living become worse then death....
Hell? Hell was reprieve for these man.
Cold Harbor? Murder.
Now it's time for some ice cream
Winfield Scott is not Hancock. His last name us Scott. The highest ranking union soldier at the beginning of the war!
Lincoln said, i like Grant.He fights
History is the story of WARS.
After Gettysburg and the failed pursuit of Lee back into Virginia, Lincoln told Meade to his face that Meade's pursuit of Lee reminded Lincoln of an old woman chasing geese across a river.
That explains, to a great extent but not completely, the choice of Grant. Unfortunately, Grant''s decision to go at Richmond overland was a very predictable failure of logistics.
Lincoln couldn't stand Meade and promoted him sideways, a military insult.
Imagine Stonewall at Gettysburg!
I often do.
When you kick over a hornets nest, you ain't gonna get honey. God bless the CSA veterans protecting home and hearth. Thank you for your service.
Thank You Jesus, hatred & wickedness did not prevail. God bless our Union!
Wouldn't have needed to protect home and hearth if they hadn't foolishly followed the lead of people who wanted a war simply to ensure that they could own other people for all eternity. When you "honor" the rebels, be honest and admit that they didn't join to protect their land, they joined to serve the aristocracy and it's need to maintain power and control over other humans.
@@NobodyNeedstoknow-bq5px it was more about congressional representation and the norths 3/5 rule of counting slaves, Democrat shenanigans then as now.
@@georgemacdonell2341 Slaves should have NEVER been counted since they had no rights, had no vote and were considered nothing but property. It's no different than pretending that dogs should have been counted as people just so that Southern states could get political representation that they in no way should have. The 3/5 wasn't the Norths rule, but was in fact created by the South so they could retain political power by claiming they had more population than they actually had under their own definition of what a person was.
@@RT-tn3pu the north prevailed, so did wickedness and hatred, that's why we call it the war between the yankees and the Americans, the Americans lost so now we have a federal bastard mutant form of government, nothing like the original one.
Walking in the tangled mess behind this place I say to myself, don't complain...the Wilderness was much worse.
If Sherman led this, would have the overland campaign have been so deadly?
and...well...it was Burnside. 🤣😂
So, you show a picture of WINFIELD SCOTT when talking about 40 year old WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK?
And I’m the one who needs history lessons?
DIsplaying a photo of Winfield Scott while describing Winfield Scott Hancock is unforgivable.
Agreed - yes people aged faster back then but NOT that fast 😉
Guessing he has someone helping him edit and add pictures to these videos that didn't know the difference
Is that really Henry Heath ???
I thought the hero of little round top was Lawrence Chamberlain. I think you err here.
isnt that Winfield Scott and not Winfield Scott Hancock at the #3:23 mark? Dont think Winfield Scott was at The Battle of the Wilderness or any battle in Civil War.
Oops! At 3:28 the video begins describing Winfield Scott Hancock as one of Grant's lieutenants. The picture, however, is of the General who inspired the name, Winfield Scott, also a revered figure in the Union army, who was too old and out of shape to take field command when the war broke out.
Why is Winfield Scott shown? He and Winfield Scott Hancock are two different people.
You have Oliver Wendell Holmes picture listed as Harry heath. AI make this?
Winfield Scott and Winfield Scott Hancock were different people. You showed a photo of the former.
This was a fantastic video as I am watching it war pigs Black Sabbath come on God help us all????
I really enjoy your videos but there are so many small mistakes. It Burnside, not Burnsides. Early in the video you're talking about Winfield Scott Hancock and then a picture of old Winfield Scott is shown. It's spelled Heth, not Heath.
You promote a ununifed america. Admiral Nimitz , George Patton, every Doug mcather
When you call a commander by first given name tells you that it was a mistake and a disaster in the making. You need Grizzly Bears 🐻 not best buddies for command.
This sounds like Dan Carlin