The Battle of the Wilderness opens Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign of 1864, when the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan and met Robert E. Lee in dense Virginia woodland. The broken ground limited artillery and visibility, producing close-range combat, confusion and fires that trapped wounded soldiers.
The fighting brought no clear tactical decision, but Grant’s response marked a strategic change. Rather than retreating after heavy losses, he moved south towards Spotsylvania, keeping sustained pressure on Lee and beginning the campaign that would eventually confine the Confederate army around Petersburg.
