New-York tribune., 1918-06-30
Carried Grants Word
That He Had Begun
Wilderness G a M
paign and ''Would
Not Turn Back"
By Henry E. Wing

By Henry E. Wing
nN MAY 4, 1864, great army
Of citizen soldiers, comprising
representatives of hundreds
of thousands Of families from every
Northern community, had vanished
without warning, leaving absolutely
no sign of their destination or hint
even of the direction in which they
had disappeared. There followed
three or four days of such heart
breaking apprehension and bewilder-
erment as the loyal nation had never
before experienced. / did not then
comprehend, and probably cannot yet
quite appreciate, the tension of pain
full anxiety that held the whole coun-
try in its grip and which it became
my good fortune later to relieve.
1t may be noted that this slipping
away of the army from all communi
cation with the capital was inten
tional and deliberate. A study of
previous Advances" under the sur
veillance of parties in authority in
experienced in military affairs, will
disclose one motive for bringing
Grant East to take personal charge
of this campaign. This will also
furnish the key to the letter from
the President to him, written d short
week before the movement was made,
in which he says: "The particulars
of your plans l neither know nor
seek to know"
Beginning the Campaign
BY the Left Flank
The great campaign "by the left
flank" that was to end at Appomat-
tox nearly year afterward was
begun from about Culpeper on the
carly morning of May a, 1864. "The
objective point" Grant had written
to Meade, "will be Lees army.
Where he goes there you will go
also" Lees army was at and about
Orange Court House. Between Cul-
pepper and this first collective point"
moving by the left, possibly to get
between Lee and his capital-fowed
the Rapidan River, and beyond that
stretched the almost impenetrable
"wilderness."
The immediate undertaking was
to get the Union army of more than
one hundred thousand men over into
the open country before Lee could
intercept it. This was no small
task. There were actually but two
miserable and narrow roads: one
across Germania Ford and by Old
Wilderness Tavern, toward Spott-
sylvania, the other across Ely's
Ford and skirting the wilderness
to Charlottesville. Over these two
highways, for an average distance
of twenty-five miles, before Lee
could fall upon them, were to be
pushed something like thirty miles
of marching infantry, ten miles of
cavalry, five miles of artillery and
sixty miles of army wagons. It is
evident that the key to the success
of this initial movement was push.
The second corps (Hancock's) es-
corted by Gregg's division of cav
airy. crossed at Ely's Ford in the
early morning MAY ~ and reached
the open country, near Chancellors-
vile, about noon. Here, in splen-
did position for a great battle, Han
.-N.ck spent the afternoon intrench-
sng and extending his lines west
ward to get certainly between Lee
and Richmond. Meanwhile Warren
with his Fifth Corps crossed at Ger
mania Ford and worked his way
down by the Tavern till he reached
the junction Of the Orange Cou-t
House Turnpike. Instead of push
ing right on and joining Hancock he
halted here, and got into position for
a Iessible. attack by Lee, leaving
Sedgwick with his Sixth Corps "bot-
tied up" in the narrow road two or
three miles behind him, and Han
cock cut off from all support five or
six miles in front. Here, on Thurs
day morning, May 5, Lee found us.
Ard mere ensued the dreadful Battle
ef The Wilderness
] am not writing history of that