Edward Porter Alexander, Military memoirs of a Confederate: a critical narrative

The story may now pause, to tell what had already taken place. Grant's effort was to pass our flank and get between us and Richmond. He had started after thorough preparation at midnight on the 3d, and in 18 hours had put most of his force with its artillery and fighting trains across the river, using five pontoon bridges. He had made about 12 miles, and might have made a few miles more, but preferred to encamp on the night of the 4th in close order and wait for the 9th corps, which, with the great bulk of the ordnance and subsistence trains, was still behind. This had been the most critical day, and, to Grant's relief, it closed without Lee's having made an appearance. The swiftness of a concentration is only that of its most distant part, and Ewell had been ordered to march slowly down the Turnpike, and let Hill, coming down the Plank road, get abreast of him, and both were directed not to bring on a general engagement until Longstreet's arrival.

So Ewell encamped the night of the 4th at Locust Grove, five miles from Wilderness Tavern, the centre of Grant's line. Hill's advanced division, Heth, encamped at Mine Run, about 13 miles from his battle-field of the next day.

On the 5th, Grant moved early, intending to take a line from Locust Grove to Parker's store. But at 7 A. M., the 5th corps met Ewell's corps within two miles of Wilderness Tavern. Ewell had his whole corps with him, about 17,000 men. Grant, guessing that the rest of our army was not up, thought to whip it in detail and concentrated upon it the whole of the 5th corps, about 24,000, and over half of the 6th, say 12,000.

It did, indeed, seem that Ewell had ventured rashly and had put his head in the lion's mouth, for the ground around Lacy's, where Grant made his headquarters, a half-mile southwest from Wilderness Tavern, was open, affording opportunity for artillery and free communication for movement of troops, and Ewell had no intrenchments and was strung out upon the road. It is not surprising that as Grant's different divisions deployed, and attacked from different directions, in the early part of the