Nowhere to Run: The Wilderness, May 4th & 5th, 1864

When the armies entered the Wilderness, they were changed forever. Within thirty-six hours after the Army of the Potomac began its attempt to flank the Army of Northern Virginia and attack Richmond, the armies became locked in combat. In two days of bloody fighting by disconnected and often confused but heroic forces, Lee fought Grant to a tactical draw at a cost of approximately 18,000 Union and an estimated 8,000 Confederate casualties.