The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The fighting occurred in a wooded area near Locust Grove, Virginia, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Fredericksburg. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, nearly 29,000 in total, a harbinger of a war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. The battle was tactically inconclusive, as Grant disengaged and continued his offensive.
The Battle of Piedmont was fought June 5, 1864, in the village of Piedmont, Augusta County, Virginia. Union Maj. Gen. David Hunter engaged Confederates under Brig. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones north of Piedmont. After severe fighting, Jones was killed and the Confederates were routed. Hunter occupied Staunton on June 6 and soon began to advance on Lynchburg, destroying military stores and public property in his wake.
Jackson's Valley campaign, also known as the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862, was Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War. Employing audacity and rapid, unpredictable movements on interior lines, Jackson's 17,000 men marched 646 miles (1,040 km) in 48 days and won several minor battles as they successfully engaged three Union armies, preventing them from reinforcing the Union offensive against Richmond.
Turner Ashby Jr. was a Confederate cavalry commander in the American Civil War.
The Battle of Dranesville was a small battle during the American Civil War that took place between Confederate forces under Brigadier General J. E. B. Stuart and Union forces under Brigadier General Edward O. C. Ord on December 20, 1861, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as part of Major General George B. McClellan's operations in northern Virginia. The two forces on similar winter time patrols encountered and engaged one another in the crossroads village of Dranesville. The battle resulted in a Union victory.
The Battle of Front Royal, also known as Guard Hill or Cedarville, was fought on May 23, 1862, during the American Civil War, as part of Jackson's Valley campaign. Confederate forces commanded by Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson were trying to keep Union forces engaged in the Shenandoah Valley to prevent them from joining the Peninsula campaign. After defeating Major General John C. Frémont's force in the Battle of McDowell, Jackson turned against the forces of Major General Nathaniel Banks.
The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864. Union Army Major General Philip Sheridan defeated Confederate Army Lieutenant General Jubal Early in one of the largest, bloodiest, and most important battles in the Shenandoah Valley. Among the 5,000 Union casualties were one general killed and three wounded. The casualty rate for the Confederates was high: about 4,000 of 15,500. Two Confederate generals were killed and four were wounded. Participants in the battle included two future presidents of the United States, two future governors of Virginia, a former vice president of the United States, and a colonel whose grandson, George S. Patton became a famous general in World War II.
The Battle of Waynesboro was fought on March 2, 1865, at Waynesboro in Augusta County, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It was a complete victory for Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer and the final battle for Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early, whose force was destroyed.
The Pennsylvania Reserves were an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater, and fought in many important battles, including Antietam and Gettysburg.
Alanson Merwin Randol was a career United States Army artillery officer and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point who served in the American Civil War. He was promoted multiple times for gallant and meritorious service in battle, rising during the course of the war from the rank of second lieutenant to brevet brigadier general of volunteers.
The Thirteenth Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, also known as the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles, Kane's Rifles, or simply the "Bucktails," was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Pennsylvania Reserve division in the Army of the Potomac for much of the early and middle parts of the war, and served in the Eastern Theater in a number of important battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg.
The 1st Texas Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the "Ragged Old First," was an infantry regiment raised in Texas for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
George Dashiell Bayard was a career soldier in the United States Army and a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He was wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg and died the next day.
The 149th Pennsylvania Infantry, also known as the 2nd Bucktail Regiment, volunteered during the American Civil War and served a 3-year term from August 1862 to June 1865. Like their forerunners in the 1st Bucktail Regiment, each soldier wore a bucktail on his headwear as a trophy of marksmanship.
During the first year of the Civil War, the 1st Bucktails distinguished themselves as skirmishers and sharpshooters, and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton desired to raise an entire brigade of similar characteristics. Stanton enlisted Major Roy Stone of the 1st Bucktails to this task, and Stone raised 20 companies of recruits by the end of August 1862. These 20 companies became the 149th and 150th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiments.
The Regiment is most noted for its service and sacrifice on July 1, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg. One source reports 53 soldiers killed, 172 wounded, and 111 missing or captured out of 450 soldiers engaged for a total casualty rate of 74.7% at the epic Battle.
Colonel Percy Wyndham was an English soldier and adventurer who served in the armed forces of several countries and saw active service during the Italian Risorgimento and the American Civil War.
Hampton Sidney Thomas was a United States soldier who fought with the Union Army as a major in the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry during the American Civil War. He received his country's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his "conspicuous gallantry" on April 5, 1865, in the Battle of Amelia Springs, Virginia during which he captured an artillery battery and several enemy flags while also helping to destroy a wagon train of the Confederate States Army. The award was conferred on January 15, 1894.
The 5th New York Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 5th Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry and nicknamed the "1st Ira Harris Guards", was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment had a good fighting reputation, and had important roles in the Battle of Hanover and the Battle of the Wilderness. It was present at nearly 175 battles and skirmishes, including Gettysburg, Opequon, and Cedar Creek. A majority of its fighting was in Virginia.
The 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was present for 50 battles, beginning with the Battle of Hanover in Pennsylvania on June 30, 1863, and ending with a skirmish at Rude's Hill in Virginia during March 1865. A majority of its fighting was in Virginia, although its first major battle was in Pennsylvania's Gettysburg campaign. It was consolidated with the 22nd Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment on June 24, 1865, to form the 3rd Provisional Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment.
The 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Most of its fighting happened in the last half of 1863 and full year 1864. The regiment fought mainly in West Virginia and Virginia, often as part of a brigade or division commanded by Brigadier General William W. Averell and later Brigadier General William Powell.
Charles Frederick Taylor was an American soldier who served as colonel and commanding officer of the Union Army's 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, which formed part of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. He was killed in action at the Battle of Gettysburg while leading a pursuit of retreating Confederates at the edge of The Wheatfield. He was the brother of author Bayard Taylor.
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