Spotsylvania Battlefield

Begin your journey to Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield at the Exhibit Shelter. The interpretive panels here provide an overview of the battle and the consequences of this long engagement.

The Harrison House was one homesite on the Spotsylvania Battlefield. From here on May 12, Confederate General John B. Gordon stopped General Robert E. Lee from leading a counterattack against the Union Army inside the Mule Shoe Salient. Gordon launched the attack himself. Only portions of the house foundation remains.

The McCoull House Site was located in the middle of the Confederate line known as the Mule Shoe Salient. Heavy fighting swept around this area on May 10, 12, and 18. Even before the battle, the lives of the residents here changed due to the war as the people enslaved here fled to Federal lines. Only the house's outline remains today.

US General Ambrose Burnside's 9th Corps assaulted Heth's Salient on the east side of the Mule Shoe. Confederate General Henry Heth's soldiers repulsed Burnside's attack. Today, the remains of the earthworks are tucked away in the woods nearby.

Federal and Confederate forces battled in this area on May 12 at the same time the Bloody Angle fighting occurred. The earthworks that remain from the battle here are some of the best preserved in the park.

On May 12 Union General Grant captured the tip of the Mule Shoe Salient. For the following 22 hours, hand-to-hand and close range fighting ensued. The fighting concentrated around a slight bend in the trenches that became known as the Bloody Angle.

The Fredericksburg Road became the lifeline for the United States Army, allowing Grant to bring up supplies and reinforcements. Robert E. Lee tried to cut the Army of the Potomac's access to this road on May 19 with attacks here and at the Harris Farm. Lee was ultimately unsuccessful and the US maintained control of the road and continued to move south.

On May 10, Colonel Emory Upton led 5,000 United States soldiers in a column attack on a part of the Confederate line known as the Mule Shoe Salient. Though unsuccessful, this assault would be the inspiration for the larger assault on the Confederate line on May 12, 1864.