Last updated: May 3, 2022
Place
Higgerson Farm
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
The US attacks on the afternoon of May 5th extended south from Saunders Field into the adjoining fields and woods. Widow Permelia Higgerson, her four children and two enslaved people lived in a small house near here, eking out an existence amidst the Wilderness.
The farm was directly in the path of a Pennsylvania brigade as it swept forward to engage with the Confederates. When the Federals advanced across her property, Permelia Higgerson rushed from her house and taunted them. One soldier remembered that she “expressed her view on matters in strong language” and predicted the “pack of cowardly Yankees” would soon return in retreat.
“We didn’t pay much attention to what she said,” he admitted, “but the result proved that she was right.” While mired in a swamp west of the farm, the Pennsylvanians were surprised by a brigade of Georgians and forced to retreat or be captured. As the initial US offensive in the Wilderness sputtered out, it seemed Grant’s desire for quick, decisive action was ill-advised.
The Higgerson house burned in 1938, but its site may be viewed by following the path from the road.
The farm was directly in the path of a Pennsylvania brigade as it swept forward to engage with the Confederates. When the Federals advanced across her property, Permelia Higgerson rushed from her house and taunted them. One soldier remembered that she “expressed her view on matters in strong language” and predicted the “pack of cowardly Yankees” would soon return in retreat.
“We didn’t pay much attention to what she said,” he admitted, “but the result proved that she was right.” While mired in a swamp west of the farm, the Pennsylvanians were surprised by a brigade of Georgians and forced to retreat or be captured. As the initial US offensive in the Wilderness sputtered out, it seemed Grant’s desire for quick, decisive action was ill-advised.
The Higgerson house burned in 1938, but its site may be viewed by following the path from the road.