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The
two day battle at Wilderness, Virginia began on this day in 1864.
It was the first Civil War battle that pitted Ulysses S. Grant directly
against Robert E. Lee.
Both
sides suffered heavy casualties, with estimates approaching 30,000
men. It became the deadliest battle for Vermont soldiers in all
of the Civil War.
Two
hundered ninety-seven Vermonters were killed or mortally wounded.
721 other Vermont soldiers were wounded and 23 became prisoners
of war. More than 16 percent of all Vermonters killed during the
Civil War, died at the Battle of the Wilderness beginning on this
day.
Image
courtesy Library
of Congress.
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This painting from 1887 shows one of the fights of the Battle
of Wilderness.
It was painted in 1887 by Kurz and Allison. Its title is:
Battle of the Wilderness - Desperate fight on the
Orange C. H. Plank Road, near Todd's Tavern, May 6th, 1864
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