Attack on the Muleshoe

Attack on the Muleshoe (HM191F)

Location: Spotsylvania, VA 22553 Spotsylvania County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 13.421', W 77° 36.048'

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Inscription

The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse

Like Lee, General Ulysses S. Grant recognized the Muleshoe's weakness and made plans to exploit it. On May 12, just after dawn, 20,000 men of General Winfield S. Hancock's Second Corps stormed across the field in front of you—from left to right—and swept over the Confederate works, capturing 3,000 men and 20 cannons. It was one of the most successful Union attacks of the Civil War.

Capture of the Muleshoe nearly cut the Army of Northern Virginia in two, threatening its very existence. Lee counterattacked in a desperate attempt to regain the lost ground, or at least to buy time to build a new line, close to 1,000 yards behind the outer line. For the rest of day, both generals funneled every available man into the Salient. Grant fought to win; Lee to survive. The result was the most violent sustained combat in American history.

Every Confederate realized the desperate situation and every Union soldier knew what was involved. For a time, every soldier was a fiend. The attack was fierce—the resistance fanatical. Corporal John Haley, 17th Maine Volunteers

(caption)
The fighting on May 12 took place in a driving rain. This image shows reinforcements from the Union Sixth Corps fighting from the ravine in front of you.
Details
HM NumberHM191F
Tags
Placed ByFredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, September 16th, 2014 at 12:42pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 272333 N 4233831
Decimal Degrees38.22368333, -77.60080000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 13.421', W 77° 36.048'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 13' 25.26" N, 77° 36' 2.88" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)540
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 200-204 Grant Dr, Spotsylvania VA 22553, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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