Headquarters Army Of Potomac
Tuesday, May 17,
1864
. . . Just at dark there occurred a most disgraceful
stampede in the 6th Corps — a thing that has been much exaggerated in the
papers, by scared correspondents. You will remember I told you that we had two
dubious divisions in the army: one, the Pennsylvania Reserves, has done finely
and proved excellent; but the other, General Ricketts's division of the 6th
Corps, composed of troops from Winchester, known as “Milroy's weary boys,”
never has done well. They ran on the Mine Run campaign, and they have run ever
since. Now, just at dark, the Rebels made a sort of sortie, with a rush and a
yell, and as ill-luck would have it, they just hit these bad troops, who ran
for it, helter-skelter. General Seymour rode in among them, had his horse shot,
and was taken. General Shaler's brigade had its flank turned and Shaler also
was taken. Well, suddenly up dashed two Staff officers, one after the other,
all excited, and said the whole 6th Corps was routed; it was they that
were routed, for Wright's division stood firm, and never budged; but for a time
there were all sorts of rumors, including one that Generals Sedgwick and Wright
were captured. In a great hurry the Pennsylvania Reserves were sent to the
rescue, and just found all the enemy again retired. A good force of them did
get round, by a circuit, to the Germanna plank, where they captured several
correspondents who were retreating to Washington! Gradually the truth came out,
and then we shortened the right by drawing back the 5th and 6th Corps, so as to
run along the interior dotted line, one end of which ends on the Germanna
plank.
General Meade was in favor of swinging back both wings still
more, which should have been done, for then our next move would have been more
rapid and easy.
The result of this great Battle of the Wilderness was a
drawn fight, but strategically it was a success, because Lee marched out to
stop our advance on Richmond, which, at this point, he did not succeed in
doing. We lost a couple of guns and took some colors. On the right we made no
impression; but, on the left, Hancock punished the enemy so fearfully that
they, that night, fell back entirely from his front and shortened their own
line, as we shortened ours, leaving their dead unburied and many of their
wounded on the ground. The Rebels had a very superior knowledge of the country
and had marched shorter distances. Also I consider them more daring and sudden
in their movements; and I fancy their discipline on essential points is
more severe than our own — that is, I fancy they shoot a man when he ought to
be shot, and we do not. As to fighting, when two people fight without
cessation for the best part of two days, and then come out about even, it is
hard to determine.
SOURCE: George R. Agassiz, Editor, Meade’s
Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman from the Wilderness
to Appomattox, p. 97-9
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