On Tuesday afternoon, May 3d, the cavalry broke camp on the Orange and
Alexandria railroad, and moved eastward,--General Gregg's division
toward Ely's Ford, and General Wilson's division towards Germanna Ford,
each having pontoons. At midnight the Second Corps, which had been
encamped east of Culpepper, followed General Gregg. At daylight on the
morning of the 4th of May, the Fifth and Sixth Corps and the reserve
artillery were moving towards Germanna Ford. The supply-train--sixty
miles in length, eight thousand wagons--followed the Second Corps. There
were but these two available roads.
The enemy was at Orange Court-House, watching, from his elevated lookout
on Clark's Mountain, for the first sign of change. In the light of the
early dawn he saw that the encampments at Culpepper were broken up,
while the dust-cloud hanging over the forest toward the east was the
sure indication of the movement.
General Lee put his army in instant motion to strike the advancing
columns as they crossed the Rapidan. The movement of Grant was
southeast, that of Lee northeast,--lines of advance which must produce
collision, unless Grant was far enough forward to slip by the angle.
There is reason to believe that General Grant did not intend to fight
Lee at Wilderness, but that it was his design to slip past that point
and swing round by Spottsylvania, and, if possible, get between Lee and
Richmond. He boldly cut loose his connection with Washington, and sailed
out into the unknown and untried, relying upon the ability of his
soldiers to open a new base for supplies whenever needed.
In this first day's movement he did not uncover Washington. Burnside was
still lying on the north bank of the Rappahannock. It was understood in
the army that the Ninth Corps was to be a reserve to protect the
capital. So, perhaps, Lee understood it. But at nightfall, on the 4th,
the shelter-tents are folded, and the men of the Ninth, with six days'
rations in their haversacks, are on the march along the forest-road,
lighted only by the stars, joining the main army at Germanna Ford on the
morning of the 5th.
Although the movement of the troops was well timed, and the march made
with great rapidity, the trains were delayed, and it was not possible
for General Grant to swing past the enemy advancing upon his flank.
Early in the morning of the 5th, Generals Meade and Grant, with their
staffs, after riding five miles from Germanna Ford, halted near the old
mill in the Wilderness. General Sheridan's cavalry had been pushing out
south and west. Aids came back with despatches.
"They say that Lee intends to fight us here," said General Meade, as he
read them.
"Very well," was the quiet reply of General Grant.
The two commanders retire a little from the crowd, and stand by the
road-side in earnest conversation. Grant is of medium stature, yet has a
well-developed _physique_, sandy whiskers and moustache, blue eyes,
earnest, thoughtful, and far-seeing, a cigar in his mouth, a knife in
one hand, and a stick in the other, which he is whittling to a point. He
whittles slowly towards him. His thoughts are not yet crystallized. His
words are few. Suddenly he commences upon the other end of the stick,
and whittles energetically from him. His mind is made up,--his plan
matured. He is less reticent,--talks freely. He is dressed in plain
blue; and were it not for the three stars upon his shoulder, few would
select him as the Lieutenant-General commanding all the armies of the
Union in the field.
Meade is tall, thin, a little stooping in the shoulders, quick,
comprehending the situation of affairs in an instant, energetic,--an
officer of excellent executive ability.