Battles in the Wilderness

[Dean Webb]

In 1863 and 1864, the Union and Confederacy battled in an area known as "The Wilderness". There were many small skirmishes in this area, along with the major battles of Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. Thousands of men died across this region. Today, these places are peaceful woodlands, quite the contrast to the hells they were when battles raged over them. Stephen Crane noted this difference well in his novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Nature seems to have a way of carrying on with its own schedule in spite of what men may be doing in and around it.

In these places, I can see the cathedrals and gardens Crane's character Henry Fleming noted when he wasn't engaged in battle. I can also see the foreboding gloom if I imagine hard enough and put myself back in the shoes of a soldier battling here almost 150 years ago.