May 23-26, 1864 - Battle of North Anna

May 23-26, 1864

Battle of North Anna

Caroline County and Hanover County, VA

Grant

vs.

Lee

* Both armies straggle out of Spotsylvania. Here, the Union is trying to cross the river to get to Richmond, and the Confederates are trying to stop them. We get across, but it is ugly and declared a "draw." 

* I visited the North Anna Battlefield Park "accidently" while looking for Hanover Courthouse [Summer 2026]. I'll be back for more later. This site hosted multiple battles, and I got lost in the woods (on an unplanned hike) and missed some markers. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=21054

Attack at Ox Ford
24 May 1864

A half mile north, a brigade of Union infantry commanded by Brig. Gen. James H. Ledlie struck the center of Lee’s army, which blocked Grant’s approach to Richmond. Formidable earthworks hastily erected by Brig. Gen. William H. Mahone’s division anchored the Confederate battle line at Ox Ford on the North Anna River. Although instructed to use “utmost caution,” Ledlie, fortified with alcohol, ordered a charge. His men were bloodily repulsed and suffered more than 200 causalities, while Mahone lost about 50. On 27 May, Grant withdrew toward Totopotomoy Creek.

 

Erected 2011 by Department of Historic Resources. 

(Marker Number EA-4.)

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=73939

Turning Lee’s Flank
Battle of North Anna River
—1864 Overland Campaign—

Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia arrived here at the North Anna River on May 22, 1864. The next day, the Union Army of the Potomac followed, having maneuvered around the Confederates from the Wilderness through Spotsylvania Court House. Fighting raged along the river at Jericho Mill, Telegraph Road Bridge, Doswell House, and here at Ox Ford until May 26.

Lee’s health declined just when his army needed him the most. His son Capt. Robert “Rob” E. Lee, Jr., worried, “Suppose disease should disable him, … or, worse, should take him forever from the front of his men! … It was too awful to consider.” Confined to his tent, Lee muttered, “We must strike them a blow. We must not let them pass us again. We must strike them a blow.” On May 27, however, the Federals turned Lee’s flank again and marched south. The siege of Richmond that Lee feared was imminent, and the end of the Confederacy loomed.

The fighting also affected nearby civilians as Union soldiers plundered houses, carried off furniture and artwork, destroyed libraries, and scrawled graffiti on walls.

Slaves  who escaped through the lines brought useful intelligence to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. “Lee’s army is really whipped,” Grant wrote. “I feel that our success … is already assured.” A week later, the disastrous assault at Cold Harbor on June 3 dashed his hopes, and the struggle continued for another eleven months until the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House.

*

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=15164

The Fight for North Anna
⎯⎯⎯
The North Anna Battlefield

The North Anna Battlefield

Welcome to the Ox Ford portion of the North Anna Battlefield. Here for three days in May, 1864, the fate of the United States and the Confederacy lay in these woods and fields along the North Anna.

The painting on the left depicts the Union attack at Ox Ford on May 24, 1864. Members of the 57th Massachusetts Infantry are shown rallying around their colors under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Chandler. They are part of Brigadier James H. Ledlie’s Brigade attacking across an open field in a futile attempt to capture  the high ground overlooking Ox Ford. Ledlie, who had consumed a large quantity of alcohol, disobeyed direct orders in sending his brigade into combat against impossible odds. His 1,300 men faced an entrenched Confederate division. The attack immediately became a trap for the Union soldiers, who vainly tried to retreat as the Confederates fired upon their exposed position in the open field. A violent thunderstorm added to the suffering of the Federal Infantrymen.

Colonel Chandler is shown rallying his men against the approach of the Mississippi Infantry, advancing from the Confederate breastworks. Recognizing that the only hope for a successful withdrawal was to delay the Confederate counterattack, Chandler attempted to form a line of battle in the field. Before he could do so, the 17th Mississippi opened a devastating fire on the soldiers from Massachusetts, mortally wounding Chandler and driving his men from the field. Two hundred Federals were captured along with a stand of colors. Chandler’s men attempted to carry him from the field, but he ordered them to leave him, saying “You can do nothing for me, save yourselves if you  can.” The Colonel commanding the 17th Mississippi comforted Chandler in his tent overnight. He returned Chandler’s personal effects after the battle so that they could be forwarded to his mother, making a Federal remark that “Such an act of chivalry deserves a better cause.”

The Fight for North Anna

On May 21, 1864, Union General Ulysses S. Grant directed the Army of the Potomac away from Spotsylvania Court House in a turning movement toward Hanover Junction, today known as Doswell. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of General Robert E. Lee, had checked Grant’s southward advance at the Wilderness, May 5-6, and at Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-20, 1864. Grant was determined to continue his advance and maintained relentless pressure on the Confederate Army by threatening the vital rail junction in Hanover County.

Lee deployed his army along the North Anna River to cover Hanover Junction and met reinforcements coming from Confederate victories at New Market and Drewry’s Bluff. With these fresh troops, Lee now had an opportunity to defeat the Union Army and halt its advance on Richmond. The timing was critical. If Grant succeeded in forcing Lee closer to the Confederate capital, Lee would lose his ability to maneuver and his army would suffer the inevitable result of a long-term siege.

Attack on Ox Ford

Grant attacked across the North Anna River late on the afternoon of May 23, 1864, piercing the river line at Jericho Mill and at Telegraph Bridge. With the river line breached, Lee altered his defensive plan and formed an “Inverted V” defensive position anchored at Ox Ford. On May 24, Grant advanced the Union army across the river and fell into the defensive trap set by Lee and his “Inverted V.”

By late afternoon of May 24, Grant’s army was divided into three parts, separated by the bends of the North Anna River. The Union Fifth and Sixth Corps were in position at Jericho Mill. The Ninth Corps was on the north bank of the river, unable to cross at Ox Ford, and the Second Corps was on the South bank by the Fox House. Lee now had an opportunity to attack portions of the Union Army before reinforcements could cross the river and assist. But the Confederate attack was never made, as Lee was struck down by illness and confined to his tent.

Grant discovered the precarious position of his army on the evening of May 24, and entrenched his men to cover any Confederate attack. The armies faced one another for the next two days before Grant again withdrew the Army of the Potomac in another turning maneuver to Totopotoomy Creek, less than a days march of Richmond. The last great opportunity to hold back the Union Army in Virginia passed, and the end of the war was now in sight.

---------------------------------

The walking tour of the Confederate earthworks still allow you to observe the strength of Lee’s position and the futility of the Union attack. The tour indicates the “Inverted V”, which was the key to Lee’s position, as well as the point where Ledlie’s Brigade attacked the Confederate lines on May 24th.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=15167

Dead of the North Anna Battlefield

This monument honors all the valiant men who lost their lives on the battlefields of the North Anna

May 23-26, 1864

“No more shall the war cry sever,

or the winding rivers be red;

They banish our anger forever

when they laurel the graves of our dead!

Under the sod and the dew,

waiting the Judgement Day;

Love and tears for the blue,

tears and love for the gray.”

In memory of Cpl. Michael Shortell 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, Company G, Iron Brigade

Born: November 24, 1840 – New Brunswick, Canada

Enlisted: August 12, 1861 – Stockton, Wisconsin

Died: May 23, 1864 – Jericho Mill, Virginia

Kept in eternal remembrance by his family

The descendants of Mary and Lucy Shortell

*

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20946

The Ox Ford Road
May 23, 1864 11:00am - 8:00pm
— Gray Trail —

At 11:00 a.m. six cannon of Major John Lane’s Georgia artillery battalion, followed closely by Brigadier General Edward A. Perry’s weakened 270-man Florida infantry brigade, moved down this road to cover the vital crossing of Ox Ford. As the Union army threatened to cross the North Anna, eleven cannon of Lieutenant Colonel David G. McIntosh’s artillery battalion, supported by Brigadier General Ambrose “Rans” Wright’s Georgia infantry brigade, raced along the Ox Ford Road to reinforce Lane and went into battery overlooking Ox Ford. By 8:00 p.m. these units, all of Brigadier General William H. Mahone’s Division, had taken positions on the bluffs overlooking the river. Their field of fire covered both the Telegraph Road bridge [Chesterfield bridge] and Ox Ford.

In the exchange of cannon fire that evening Lieutenant Robert S. Pearce, commanding Clutter’s battery of McIntosh’s battalion, received a mortal wound.

Union success at Jericho Mill and against Henagan’s redoubt on the Telegraph Road that same evening forced General Robert E. Lee to fall back to a new line anchored on the North Anna River at Ox Ford. After working through the night of May 23 and early morning of May 24, the Army of Northern Virginia, which Lee had positioned in an “inverted V” capable of splitting Grant’s army into three parts, again lay ready for the inevitable Union advance.

General Lee rode these lines along the Ox Ford Road and proclaimed of his opponent, General Ulysses S. Grant, “If I can get one more pull at him, I will defeat him.”

The interpretative work in this park has been made possible through the cooperative efforts of the American Battlefield Protection Program [NPS], State of Virginia, Hanover County Parks and Recreation department, and the members of the Blue and Gray Education Society. J. Michael Miller was the historical consultant. Mr. James W. Davis of Flushing, New York, generously replaced the ten original 1998 prints with reprints in 2004.

Erected 1998 by Blue & Gray Education Society, Hanover County Parks and Recreation Department. (Marker Number Stop 1.)

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20957

"Come on to Richmond"
May 24, 1864 6:00pm
— Gray Trail —

Despite the disaster that had befallen the 35th Massachusetts, General Ledlie became even more determined to secure Ox Ford. Against the orders of his division commander, the drunken general ordered his unsupported brigade to assault the Confederate trenches before you. Mahone’s Confederates allowed the Federals to advance well into the field and, when Ledlie’s soldiers were within two hundred yards, opened on them with a deadly artillery and rifle fire. As rain from a heavy thunderstorm burst into their faces, Ledlie’s men took shelter from the Confederate fire in the ravine just before you.

“After proceeding a short distance all semblance of a line became lost. It was just a wild tumultuous rush where the more reckless were far to the front and the cautious ones scattered along back, but still coming on.... Many of the Confederate soldiers stood upon their breastworks and called out in a tantalizing manner, ‘Come on Yank, come on to Richmond.’” 

-Captain John Anderson, 57th Massachusetts Infantry

“I hardly know what to say this day, but before I say any more I must again thank the Almighty God for my safety....I was under the worst fire yesterday that I have been in during the war.... 1 lost 8 out of my company which was 38 strong.... God only knows how I escaped [with] men drop[p]ing all around me....” 

- 2d Lieutenant Gerhard Luhn, 4th United States Infantry

(sidebar)

Presented to the people of the United States by the friends of Edwin cole Bearss, Chief Historian Emiritus, National Park Service, in honor of his 74th birthday -- June 1997.

(captions)

Soldiers of the 57th Massachusetts Infantry, Ledlie's Brigade

Line of Battle, 56th Massachusetts Infantry, Ledlie's Brigade

 

Erected 1998 by Blue & Gray Education Society, Hanover County Parks and Recreation Department. (Marker Number Stop 6.)

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20959

"Save yourselves if you can"
May 24, 1864 6:00 - 7:00pm
— Gray Trail —

 

 As the imperiled Union brigade huddled in the ravine before you, General Mahone recognized that their bold assault was unsupported and ordered General Harris to send a regiment from these trenches to attack them. At 6:45 p.m. the 12th Mississippi came out of its earthworks and ran down the slope to your front, firing a volley at point blank range. Simultaneously, the 8th and 11th Alabama hit the exposed Union right flank. Ledlie’s men broke for the safety of the trees behind them. Several Union commanders tried to rally their men but to no avail. The most prominent among them, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Chandler of the 57th Massachusetts, fell mortally wounded into the muddy ravine. Colonel Merry B. Harris, commanding the 12th Mississippi, ordered Chandler brought into the Confederate line, where he died only hours later.

“Mrs. T. P. Chandler,

Brookline Mass.,

“Yesterday...during a flag of truce...Colonel Harris, 12th Mississippi Regiment, came to me, and requested me to write to you that Lieut.-Col Charles L. Chandler, 57th Mass. Regt. fell mortally wounded May 24th, 1864.... He lived for some hours, and was kindly cared for by Colonel Harris, who has his watch, money, diary, and photograph of a young lady, in his possession.... The articles were at the rear yesterday, otherwise he would have forwarded them through me. Colonel Harris said, Lieutenant Colonel Chandler died happy, and desired him to give his love to his family and friends....”

Your obedient Servant,

A. Manning Wright,

Capt, 57th Reg’t N.Y.V Inf’y”

Harris’ action inspired the regimental historian of the 57th Massachusetts to remark, “Such noble characters do honor even to a bad cause.”

(sidebar)

Presented to the people of the United States in memory of Kathleen E. Wheeler, Grandniece of Cpl. Michael Shortell, 7th Wisconsin Volunteers, by her family, friends, and members of the Blue and Gray Education Society.

(captions)

Lieutenant Colonel Chandler attempts to rally his men, as the 12th Mississippi moves toward the Union line.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles L. Chandler

 

Erected 1998 by Blue & Gray Education Society, Hanover County Parks and Recreation Department. (Marker Number Stop 7.)

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20961

The Inverted V
May 23, 1864 6:45pm
— Gray Trail —

 You are now standing in the tip of the famous “inverted V” position constructed by Lee’s army along the North Anna River. The trenches on your left continued to the Little River, while those on the right anchored on a bend in the North Anna below Hanover Junction. This area was held by Brigadier General Ambrose “Rans” Wright’s Georgia brigade which assisted in repelling Ledlie’s brigade on the evening of May 24. The 2nd Georgia Infantry Battalion of Wright’s brigade held back the left flank of the Union line until Colonel Harris’ 12th Mississippi Infantry crushed the Union center.

“...a tremendous volley to our left, followed by the unmistakable ‘Rebel yell’ told us plain enough that the Mississippians had struck the Yanks and as the yelling and the firing came towards us, it was evident enough that the Yanks were on the run.... As they passed us Tinley and I made a few more shots at them and as the Mississippi boys came up a big strapping fellow called out, ‘Bang it Boys, but ain’t we making them think it’s Christmas though.’” E. A. Shiver, Co. C, 2d Battalion Georgia Volunteers, on the Confederate skirmish line .

Erected 1998 by Blue & Gray Education Society, Hanover County Parks and Recreation Department. (Marker Number Stop 8.)

And that's just [part of] the Grey Trail! Stay tuned for the Blue Trail whenever I get to 1864....

Please check out their maps, which I have not reproduced: 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/north-anna-campaign-movements

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/north-anna

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/north-anna-may-23-24-1864