"The Battle of the Wilderness (5-6 May 1864) was the opening engagement of the Overland Campaign, a major Union offensive conducted during the final year of the American Civil War (1861-1865). It saw the Union Army of the Potomac, under Ulysses S. Grant, clash with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under Robert E. Lee, in a dense patch of Virginian woodlands called the Wilderness."
"In terms of appearance, he cut an unimposing figure. Described by one officer as being a "very ordinary" looking man, Grant was slouchy and round-shouldered, with a weathered face covered by a bristling, close-cropped beard. He was often seen with a cigar lolling from his mouth, dressed plainly in a private's uniform with the general's insignia hurriedly stitched onto the shoulders."
The Battle of the Wilderness (5–6 May 1864) opened the Overland Campaign when the Union Army of the Potomac under Ulysses S. Grant clashed with Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in dense Virginian woodlands known as the Wilderness. Two days of bloody fighting produced no clear victor, and Grant chose to continue the offensive rather than withdraw, aiming to wear Lee down and bleed the Confederacy dry. Grant had been appointed general-in-chief in March 1864 and established headquarters along the Rapidan River. He presented an unimposing, plain appearance but was recognized as a determined fighter. Grant's strategic plan called for pushing south across the Rapidan to destroy Lee's army.
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