5 May in military history: Battle of the Wilderness, 1864

Quick answer

On 5 May 1864 the Union Army of the Potomac, directed by Ulysses S. Grant, met Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in the Wilderness of Virginia. After two days of fighting in dense, burning woods, Grant did not retreat but marched south. On 5 May 1862 Mexican troops threw back a French attack at Puebla.

The Battle of the Wilderness, 1864: Grant and Lee's first clash

5 to 7 May 1864 · 162 years ago

In the spring of 1864 Ulysses S. Grant, now general-in-chief, traveled with the Army of the Potomac and set out to destroy Lee's army. His men crossed into the Wilderness, the same tangled country near Chancellorsville, where Lee attacked to rob the larger Union army of room to maneuver.

Read the full story of The Battle of the Wilderness, 1864: Grant and Lee's first clash ›

The Battle for Castle Itter, 1945: Americans and Germans against the SS

5 May 1945 · 81 years ago

In the final days of the war in Europe, American tank crews, Wehrmacht soldiers and freed French prisoners together held Castle Itter in the Tyrol against Waffen-SS troops. They held out until US relief came, a rare case of Americans and Germans fighting side by side.

Read the full story of The Battle for Castle Itter, 1945: Americans and Germans against the SS ›

Also on this day

1862: at Puebla, in Mexico, the Army of the East under General Ignacio Zaragoza threw back a French attack led by General de Lorencez. Zaragoza telegraphed at noon: "Son las 12 del día y se ha roto el fuego de cañón por ambas partes" ("It is 12 noon and cannon fire has opened on both sides", our translation). The historian Víctor Hugo Flores Solís and Georges Bibesco, who marched with the French, also start the fighting at noon. The French attacked the Cerro de Guadalupe and, Zaragoza reported, were driven back three times. Zaragoza and Bibesco both have the French retreat begin at four in the afternoon.¹

Zaragoza's telegram received in Mexico City at 5.49 that afternoon began: "Las armas del Supremo Gobierno se han cubierto de gloria" ("The arms of the Supreme Government have covered themselves with glory", our translation). He reckoned the enemy's loss at "600 ó 700 entre muertos y heridos" ("600 or 700 killed and wounded", our translation) and his own at 400. Bibesco writes that of 2,500 men who made the assault, nearly 500 were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.²

Frequently asked questions

When was the Battle of the Wilderness?

From 5 to 7 May 1864, in central Virginia. The heavy fighting was on 5 and 6 May; on 7 May neither side attacked, and that night Grant's army began moving south toward Spotsylvania.

Who fought in the Battle of the Wilderness?

The Union Army of the Potomac under George G. Meade, with Ulysses S. Grant directing it and Burnside's Ninth Corps alongside, against Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

Who won the Battle of the Wilderness?

Sources differ. The National Park Service calls it a tactical Confederate victory and the American Battlefield Trust calls it inconclusive. Grant wrote on 7 May that he could claim no victory, though the enemy had not gained a single advantage either, and on 8 May that the result was decidedly in the Union's favor.

How many men were lost in the Wilderness?

The Union figure depends on the count: the official return gives 17,666 killed, wounded and captured or missing, the medical director 15,004 without Burnside's corps, and Humphreys 15,387. Confederate losses were only partially reported; the National Park Service gives about 8,000.

What happened at Puebla on 5 May 1862?

Mexican troops under General Ignacio Zaragoza drove back a French attack on the Cerro de Guadalupe, and at four in the afternoon the French began to retreat.

Sources