Take a comprehensive battlefield tour of the battle of The Wilderness and the battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
These two epic battles were part of the beginning of the end of the Confederacy with the start of Ulysses S. Grant’s famous Overland Campaign. They’re the next major battles after Gettysburg and the first time Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee will battle.
Meet your private battlefield guide at the Wilderness Battlefield Exhibit Shelter – National Park Service where you will see the opening shots of the battle and the Overland Campaign on May 5, 1864. While there, view the original Civil War earthworks still standing today!
In various portions of the tour, you will have an immersive experience as you will be surrounded by the forest of the Wilderness where a new form of combat was waged in the woods and where wildfires erupted.
We’ll make a stop at the Brock Road, Plank Road intersection where some of the most intense and desperate fightings took place both days.
We’ll take you to Tapp Field where the famous Lee to the rear! moment occurred on May 6, 1864, with the arrival of the famous Texas Brigade on the field; a big moment in Civil War history.
Learn about Grant’s decision to withdraw from the Wilderness and head south on the road to Richmond on May 7, 1864, where there will be no turning back!
We’ll take a 30-minute lunch break where your battlefield guide will give you a recommendation for a quick counter service location or restaurant if requested.
After lunch, we’ll travel 30-minutes south to the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield, following Grant’s exact route into battle, while you hear commentary along the way.
See where the opening shots of the battle took place at Laurel Hill on May 8th, 1864.
Visit Upton’s assault on May 10, 1864. Explore the infamous Mule Shoe where Robert E. Lee’s earthworks can still be seen today. While there, we’ll hear about the massive assault on May 12, 1864, which led to 22-hour of sustained hand-to-hand combat.
See the famous Bloody Angle where the fighting was the most intense and desperate.
We’ll see monuments left by those regiments who fought in and around the Mule Shoe.
Go to Lee’s Final Line, where the National Park Service has recreated a Civil War line of earthworks.
We’ll conclude with Grant’s decision to withdraw and move south towards Richmond where he will say “I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer!”
Last, you will travel 30-minutes back to the Wilderness Battlefield Exhibit Shelter – National Park Service, with commentary, where your tour originated.
This private battlefield tour pairs nicely with the battles of the North Anna and Cold Harbor: The Overland Campaign Part 2 combo tour, the last Overland Campaign battlefields. Taking place in May-June of 1864, it will pick up where you left off after the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House.
Let us show you the way as you relax and skip the self-guided tour hassle. Your own battlefield guide will meet you at the Wilderness Battlefield Exhibit Shelter – National Park Service.
After an introduction, your battlefield guide will join your vehicle as you depart to your first stop. It is recommended that the battlefield guide drive your vehicle so you can relax and enjoy the tour, but it’s up to you who drives.
Joining your vehicle keeps the cost down so you can see more battlefields with us.
Step-on battlefield guides are available for larger passenger vehicles (van or bus). For more information and prices, please contact us.
Note: The battles of The Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House can be tailored into one of our Custom Battlefield Tours.
