On May 5th and 6th, 1864, the Union Army of the Potomic and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia waged battle through the burning tangle of underbrush and dense forest known as the Wilderness of Spotsylvania Virginia. Grant’s grand plan for the Union army was to pass through the Wilderness and not engage the Confederates until clear of the impenetrable dense forest. Robert E. Lee had other idea. Lee’s Second Corps, under Richard Ewell, caught the Union Fifth Corps of Gouverneur K. Warren off guard and forced Grant to do battle on the 5^th of May. Combined Union and Confederate casualties numbered over 25,000 in two days of bloody fighting. Although the battle was termed a tactical draw, the Union’s new commander, U. S. Grant, succeeded where previous Union generals failed. Grant did not turn north and re-cross the Rapidan river, but continued south beginning what would become known as the "Overland Campaign". Many consider this the actual turning point of the war.

The purpose of the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield is to assist the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in their efforts to preserve the Wilderness Battlefield located in Spotsylvania and Orange Counties Virginia. The Friends provide advocacy, educational programs, and service projects for the battlefield.

The Friends of Wilderness Battlefield is a tax-exempt organization under 501c3 of the IRS code. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. We are also completely staffed by volunteers!