Buying off of him. Chris has been my coauthor. He has been the editor in chief of emerging civil war. He is the face of emerging civil war and without him we would not be here at stephenson ridge. We were not have the great cast of characters that have come up here. And i would not be where i am professionally without chris. For those of you who know me i love what i do and without him i would not be at the civil war trust. I really appreciate his support. Chris is about to speak to you about his book about the battle of North Anna River. Strike them a blow, he will get into that. And this campaign is part of the third battle in the overland 1864 campaign toward richmond and petersburg. Lee and grant and follow the battle the spotsylvania courthouse here on the spotsylvania battlefield. I want to introduce my good friend, the editor in chief of emerging civil war, dr. Chris makowski. [applause] chris im the a face made for radio, i do not know what he is talking about. I am going to move up and down through here. Already i am getting caught up. I will be moving around off through here. As a start moving and you guys are like, what the heck is he doing . I am giving you fair warning. Right now i am walking down telegraph road, going from north to south, the modern route 1. Just to get us acclimated, turn the room into a map. If the North Anna River runs over here. Past hank, we can throw him in the river. The north anna comes through here. Telegraph road goes northward. Richmond would be in that direction. Spotsylvania would be conveniently over here at the bar. [laughter] chris if anybody wants to visit spotsylvania, here we are. We even maybe have her own shoe atmeals you mule the end. That will get us oriented. We must strike of them a blow,. Lee said appeared in the afternoon of may 24, 1864. We must strike them a blow. He had put together the perfect trap for the union army. And the union army of the atomic potomac had obliged, going straight into it. But lying on his cot, wracked by dysentery, lee, nearly delirious lay saying we must strike them a blow. But had no one he could call want to strike that blow. To understand how he found himself in that most precarious position, we have to go back to the bar. Where the armies have been fighting since the 5th of may in the wilderness. Forcing ulysses s. Grant to go around. Changing the nature of the war. All of you that have heard the nonsense about gettysburg being the turning point of the war, nonsense. Do not believe that malarkey at all. It happens in the wilderness, when ulysses s. Grant decides to go around. Because he has decided wherever lee goes, there are two of the army of the potomac should go. It is a war of attrition. He says, if by no other means than through attrition, we will simply where the confederates down. So, typically the armies would clash and withdraw. They would spend a couple of weeks, a couple of months trying to recuperate, reinforce and resupply. If it is a numbers game, grant does not want to give the confederates the opportunity to pause. That is why he chooses to go around, changing the entire nature of the war. That is why the wilderness is the turning point, because the war fundamentally changes. As you can see by the graph, a wonderful map by hal. Way to everybody. The tallest guy in the room. The fallout and had to spotsylvania, where lee intercepts grant again and they lock in combat for two more weeks. Grant continuing to try to find a way around, to out fight, to a cash outmaneuver and lee continues to parry each move. Until finally grant realizes he cannot get lee at spotsylvania. He says, my main concern at this point is to get lee out into the open where we can have an open field fight. He can use his superior numbers to overwhelm lee. The attrition factor. Grant starts the campaign with 120,000 men. By the time he gets from the wilderness to spotsylvania, he is down to 100,000. By the time he decides to leave, he is down to 80,000. Those are terrible numbers. But he knows that lee is also racking up correspondingly horrible casualties. Lee starts with 66,000 and by the time they finish he is down to 40,000. And grant is just going to keep wearing him down. So he decides to once more go around. But this time he will try something a little different. Instead of just going around the flanks, he chooses to send one of his army corps on a flank maneuver. Not to try to get around lee, but to lure him out, because grant understands how aggressive lee is. If i am the union army facing the confederate position, and i have moved around and around, i will finally swing off in this direction to try to go south. What grant wants to do is lean on the second corps under Winfield Scott hancock and send , them in this direction, dangle them out there. Ray, can you put your hand up over there . Second corps heading over there. Doesnt he look like bait . Grant is hoping if you can send them out there, lee will not be able to resist the bait and he will move to try to crush a portion of the union army. And when lee makes that move, grant will count with his other three corps. That is the plan. One of the things i find it so remarkable about the north ann phase of the overland campaign, this is all psychological warfare. Because the armies have been locked in combat for three weeks and that war of attrition has not only worn down the size of the armies and exhausted the men, but it has exhausted the commanders. So we will see missteps, we will see secondguessing. We will see lost opportunities as the two amazing generals began to falter under the weight of their own personal attrition. By this point, robert e. Lee is only sleeping three hours a night. Grant, also running on fumes at this point. So we will see how this will start to feed into their own inability to execute their own excellent plan. So on the evening of may 20, grant sets the plan in motion. The second corps hums at a spotsylvania. They get here to the intersection of church road and route 1, telegraph road. Then straight shot. Jay, you would be in total big bad trouble if i was heading straight at you. In fact, one of the Staff Officers says, if grant had it treated it as a race to the north anna, things wouldve worked out entirely different. But instead, grant will not aggressively push to the river, even though it represents an excellent position, although it is the inside track to richmond, grant is thinking of offensive weight. He wants to lure lee into a a fight. Instead of sending the second corps straight down the road, they will turn in this direction. First, fort guinea station. We have a vacant chair for Stonewall Jackson at the station. And as the men make the march overnight, they talk about the change in scenery because this is a portion of virginia that has never before seen war. It was a feast for the eyes and a joy for the soul, one soldier said. The crops were full. It was untouched by the war. Immediately, the spirit of gloom that had plagued the men for three weeks from their shoulders. Account after account talks about their soaring spirits, their optimism, their excitement, as they go into the heart of virginia. They go past guinea station and they continue down in this direction toward the village of Bowling Green. I do not know your first name. You look like the town of Bowling Green. Oh dear. Chris oh dear is right. [laughter] chris charming, charming little village. Hancocks men come marching in at about noon. Calvary at about 9 00 in the morning, but the infantry gets there around noon. They pillage the town. Im sorry. Youre about to have a bad day. They pillage the town. But hancocks orders allow him to continue onward. First to milford station, then if he feels bold he can actually cross the river to a place called hanover station, represented by the podium. It is important because it is a rail junction. The richmond and atomic Railroad Going north to south, the southern Virginia Railroad coming in and connecting here and going toward richmond. It is a vital supply line and lee will have to protect that, keep that in mind. This is where things fall apart. As the men get into Bowling Green and they have their fun pillaging, and they start to move toward milford station, they run into confederate reinforcements that are getting off of the train. You might remember, a place called drearies bluff done around richmond, Benjamin Butler has been having a fine time doing little to nothing. Beast butler trapped in a bottle, one cartoonist said. The confederates are able to strip the reinforcements and in them to lee. This will be the vanguard of 6000 reinforcements from george picketts division. And when hancocks men get there, they are not expecting anyone and is sent only they have to driveway the drive away the confederates. And that spooks hancock. Lets consider grant sends hancock down because he is they goto guy. Through the campaign he has called on the second corps for every single absolute tough job, the second corps gets sent in. They are exhausted, they are beat up, they have been marching literally for 14 hours. And when hancock gets into the position, the most aggressive core commander of the army of the potomac gets spooked. Instead of continuing on, he hunkers down and is meant in a top a small nole. Uncharacteristic, isnt it . This will be the first of several uncharacteristic actions by the officers and both armies. But also contributes to his discomfort is the rest of the army is still empty spots is still back at spotsylvania and having a tough time communicating with him. It is not like everybody can get out their iphones, how is it going . So couriers are trying to get back and forth, but the problem is there is considerable calvary in the area. There are men in this cavalry units. The union couriers are having a tough time getting through and hancock begins to get nervous. Grant starts getting nervous. The plan was to send hancock out there and move the rest of the army down here to try to trap lee. The followup is going to be warrens fifth corps. But grant, starting to get nervous, starting to secondguess his own plan, does not send more and into the area. Instead he sends him to back up hancock. Starting to second guess his own plan doesnt send warren out in instead decides to send warren to back up hancock moving intoll start this area through here. Thats going to be really important. Grant, the ever aggressive guy has a great plant and second guessing himself. Meanwhile, lee, is trying to read the tee leaves and hes looking to see whats going on. Are there still federals in or not . Me and he does want to take that bait. Except the ever aggressive lee hooses not to and instead, hell hedge his bets and play it afe and send his second corp. Under richard youll on a road and richard gets a criticism but performs gets here by ten and blocks the road. Denied grant the inside track to richmond and remember of grants said, if grant treated this like a race anna he could have won and now hes been denied chance. But lee is afraid to commit. Federals intill has front of him. Great missed the opportunities because we have hancock ten here and yooil right here and want to ask those that know theory about military if you have someone here in the iddle and someone here and youve gotten my on one side and enemy on the other side. Hat does that leave these guys susceptible too . Theyre done. Yooil is a sitting duck and still nervous about his poor communication does not try to cut ap and him off that allows lee to start out of est of his army this area. Is a race to his the North Anna River so hell corp. Under the command ofae hill that had to be us is september able his social disease for two back in action. Its a fantastic division. The Southern Bank dominate the so if i put my artillery here i have a great hunker so lee wants to down here and make grant come at so thats why lee recognizes to the river. Nd so as lees army comes filing down in this direction still along, youll blocking the way. Ay, lets not forget him but hancock is feeling very forgotten and thats part of the gets his as grant army here hell follow immediate or warren and go that way and corp. Straight down telegraph road and then the under Ambrose Wright will follow up and keep going too. Way but the problem is ewell is road. Ing the by the time bern side gets here, Northern Virginia has basically filed down this road and look how wide open it is. No problems. Its such smooth sailing ewell leave as rear engineers to block the toe river. You can see it there on the map. Engineers. Thats it but because its dusk. Side pulls up and he sees there are confederates on the river thats ahe creek thats not a lot wider has two of the table but it steep banks and bern side sees on the other side and hes nervous. And because bernside is mediocre chooses to backtrack and follow the other two corp. Now backtracking a lone is problematic but he turns his so that the around lead regiments stay in the lead everybody turn like this everybody has to kind and im sure high military discipline is fine crazy huge nd that bottleneck because sixth corp. Wait for p and bernside to turn around and filter down through here. And thats going to allow guard to turn around and lead. Think about that. F you had a more aggressive corp. Commander he could have swept it. An uple of engineers stop entire corp. So as were talking about a campaign of lost heres one so ewells men keep coming this way. Straight sweeping easy road i have. Two miles into the governor warrens fifth corp. Is occupying the roads and l these they get rode word that the by andrates are marching dont have a clue how close the federals are. And warren gets word and says my the move at n the dawn. Which allows the confederates to march right on by. So again if there had been more action on the corp. Level, warren could have come down the road from nancy Wrights Corner and mud tavern Confederate Army completely unawares in the flank hell wait until morning and that will allow the onfederates to escape and lee marches his army across the face of the enemy and doesnt know it. Like hello . So again were talking about were opportunities if talking about sloppy mistakes, commanders both trigger. Of pulling both commanders not paying second guessing themselves. At the army command level and the corp. Level. Ut lee finally wins the race 22nd, becauseg of of the last nine miles and gets across. But at this point hes so exhausted that his men recognize well. Ot when he gets across the river he looks to the vanguard and says i ant you to set up defensive perimeter and protect the bridge and he says general lee my men exhausted and he scolds him this. Aid do not tell me obeyed my orders to be and he rides off and turns to a staff officer and said general troubled man and he is not well. Being wracked by dissenter and hell have to ride carriage because hes so weak and ill and hell be gets his army into position. Will become e he sloppy because a side from the protecting the bridge head here, doesnt have his army set up any other defenses. A. P. Hills men cross here they start taking baths in the relaxing and rt here he lets his men start that grant is ws off that way. Hes expecting grant to continue east and cross the river somewhere off on the porch. And sara there than set up defense he wants his men to rest maybe tomorrow he can quickly move and intercept. Vest on his behind. Doubt. Hes sick. Off in this ant is area now. Has second corp. Here and fifth and ninth corp. Over here where john is. And i you and bernside apologize. Mediocre. Is here and he will head down this road and out is trying to figure what to do and i want you to earlier order is to the commander of the army and potomac. He said where lee goes you shall go too. Says lead is over there go e lee goes, you shall too. Meade says lead is over the where lee goes, you shall go too. Grant wants to consolidate the theyre going to go off in that direction past our theyre rom texas and going to consolidate at a place and see ifmel church you are going to be there. He looks holy doesnt he . Theyre going to move part of the army that way and cross at cross part of nd the army across here and on the 23rd, lee sees e army arrive of the and he thinks, ah its confederate horseman. Deal and his men are like should we do something . Off in re fine grant is that direction. But no its hancocks second deploy together cross the river. The only defense lee has at the bridge, james youre about to ave a bad day is called when ganns read out and the second carolina read out and is deplayed here and the third South Carolina a tallon here and third here so we have four regiment s regiments. Farmer who earold has been promoted through a good face the d now has to deploys in a hat wide arc. Even have to say anything for that. Thats a technical term. And they come in from three south nd drive the carolinans in the river in a route. Of 15 minutes and the only thing it lasts that long is the read out has earth walls that are 15 feet high and when the federals first get over they cant get up wall so some men stab their works and the earth make steps balancing the butts shoulders so comrades can walk up. Thers give their friends the heave ho and they drive the confederates into the river and out and the ead bridge. Confederates try to or the touchdown bridge and are doing so. From the chesterfield bridge crossing belongs to uddenly the federals. Its all that unfolds robert. Lee was sitting on the porch of the fox house thats still there. Little brick house along route drinking butter milk and the artillery comes around him and servants his glass to a and quietly gets up and goes to i guess i e and said had better get to work. Hits one ery barrage of the chimneys of the house and the avalanche of bricks comes kills one of the Staff Officers. James power smith as well. Both of his ankles and it looks like yankees are indeed coming at us. Meanwhile down here. Youre actually going to have a day. And who ratio will cross the river. Confederate calvary says we confederate calvary crossing. Fifth corp. E warren is just crossing over and him. Ixth is behind whats your name . Dick . Youre going to kind of hang out there. This like theres so many men here they cant all get across the river. Fifth corp. Gets here hey deplay and as they begin confederates realize we probably ought to do something about confederates finally send out some troops. Deploy catching the fifth corp. In the middle of its nearly sweeping them back into the river and as these uys are trying to get on the field confederates are smashing into them and sweeping them away. One of the great stories. Just four guns charges across on the d and sets up edge of a ravine and