Spotsylvania

Spotsylvania

Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)

watercolor and mixed media on paper

As General Ulysses S. Grant (shown on the left) progressed in his goal of taking the capital city of the Confederacy, he started north of Richmond and then proceeded east and south in order to encircle the city. Each time he attempted an attack on the city, General Robert E. Lee (shown on the right) would stop him. Some of Lee’s forces beat Grant to a critical juncture due east of Richmond at Spotsylvania Court House where they entrenched in a defensive posture. Fighting in the Battle of Spotsylvania or Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, as it is sometimes known, occurred intermittently from May 8 to May 21, 1864. Although a portion of Lee’s army was in what was then known as a “mule shoe salient”, a point that extends out exposing his army to an attack on three different sides, none of Grant’s attempts to dislodge the Confederates were successful. Although the battle was ultimately inconclusive, the fighting at Spotsylvania was so vicious and dense that at one point an 18-inch oak tree was shot down by repeated small arms fire.

Bequest of the Artist