May 8-21 1864

In one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, Union General Ulysses S. Grant's relentless advance on Richmond during his Overland Campaign was stalled at Spotsylvania by Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Despite Union casualties estimated at 18,000 total soldiers, Confederate forces failed to stop Grant's march toward their capital. The ferocious battle resulted in an estimated 30,000 casualties combined.