While the Army of the Potomac's cavalry screen secured the Rapidan River fords near the old Chancellorsville battlefield, most of the infantry units stayed in their temporary camps and waited.General Grant decided on the route through the tangled thickets of the "Wilderness" for his first move across the Rapidan, mostly because it allowed him greater … Continue reading The 96th Pennsylvania in the Overland Campaign: May 3, 1864
The 96th Pennsylvania in the Overland Campaign: May 2, 1864
The second of May broke warmly over Culpeper County, Virginia with a breeze whipping across the ridges along the river. Everywhere, the signs of an army in motion were visible. Beneath the spring sunshine, wagons and artillery rumbled along the plank roads towards the Rapidan crossing at Germania Ford. The nearby hills and gullies had … Continue reading The 96th Pennsylvania in the Overland Campaign: May 2, 1864
The 96th Pennsylvania in the Overland Campaign: May 1, 1864
At six o'clock on the morning of May 1, 1864, the 96th Pennsylvania awoke to the sound of bugle calls. Following reveille, the tune of a march played. For the first time since December, the 96th and the rest of the First Division of the Union's VI Corps were to take to the roads. The … Continue reading The 96th Pennsylvania in the Overland Campaign: May 1, 1864
Wynning History 