Moving An Army

When reading about the Civil War it seems like almost every planned maneuver fails or takes much longer than anticipated.  While THC has read about the logistical difficulties encountered by the armies, actually seeing what they faced is a more powerful experience.

On our recent tour of The Wilderness, Bob Krick took us to one of the few existing sections of the few roads that crossed the battlefield in 1864.  This particular section would have been used by the Union Army.  Now imagine trying to move tens of thousands of soldiers, thousands of wagons and horses and heavy artillery along this narrow track so that you could reach an area to launch an attack. Imagine the dust created and the amount of mud churned up if there is even a little rain.  And, if you are thinking "why didn't they just spread out more and go through the fields?" the answer is that with the exception of a few isolated clearings there were no fields.  Most of it was a mixture of low-growth forest (20 feet high) with thick brush in between the trees.  It's surprising anyone got anywhere.