On May 12, 1864, as part of the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse (Virginia) Union and Confederate forces fought in the “Bloody Angle” resulting in thousands of casualties on both sides, just part of what was by far the bloodiest and most horrific war in American history. ( Note: Numbers vary with sources.)
Digging Deeper
Part of the Overland Campaign, Spotsylvania (spelled Spottsylvania at the time) the battle pitted the Union Army of the Ohio (IX Corps of the Army of the Potomac) against Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. About 100,000 Union troops faced about 52,000 Confederate troops who had the opportunity to quickly entrench before the battle. Union forces tried mightily to breach Southern defenses, resulting in massive casualties, as had many Civil War battles. Tactics had not quite caught up with rapidly improving modern arms, resulting in such carnage.
