Struggle Without End: The Wilderness to Petersburg

In 1864, most of the New Jersey regiments became deadlocked in slow-moving campaigns that foreshadowed the trenches of the First World War. In spring 1864, Ulysses S. Grant had taken charge of all Union armies. On May 5, Grant attempted to fight his way to Richmond through the dense forests of Spotsylvania and Orange Counties in a campaign known variously as the Wilderness, the Overland campaign, and the Forty Days. In May and June 1864, the Union army fought a series of battles that culminated in an infamous defeat at Cold Harbor. On June 14, Grant tried another tactic, approaching Richmond from the south via Petersburg. For a variety of reasons, the Union forces lost the initiative and became entangled in a long and bloody siege of the town that would last until the end of the war.