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9 “Bloodiest and Weirdest of Encounters” The Battle of the Wilderness The winter of 1863–64 had been a period of hardship, deprivation, and revival for Gen. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Severed rail connections to the Deep South, fertile agricultural areas under Federal control, and most farmers either in the army or hiding from conscription agents contributed to the scarcity of food and supplies. The few rations the Rebel soldiers received consisted of poor “blue” beef and parched corn that left the Southerners as empty as if they had not eaten at all.“The one thing we suffered most from,” wrote one Confederate soldier, “was hunger. The scantiness of rations was something fierce. We never got a square meal that winter.”The soldiers naturally grumbled, but most persevered. Gen. Lee, recognizing the seriousness of the soldiers’ plight, advised Jefferson Davis: “Unless there is a change, I fear the army cannot be kept effective, and probably cannot be kept together.”1 Confederate morale remained high,despite the lack of even basic necessities, due primarily to a series of religious revivals that swept through the Southern encampments near Orange Court House. The reasons for this spiritual awakening were as varied as the men themselves. The graycoats often mentioned fear of death on the battlefield and belief that recent defeats at Gettysburg and Missionary Ridge represented divine punishment for the army’s impiety as causes for the renewed fervor. Whatever the reasons, the men of Lee’s army constructed forty chapels near the Rapidan River in a matter of weeks. A chaplain exulted: “Such camp meetings were never seen before in America. The bivouac of the soldier never witnessed such nights of glory and days of grandeur . The Pentecostal fire lights the camp, and armed hosts of men sleep beneath the wings of angels rejoicing over many sinners that have repented.” Even hard-drinking, sardonic Col. David Lang grudgingly admitted that the chap- 98 / Chapter 9 lains had managed to “make good soldiers of some very trifling material.” At least part of the religiosity of the modern “Bible Belt” can be traced to these revivals .2 Faith in their comrades and commander also buoyed the hope of the Army of Northern Virginia during the bitter winter. As spring approached, these veteran troops knew that a tough battle lay just ahead. Still, their confidence and morale remained unusually high. Sgt. John F. Sale of Brig. Gen. William Mahone’s Twelfth Virginia summed up his unit’s sentiment: “I cannot say in truth that they [Mahone’s troops] desire a fight but all express a determination to do their utmost when it does come and have confidence in the protection of Providence, their Leader, and themselves.” An unnamed member of the Twenty-second Georgia exhibited an even more remarkable example of the esprit of R. H. Anderson’s men in an open letter to a Rome, Georgia, newspaper . Encouraging the home folks to remain firm in their commitment to the Southern cause, he urged:“We expect a hard spring and summer campaign, but we are ready for it, for we have no notion of ever being subjugated. This army is generally in the very best of spirits—determined to sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish we will battle for our independence—To all of our friends at home, we say,‘cheer up,’ for we believe you will have cause to rejoice before this year closes, and at least wait until this army is disheartened before you yield to despondency.”3 The Florida brigade exhibited a similar high morale. The unflaggingly patriotic and optimistic Capt. Seton Fleming, for example, warned his mother against listening to those Floridians who were “croaking and deploring the duration of the war.” With unintended irony (considering his Tory ancestors), he assured her: “Our fathers fought the English seven years, and we can fight the Yankees longer.”4 Gen. Perry’s Floridians, who never truly recovered from the losses suffered during the carnage at Gettysburg, were clearly ready to fight wherever they were needed. Because E. A. Perry had assigned Fleming to serve as a staff officer, Capt. John B. G. O’Neil commanded the Second Florida. Col. Thompson B. Lamar led the Fifth Florida, while Col. Lang commanded the Eighth Florida.5 The long-expected campaign began on May 4, 1864. That day, the Army of the Potomac, under its new commander Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, crossed the Rapidan River and advanced into a seventy-square...

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