The 150th Anniversary of the Fight at the Bloody Angle

Sunrise at the Mule Shoe
on the 150th anniversary of the battle

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the best-known engagement of the battle of Spotsylvania Court House: the fight at the Mule Shoe Salient. For 22 straight hours, soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the pouring rain. Most of the fight centered around a spot in the earthworks that became known as the Bloody Angle.

Chris does some volunteer work with the park, and he was out there today for a tour at dawn that traced the Union attack in real time, 150 years later. He’ll also be at the Spotsylvania battlefield exhibit shelter today from 10-2. Later this afternoon, he’s taking some of SR guest’s on a private guided tour. (It’s a busy tour week for him, with another tomorrow, and then a whole tour bus on Wednesday and Thursday.)

If you’d like to schedule a private tour, we do offer a guide service. Contact us at info@stevensonridge.com. You can also read more about the battle at Emerging Civil War.

In the meantime, if you have the chance to visit the battlefield on your own on this 150th anniversary, the Park Service is offering a special opportunity: Until 4 a.m., a historian will be on “silent sentinel” duty at the Bloody Angle in commemoration of the fight. It’s a rare opportunity to be on the battlefield at night. We’ll be taking advantage of it ourselves this evening. Chris says that, despite the terrible fighting that once took place there, it’s one of the most peaceful places to go for a walk.