The Battle of the Wilderness first pitted General Robert E. Lee against Union General Ulysses S. Grant in May of 1864. The battle turned the tide of the war as Grant continued his march, “On to Richmond.”
The shelter exhibits explains the Battle of the Wilderness. On weekends in the spring and fall and daily during the summer, the shelter is manned by a historian.
The two-mile Gordon Flank Attack Trail begins at the Exhibit Shelter and follows the opening Union attack across Saunders Field. Upon reaching the Confederate lines, the path follows the Confederate earthworks before crossing over to the Union trenches, which it follows back to the Exhibit Shelter.
