The Culpeper Mine Road

The road trace in front of you is the Culpeper Mine Road, typical of the woods trails that composed the primitive transportation network in the Wilderness. Even a path like this possessed military significance, and Confederate troops from the famous Stonewall Brigade guarded the road near this point. The Union army resumed its attacks against this portion of the Rebel line about 3:00 p.m. May 5. "It was impossible to see the enemy," remembered a New Jersey chaplain, "and though we peered through the thick woods, we were fighting invisible foemen." None of these assaults achieved success, and the battle again evolved into the roar of static, but constant musketry.