Morning of May 6

On the morning of May 6, the main focus of the battle shifted more than two miles south, to the Orange Plank Road. Here, north of the Orange Turnpike, both armies planned early morning attacks as diversions to prevent the enemy from detaching more troops to the Plank Road sector.The Confederates struck first. At 4:30 a.m., the Wilderness erupted with a deafening chorus of artillery and small arms. The Southerners closed with their blueclad opponents, only to feel the shock of Union volleys fired at point blank range. Ewell's men fell back to this line of trenches where they in turn repulsed Federal counterassaults. By mid-morning this area grew relatively quiet while the armies clashed in earnest a few miles south.