A two day battle claims 16 percent of all Vermonters killed in the Civil War.
The battle at Wilderness...

The two day battle at Wilderness, Virginia began on this day in 1864. It was the first Civil War battle that pitted Ulysses S. Grant directly against Robert E. Lee.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties, with estimates approaching 30,000 men. It became the deadliest battle for Vermont soldiers in all of the Civil War.

Two hundered ninety-seven Vermonters were killed or mortally wounded. 721 other Vermont soldiers were wounded and 23 became prisoners of war. More than 16 percent of all Vermonters killed during the Civil War, died at the Battle of the Wilderness beginning on this day.

Image courtesy Library of Congress.

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