Battle of Spotsylvania • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments & Markers • The Armies
The Dawn Assault wayside marker is along a walking trail that starts at Stop 3 on the Auto Tour. It is next to the ‘Fatal Mistake at the East Angle’ marker, about 200 yards from the parking area.
Dawn Assault
In the dank, pre-dawn light of May 12, 1864, Confederates huddled along these muddy works could hear the rumble of Union troops coming toward them. Moments later the first of 20,000 Union soldiers poured over the works like a wave, engaging Confederate defenders here in furious hand-to-hand combat.
Nearly 400 yards of the Confederate line fell into Union hands as the blue-clad masses surged even deeper into the Salient. The Union breakthrough here threatened Lee’s army. While Union troops pushed forward into the woods behind you, Lee scrambled to find troops to resist them. He needed time—time enough to build a new line farther to the rear.
Well aware of the crisis, Confederate troops contested the Union advance and then pushed it back, eventually recapturing the works near the Bloody Angle. For the rest of the day they stubbornly held on, buying Lee the time he so desperately needed.
The figures of the men seen dimly through the smoke and fog seemed almost gigantic, while the woods were lighted by the flashing of the guns and the sparkling of the musketry. The din was tremendous and increasing every instant.
Lieutenant George D. Buswell
33rd Virginia Infantry
(go to the main Tour Stop 3 page)
(go to the main Battle of Spotsylvania Auto Tour page)