Upton’s Charge

Spotsylvania Courthouse was one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War. Fought in Virginia from May 8-19, 1864, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House casualties were at least 60,000 casualties. The Union army, led by General Ulysses S. Grant, attempted to march south towards the Confederate capital of Richmond. However, they were met by a Confederate force under General Robert E. Lee at Spotsylvania Courthouse. The two sides fought for nearly two weeks in some of the most brutal combat of the war.

The Union Army typically attacked an enemy position by an infantry assault. This was the case in major battles such as Chancellorsville. The infantry would advance under cover of artillery fire, attempting to take the enemy position by force. If the infantry could not break through the enemy defenses, they would often fall back and allow the artillery to bombard the place. Another infantry assault would sometimes follow this.

Although the Union Army would sometimes simply choose to besiege the enemy position and wait for them to surrender, the Yankees generally favored infantry attacks as their primary method of taking an enemy position. However, Colonel Emory Upton was going to modify that tactical mindset.

The New Idea About Infantry Assault

Emory Upton was a colonel in the Union army during the American Civil War. Upton believed the infantry should be organized into small, autonomous units that could maneuver independently on the battlefield. Consequently, his infantry tactics were based on speed and aggression.

Upton’s planned assault was different from previous infantry attacks in several ways. First, he intended to use more artillery support than had been used in previous attacks. This would help to create more openings in the enemy defenses. Second, Upton planned to use infantry support to provide covering fire for the attacking troops. This would help to protect the troops as they advanced towards the enemy lines. Finally, Upton would use more infantry troops in the attack. This would allow him to maintain a higher rate of fire and keep the enemy forces off balance.

This was all a departure from traditional infantry tactics, which relied on linear formations and slow, methodical advance. Instead, Upton’s troops moved in smaller groups rapidly, overwhelming the Confederates with their numbers and forcing them to retreat. In addition, Upton’s plans called for a more coordinated and sophisticated infantry attack using all available resources.

The Plan in Action

On May 8, 1864, Colonel Emory Upton led a Union charge against Confederate troops at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. The charge successfully broke through the Confederate lines, but Upton and his men were quickly surrounded and outnumbered.

As the Union troops fought desperately to hold their ground, General Ambrose Burnside ordered reinforcements to their aid. The arrival of fresh troops turned the tide of the battle, and the Union was eventually able to drive the Confederates back.

The Union army suffered heavy casualties in the assault, but the new method of attack proved effective. The blue-uniformed foot soldiers quickly penetrated the Confederate lines, causing significant damage. Other infantry units soon adopted the tactic.

As a result of his innovative tactics, Emory Upton was promoted to brigadier general. He continued to use his infantry tactics with great success in subsequent battles, changing the way Northern troops would assault enemy lines.

Spotsylvania Court House was perhaps the crowning achievement of his career because his later life was tragic. After the war, Upton wrote books about his military tactics, which were widely read and helped to shape the future of military strategy. Unfortunately, the man was plagued by headaches in the years after the war, and it is believed these were the result of a brain tumor. Emory Upton would finally commit suicide on March 15, 1881. He was forty-one years old at the time.

Today, Emory Upton is considered one of the most important military thinkers of his time, and his legacy continues to influence how wars are fought.

The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse was a critical turning point in the American Civil War, as it helped

to encourage the Union forces and showed that they could win against seemingly insurmountable odds.

In the end, however, neither side was able to achieve a decisive victory, and both armies continued to struggle until the end of the war. The Battle of the Spotsylvania Courthouse was a tragic reminder of the cost of war and the ultimate futility of conflict.