Later that day Grant determined he would attack the Confederate center, believing his opponents had weakened their lines to threaten his troops south of the Po. On May 10th, Brigadier General William Mahone had a force in position at the Block House Bridge while Major General Henry Heth maneuvered his division to try to attack Hancock from the south. Lee redeployed troops from the Fredericksburg Road (on his right flank) during the night. Learning of the Federal movement, General Robert E. On May 9th, Hancock’s engineers constructed a pontoon bridge west of Laurel Hill and the infantry began to cross in the late afternoon. A crossing called the Block House Bridge became a key feature during subsequent events. The Po, however, bends back upon itself in this sector, which required Hancock to cross this stream twice before he would be in position to attack. To threaten the Confederate left flank Grant ordered Major General Winfield Scott Hancock to cross the Po River with his Second Corps. Grant sought ways to gain a tactical advantage.
Initial Union attacks proved unsuccessful and the Union commander, Lieutenant General U.S.
On May 8, 1864, Confederate forces entrenched at Laurel Hill, across the Federal line of advance. The Central Virginia Battlefields Trust has purchased two parcels preserving 40 acres of the battle ground at the Po River. Over the next two weeks there occurred a series of sharp battles including the fight at Laurel Hill, Colonel Emery Upton’s attack on the salient May 10th, the gruesome ordeal at the Bloody Angle on May 12th, operations near the Ni River, and an effort by the Union Second Corps south of the Po River.
The campaign fought around Spotsylvania Court House began on May 8, 1864, as the two armies maneuvered into position after departing the Wilderness, much of that battlefield now burning out of control.
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