e for defensive
operations.

There are two roads, good for that part of Virginia, running from Orange
Court House to the battle-field. The most southerly of these roads is
known as the Orange Court House Plank Road, the northern one as the
Orange Turnpike. There are also roads from east of the battle-field
running to Spottsylvania Court House, one from Chancellorsville,
branching at Aldrich's; the western branch going by Piney Branch Church,
Alsop's, thence by the Brock Road to Spottsylvania; the east branch goes
by Gates's, thence to Spottsylvania. The Brock Road runs from Germania
Ford through the battle-field and on to the Court House. As
Spottsylvania is approached the country is cut up with numerous roads,
some going to the town direct, and others crossing so as to connect the
farms with roads going there.

Lee's headquarters were at Orange Court House. From there to
Fredericksburg he had the use of the two roads above described running
nearly parallel to the Wilderness. This gave him unusual facilities,
for that country, for concentrating his forces to his right. These
roads strike the road from Germania Ford in the Wilderness.

As soon as the crossing of the infantry was assured, the cavalry pushed
forward, Wilson's division by Wilderness Tavern to Parker's store, on
the Orange Plank Road; Gregg to the left towards Chancellorsville.
Warren followed Wilson and reached the Wilderness Tavern by noon, took
position there and intrenched. Sedgwick followed Warren. He was across
the river and in camp on the south bank, on the right of Warren, by
sundown. Hancock, with the 2d corps, moved parallel with Warren and
camped about six miles east of him. Before night all the troops, and by
the evening of the 5th the trains of more than four thousand wagons,
were safely on the south side of the river.

There never was a corps better organized than was the quartermaster's
corps with the Army of the Potomac in 1864. With a wagon-train that
would have extended from the Rapidan to Richmond, stretched along in
single file and separated as the teams necessarily would be when moving,
we could still carry only three days' forage and about ten to twelve
days' rations, besides a supply of ammunition. To overcome all
difficulties, the chief quartermaster, General Rufus Ingalls, had marked
on each wagon the corps badge with the division color and the number of
the brigade. At a glance, the particular brigade to which any w