On the morning of May 5th Ewell came in contact with Warren's corps at a cross-road near Parker's store, and this meeting precipitated the beginning of the great battle. About this time it became known to General Grant that A. P. Hill was advancing by the plank road, and he ordered Sedgwick to entrench and prepare to receive the attack from A. P. Hill. Hill came up very soon, and the battle began in earnest. The musketry fire was continued with great severity until late in the evening without a decided advantage to either side. The loss was great and the Federals had suffered the loss of General Hays, who had been shot through the head. The Confederates had suffered the loss of General John M. Jones. This ended the first day's struggle, and during the night both armies entrenched themselves directly in each other's front. Early on the morning of May 6th the Federals were reënforced by Burnside's corps, and A. P. Hill by that of Longstreet. General Grant issued orders for a general attack all along the line, and soon the battle was raging along the five-mile front, which became a hand-to-hand contest. Artillery played but little force in this battle, on account of the dense growth of timber and underbrush, and it was chiefly a battle of musketry. The branches were cut from the trees by the leaden missiles, and saplings were mowed down as grass by a scythe. The Confederates were finally driven back and seemed on the verge of a panic. At this moment General Lee rode through the lines to the front and called on his soldiers to follow him. This instantly gave courage to his army, which rallied and began to push the Federals back. General Lee was called back by his own men: "General Lee to the rear! General Lee to the rear!" This brave act on the part of General Lee, and the arrival of Longstreet, restored order and courage in the ranks, and they soon regained their lost position. General Longstreet, while riding with Generals Kershaw and Jenkins, at the head of Jenkins' brigade, were mistaken for the enemy by their own men and fired on, and when the smoke lifted Longstreet and Jenkins were down--Longstreet seriously wounded, and Jenkins killed outright. This was a serious loss to the Confederacy, as they had suffered the loss of one general and had incapacitated another from service. A similar thing had occurred a year before at Chancellorsville when General Jackson was mortally wounded. The fighting continued the rest of the day, the advantage being first with one side and then the other. Darkness ended the two days' undecisive Battle of the Wilderness, one of the greatest struggles in history. It was Grant's first measure of arms with General Lee. While Grant had been defeated in his plan to pass around Lee to Richmond, yet he had made a new record for the Army of the Potomac. The loss of the Federals in killed and wounded was about 17,000, while that of the Confederates was about 12,000. THE BATTLE OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COURT HOUSE