Virginia, Spotsylvania County, Spotsylvania
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Confederate General Richard S. Ewell responded quickly to Upton’s breakthrough at Dole’s Salient. Wading into the melee, he shouted to the outnumbered defenders: “Don’t run, boys. I will have enough men here in five minutes to eat up every damned one of them!” Ewell was as good as his word. Within minutes, thousands of Confederate soldiers converged on this spot.
Although initially successful, Upton’s attack quickly turned into a fight for survival. Confederate lines coming across the fields behind you pressed against now-ragged Union battle lines. Without help, Upton’s men could not hold out for long. As darkness settled over the battlefield, the Southerners drove Upton’s men from the salient and recaptured the cannons they had lost earlier in the evening.
(caption)
Upton captured 950 Confederates in his initial charge. Union soldiers hurried the prisoners to the rear under a heavy fire.
(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Confederate General Richard S. Ewell responded quickly to Upton’s breakthrough at Dole’s Salient. Wading into the melee, he shouted to the outnumbered defenders: “Don’t run, boys. I will have enough men here in five minutes to eat up every damned one of them!” Ewell was as good as his word. Within minutes, thousands of Confederate soldiers converged on this spot.Although initially successful, Upton’s attack quickly turned into a fight for survival. Confederate lines coming across the fields behind you pressed against now-ragged Union battle lines. Without help, Upton’s men could not hold out for long. As darkness settled over the battlefield, the Southerners drove Upton’s men from the salient and recaptured the cannons they had lost earlier in the evening.
(caption)
Upton captured 950 Confederates in his initial charge. Union soldiers hurried the prisoners to the rear under a heavy fire.
(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The trenches in front of you belonged to General James H. Lane’s North Carolina brigade. Shortly after dawn, May 12, Union forces captured the East Angle, one-half mile behind you, and bore down on Lane’s men in this part of the Muleshoe Salient. Acting quickly, Lane curled back the left end of his line to meet the threat, checking the progress of the Union troops moving down the Salient’s eastern face.
To support Hancock’s May 12 assault at the East Angle, Grant ordered General Ambrose E. Burnside’s Ninth Corps to attack the Muleshoe Salient here along its eastern face. Shouldering their way through wet woods, Burnside’s men reached this spot shortly after dawn. Ahead, at the top of the hill, General James H. Lane’s North Carolina brigade waited to meet them behind substantial trenches made of earth and logs.
This corner was the hub of Lowell activity from 1835 when the B&L Railroad opened, through the 19th century. The passenger depot stood here; in 1835 it was replaced by an Italianate style building which combined city offices, public meeting halls and railway station under one roof.
Upstairs, Huntington Hall was a great cultural asset where the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Russian dance troupes and Shakesperean plays were performed.
With the fighting at the Bloody Angle at an impasse, Grant and Lee looked elsewhere for opportunities to attack. Coincidentally, both men turned their attention to Heth’s Salient, here on the eastern face of the Muleshoe. Grant sought a weak point in the Confederate defenses, while Lee hoped that an attack here might relieve pressure on Confederate troops fighting at the Bloody Angle.
The Boston and Maine Railroad, completed in 1835, was New England’s first steam railroad. In the Lowell Offering, a “mill girl” wrote that people expected to see a “street of lightning” when the railroad arrived. 
The Fredericksburg Road, on your left, was the Army of the Potomac’s main line of supply during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Each day hundreds of wagons lumbered down the road, bringing tons of food, arms, and ammunition to the insatiable Union army. On their return journey, the wagons carried an even more precious load: wounded soldiers bound for temporary hospitals in Fredericksburg.
Steam Railroads in New England had their beginnings in the Charter granted the Boston & Lowell Railroad Corporation-June 5, 1830-First, train operated June 24, 1835-This centennial tablet placed opposite the site of the first depot by the Boston and Maine Railroad.
By the late 1840’s, slavery was a defining political issue in northern cities. The topic was hotly debated in Lowell and created unlikely political alliances. 
While the May 12 combat at the Bloody Angle marked the height of the Spotsylvania fighting, it was not the end of it. For nine more days, the Army of the Potomac hovered around the village, looking for opportunities to strike. Finding Lee heavily entrenched at Laurel Hill and the Muleshoe Salient, Grant began shifting his army across the Fredericksburg Road, to your left. Lee responded by moving elements of his army across the road as well.
Irish laborers were vital in digging and maintaining the canals. The mills required a smooth and even flow of water to ensure efficiency and profit.
"an officer of great worth and merit" George Washington
In Memory Of
Martin Harris’s home was a one-and-a-half story white frame house, which stood on this site. When Martin moved away in 1831, it was occupied by William Chapman. That house burned down in 1849 and was replaced by the present lake-stone house, which dates from 1850.
Mortgaged for $3000 in 1829 to provide funds for first publication of the Book of Mormon
Over 300,000 airmen received training here in preparation for the Korean War and to support the NATO defense of Western Europe
Who gave up their family homesteads for the Seneca Ordinance Depot & Sampson Naval Station
1941 & 1942
World War 2 - 411,429 sailors & WAVES trained here, then fought for our country's freedom all over the world
Birthplace of 
Gen.
