The apex of the Mule Shoe Salient. The trees and fields in the background are the scene of the Union attack on May 12, 1864. This is the position taken by the Union troops of BG Francis Barlow's 1st Division, Second Corps, Army of the Potomac

No other place on the battlefield of Spotsylvania illustrates the sheer savagery of the battle as this one does. Sometime during the night of May 12, 1864, a 22-inch diameter oak tree standing approximately 300 yards west of the apex of the Mule Shoe collapsed; it had been chewed in two by small arms fire. Some time later, the stump was removed and taken to the War Department where it was displayed for many years

This photo was taken from the Confederate position at the Mule Shoe, looking out at the scene of the Union Attack

This shot is looking back at the Bloody Angle; the monument to the left is to the 15th N.J. Volunteers