Original Item. Only One Available. This is an interesting American Civil War battlefield relic, commonly referred to as a “War Log” or “Bullet-in-Wood,” attributed to the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, on May 12, 1864. The piece retains an old handwritten paper label identifying the battlefield and the date of the fighting, together with an apparent lead projectile embedded in the weathered wood.

The relic consists of an irregular section of timber with pronounced longitudinal splitting, exposing a rounded, gray, lead-colored projectile lodged within the grain. Its most distinctive feature is the handwritten paper label affixed to one side, bearing the following inscription:

Shot May 12th 1864
at Spotsylvania
Court House
Battle Field, va

The date corresponds to the fighting at the Confederate Mule Shoe Salient, particularly the infamous Bloody Angle, where Union and Confederate soldiers engaged in some of the most sustained close-range combat of the entire Civil War. The old label preserves the relic's traditional identification with this historic engagement.

Condition is fair, with substantial age-related deterioration to the wood. Extensive lengthwise cracks, open splits, localized losses, and areas of softened and eroded grain are present throughout. The embedded projectile remains lodged within the timber. The paper label is heavily toned and stained, with surface abrasion and irregular losses along its edges, particularly toward the right side. Most of the original handwritten inscription remains legible. The wood is structurally compromised and should be handled carefully to prevent further splitting or loss.

Historical Context

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House was fought from May 8 to May 21, 1864, during Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Following the Battle of the Wilderness, Grant continued his advance southward, hoping to maneuver around Lee's army and force a decisive engagement on the approach to Richmond.

Lee's forces reached the important crossroads at Spotsylvania ahead of the Union army and established a defensive line reinforced with earthworks and timber. A prominent section of these fortifications formed a large outward projection known as the Mule Shoe Salient, occupied by elements of Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps. Its exposed position made it vulnerable to concentrated attacks.

On May 10, Union Colonel Emory Upton led twelve regiments in an assault against the western face of the salient. His men penetrated the Confederate defenses but were eventually driven back. The initial success of Upton's attack encouraged Grant to organize a larger offensive against the same position.

At approximately 4:30 a.m. on May 12, nearly 20,000 Union soldiers under Major General Winfield Scott Hancock advanced against the Mule Shoe through heavy rain and fog. The assault overwhelmed much of the Confederate position, capturing thousands of prisoners and numerous artillery pieces. Lee immediately ordered counterattacks to restore his defensive line, bringing additional troops into an increasingly desperate struggle.

The heaviest fighting developed around a bend in the Confederate fortifications that became known as the Bloody Angle. For approximately twenty hours, opposing soldiers fought across the earthworks at extremely close range. Rifle-musket fire continued almost without interruption, accompanied by repeated assaults, bayonet fighting, and hand-to-hand combat. Rain turned the trenches into muddy channels, while casualties accumulated on both sides of the barricades.

The extraordinary concentration of small-arms fire left extensive damage to the surrounding trees and timber defenses. Soldiers fired thousands of rounds into positions separated by only a few yards, frequently striking the logs and trees around the entrenchments. Soft lead projectiles could penetrate deeply into wood and remain lodged within it, while repeated impacts splintered branches and shattered trunks.

Among the most remarkable incidents of the engagement was the destruction of a large oak tree, approximately 22 inches in diameter, which was severed by the sustained rifle fire. The battered remains of battlefield timber became a lasting reminder of the intensity of the fighting, and bullet-struck fragments were subsequently preserved as souvenirs of the engagement.

The ammunition used during the battle consisted largely of lead projectiles fired from percussion rifle-muskets. The expanding-base Minié-type bullet was widely employed by both armies, allowing soldiers to load and fire rifled weapons with greater accuracy than earlier smoothbore muskets. When these comparatively soft projectiles struck substantial wooden obstacles, they could deform and become embedded in the timber. Such impacts were particularly common around entrenched positions, where sustained firing subjected barricades and nearby trees to repeated strikes.

The fighting at the Bloody Angle continued into the early hours of May 13, when Confederate forces withdrew to a newly constructed defensive line across the base of the Mule Shoe. Although Union troops gained possession of the abandoned entrenchments, Lee maintained his army's defensive position, and fighting around Spotsylvania continued for more than another week.

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ultimately cost the opposing armies tens of thousands of casualties. The prolonged fighting demonstrated the destructive capabilities of rifled small arms and the growing importance of extensive field fortifications during the final years of the Civil War.

War logs and bullet-struck timber occupy an unusual place among Civil War battlefield relics. They preserve evidence of the physical effects of musketry on the battlefield itself, particularly in areas where prolonged fighting concentrated enormous volumes of fire against relatively confined positions. Fragments collected and retained after the fighting also became personal reminders of the experiences of soldiers who had witnessed these engagements firsthand.