PO RIVER, Engagement on. After two days' terrific fighting in the Wilderness (q.v.), with a loss of over 17,000 men, General Grant concluded to continue the movement by the left, and on the evening of 7 May he put his army in motion for Spottsylvania Court House. The Second Corps, under General Hancock, the last to move, reached Todds' Tavern about 9 A.M. of the 8th and intrenched, being on the right of the army. A reconnaissance to Po River, two miles distant, developed Confederate cav alry on the opposite bank. On the 9th Han cock moved up to the right of Warren's Fifth Corps and took position and intrenched on high ground overlooking the Po and the Shady Grove road. The left of General Lee's line rested on a bend of the Po, and as reports indi cated that he was moving in the direction of Fredericksburg, Hancock was ordered to ex amine the stream with a view to crossing it and making a reconnaissance along the Shady Grove road on Lee's left, crossing the river again by the Shady Grove or Block House bridge, or below it, in order to turn and attack Lee's left. The stream, some 50 yards wide, was crossed by Barlow's, Gibbon's and Birney's divisions late in the afternoon, Birney meeting a stubborn resistance from cavalry and a bat tery. After crossing, three pontoon bridges were laid and the troops were pushed toward the Block House bridge, Barlow in advance, but night coming on compelled a halt until morning, with Barlow's skirmishers close to the bridge. The orders for the 10th were that, while the rest of the army felt the Confederate position in front, Hancock was to ascertain the position and force of the enemy in his front and the location of his left flank and to hold his corps ready to advance. At daybreak Hancock made a close examination of the Block House bridge with the design of carrying it by assault, but the Confederates (Mahone's division) had been sent to that point during the night, and had intrenched, commanding the bridge and its ap proaches. Therefore Brooke's brigade of Bar low's division went down the river to find a crossing and General Birney sent two regiments out on the Andrews Tavern road to cover Brooke's movement. About half a mile below the bridge Brooke threw across a regiment which, after going a short distance, discovered a Confederate line of strong earthworks oc cupied by artillery and infantry. At this time, about 1 P.M., Hancock received a despatch from General Meade directing him to send two di visions to General Warren's position for an assault with Warren on the Confederate lines at 5 P.M. Gibbon and Birney were withdrawn to the other side of the Po, and as Hancock was to command the movements of Warren's Corps and his own, he accompanied them, leav ing Barlow to hold the ground south of the river. When Birney began to withdraw, the
regiments he had sent toward Andrews Tavern, having driven back Wade Hampton's cavalry, were attacked by infantry, and this evidence that Barlow was likely to be attacked caused General Meade to order Barlow to be with drawn, as he did not wish to bring on an en gagement south of the Po. Hancock was directed to give the matter personal supervision. It was about 2 P.M. when Barlow began to with draw, at which time Brooke's and Brown's brigades were south of the Shady Grove road, and Miles' and Smyth's brigades along the road, the left resting on a crest a few hundred yards from Block House bridge. In rear the ground was open back to the bridges and swept by the artillery of Lee's left. As the withdrawal be gan Barlow was attacked; Heth's Confederate division of three brigades and a battalion of artillery, which had crossed the river below the Block House bridge, attacked Brooke and Brown vigorously as they were withdrawing, and was driven back with severe loss when the two brigades passed to the rear and took posi tion on a wooded crest on the right of Miles. Heth followed closely, Miles and Smyth were now retired to a crest in front of the bridges, and all the artillery, except Arnold's battery, was withdrawn and put in position on the north bank of the river. Heth again attacked Brooke and Brown, and was again repulsed with heavy loss. During the heat of this contest the woods on the right and rear of the two Union brigades took fire and the flames approached so close that upon the second repulse of Heth the brigades were ordered to abandon their position and fell back through the burning forest in good order. They immediately recrossed the river under heavy artillery fire. Many men were killed and wounded, numbers of the latter perishing in the flames. One gun of Arnold's battery, becoming entangled in the woods, was abandoned. Smyth's brigade was now crossed and deployed to protect the crossing of Miles; but before Miles could move the Confederates opened a furious fire of artillery from the front and left. Under cover of this their infantry attempted to cross the open ground in front of Miles, but Miles held the infantry in check, and the many Union batteries on the north side of the river silenced the Confederate guns, and Miles, taking advantage of the repulse, with drew in order to the two pontoon bridges, one of which was immediately taken up, the other de stroyed and the operation on the Po River was closed with severe loss on both sides. Consult 'Official Records' (Vol. XXXVI) ; Humphreys, 'The Virginia Campaign of 1864-65' ; Walker, 'History of the Second Army Corps.>