noon
Grant , the redoubtable and tenacious , despite his numbers , could set no trap for him ! Instead he had been drawn into battle on a field of Lee 's own choosing . The conflict had now continued for a long time , and was terrible in all its aspects . It was far past noon , and for miles a dense cloud of smoke hung over the Wilderness , which was filled with the roar of cannon , the crash of rifles and the shouts of two hundred thousand men in deadly conflict . The first meeting of the two great protagonists of the war , Lee and Grant , was sanguinary and terrible , beyond all expectation . Hundreds fell dead , their bodies lying hidden under the thickets . The forest burned fiercely here and there , casting circles of lurid light over the combatants , while the wind rained down charred leaves and twigs .