The Spindle Field & Laurel Hill Fighting: Spotsylvania Court House, Va 1864 by Greg Mertz. Profile: Major General William B. Bates. Wiley Swords War Letters Series: A Virginian Reveals His Depression Over Losing So Many Comrades in Pickett's Charge. On The Back Roads: The Battle of Round Mountain, First Bloodshed of the Civil War in Indian Territory. Common Soldier: Sgt. James K. Sturdevant, Co. F, 8th Iowa Infantry.