--- title: "That time an entire battle stopped to watch two soldiers in a fistfight" description: "Everyone loves to watch a good fistfight. Apparently, a raging battle and even the Civil War will stop in its tracks to see who wins." date: "2022-08-26" modified: "2026-01-27" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/that-time-an-entire-battle-stopped-to-watch-two-soldiers-in-a-fistfight/" categories: - "Civil War" - "History" - "War History" tags: - "Army" - "Civil War" - "Military History" --- # That time an entire battle stopped to watch two soldiers in a fistfight ![civil war fistfight]() *Rebel vs. Yankee: It wasn't Mayweather-Pacquiao, but it made history.* There's just something about two people in a [fistfight that's irresistible to watch](). We can't look away. There's something about the sound of a sliding barstool, the rising tide of voices shouting, and the sudden rush of action in one spot that is just pure entertainment. **Related: [A War of 1812 veteran saw the Battle of Gettysburg from his porch, then joined it]()** On a battlefield, however, there's a lot of fighting going on. And some of that might be hand-to-hand. It's happened a lot thorughout military history. There just shouldn't be any reason for two entire armies to stop and watch two of their soldiers in a fistfight in the middle of a war. ![army fistfight]() *Though it's an interesting idea. (U.S. Army)* That's why it's surprising that it actually happened. And all the onlookers were Americans—because it happened during the Civil War. In May 1864, Union and Confederate armies clashed in a dense wooded area known as "The Wilderness," which is today not exactly wilderness, but it's also not exactly densely poulated. It's not as if this was the first taste of combat for any of these soldiers on either side of the battle. The Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac had been famously going at it since the middle of 1861. Three years later, they were still at it. But now it was the endgame. The Union was advancing all across the country and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had just launched the Overland Campaign, an operation with the goal of destroying the Army of Northern Virginia. The Wilderness near Spotsylvania was the first battle of that campaign. [Over the course of three days](), more than 120,000 Yankees fought some 65,000 rebels to an ultimately inconclusive result. Both sides took tens of thousands of killed and wounded, and the Union's Army of the Potomac pushed further into Virginia. Before anyone knew the outcome of the battle, however, one small skirmish captured everyone's attention on both sides, Union and Confederate. In the middle of the Battle of the Wilderness, between the two armies' centers, was a clearing called Saunders Field. Since it was the only real clearing in the area between two opposing armies, it was full of artillery shells and the holes made by those shells, along with the remains of bullets. Just tons of and tons of bullets. ![civil war bullets]() *Why are Civil War bullets so large?? WHY* As the two sides clashed near a gully in the field, a Union soldier hid there to avoid being captured by the enemy. Then a Confederate soldier threw himself into the gully to avoid the hail of Union bullets coming toward him (which, given the size of those bullets, we can understand why). They were the only two in the gully and somehow didn't even see one another. Until they did see one another. And then they started "bantering" at one another. ![nba fistfight]() *Something like this, but getting ejected from a war means getting ejected from life. Something like this, except basketball players never actually throw punches.* Eventually, the two had had enough of one another and decided to take it outside... of the gully. They stepped onto the road (part of the battlefield for the Battle of the Wilderness) for a good ol' fashioned "[fist and skull fight]()." It was mutually agreed that whoever won would take the other as a prisoner. The two men were halfway between both sides of the battle, in full view of everyone in each opposing army. And the men in each of those armies stopped fighting the entire Civil War to watch their fistfight. A number of other soldiers even ran up out of their ranks to get a better view of the fight. Did I mention the Civil War stopped to watch this fistfight? ![civil war battle]() *Let's see Floyd Mayweather get that kind of audience.* The account, written by a cavalryman of the Virginia Infantry, doesn't mention how long the fight lasted, only that "Johnny \[Reb\] soon had the Yank down." The Union soldier, true to his word, surrendered. They both returned to the gully, fighting resumed, and the man was taken back to Confederate lines. In the end, he might have lost the fight but he turned out to be one of the lucky ones. The Union Army took more than 16,000 casualties over the course of the three day battle. ## Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty ##### • [12 facts that might change the way you see the Civil War]() ##### • [The Civil War started and ended at the same guy’s house]() ##### • [5 reasons John Bell Hood was the worst Civil War general]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()