When the Confederates found Barlow, they were, in his words, ‘very kind.’ Major A.L. Pitzer of Early’s staff had him carried into some woods and placed on a bed of leaves. He was then given some water and carried in a blanket to a nearby house Barlow was placed in a bed and, after dark, when the day’s fighting had ended, three Confederate surgeons appeared, gave him chloroform and probed the wound. When Barlow awoke, the Southern doctors told him that the bullet had passed downward through his body, cut the peritoneum and was lodged in his pelvic cavity. They said his chances for survival were slim, dosed him with some morphine and left.

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Barlow spent the remainder of the battle in enemy hands. On the second day, he was moved to another house, which was occupied by an elderly woman and her daughter, who were solicitous in their care. Captured Federal surgeons also examined him and delivered the same prognosis as their Confederate counterparts. The only treatment seems to have been washing the wound with cold water. Barlow passed the time reading books, his pain diminished by morphine. Several Confederate officers, including some members of Ewell’s and Early’s staffs, visited him, and he saw a good many of their men as well. Gordon’s name is conspicuously absent from Barlow’s account.

While Barlow was behind Confederate lines as a prisoner, Federal authorities received word of his whereabouts and condition. Arabella Barlow, who was nearby, came to the battlefield and, with the help of General Howard, crossed into the Confederate-controlled town. Arabella found General Barlow and, as she had after Sharpsburg, began to nurse him back to health, confounding the best medical opinions of both armies. Although Barlow’s convalescence took some time, he was able to rejoin the Army of the Potomac in the spring of 1864. Arabella returned to her duties with the Sanitary Commission.

On January 26, 1864, Barlow reported to Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock for duty at Harrisburg, Pa. He joined the 11 Corps at a time of major reorganization in the Army of the Potomac. The XI and XII corps had been sent to Tennessee to help raise the siege of Chattanooga, and they remained with the western army for the duration of the war. Two other corps, the I and III, had been so decimated at Gettysburg that their divisions were merged with the 11 and V corps. The old 11 Corps regiments were reorganized into two divisions — the 1st, which was given to Barlow, and the 2nd, commanded by Brig. Gen. John Gibbon. Barlow’s brigade commanders included Colonel Nelson Miles, a close friend from their days together in the 61st New York.

Colonel Theodore Lyman gave this description of Barlow during the Overland campaign: ‘He looked like a highly independent minded newsboy; he was attired in a flannel checked shirt; a threadbare pair of trousers, and an old blue kepi; from his waist hung a big cavalry saber; his features wore a familiar sarcastic smile…[yet] it would be hard to find a general officer to equal him.’ On May 3, 1864, the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River. As a portent of things to come, the 11 Corps led the way, with the 1st Division in the van. Barlow crossed the small river at Ely’s Ford, and the Overland campaign was underway. Seeking to delay the Union advance, General Lee hurled his troops against the Army of the Potomac as it moved through the tangled second-growth woods called the Wilderness. Barlow’s division was already moving southeast, away from the woods, when the battle began. Barlow immediately retraced his steps and led his troops into position on the left flank of the 11 Corps, along the Orange Plank Road. He attacked the Confederate troops in his front, but darkness soon brought the day’s action to a close.

Union commander General Ulysses S. Grant determined to push the contest with Lee and sidled toward his left, hoping to outflank the Rebel forces. Lee anticipated the move and won the race to the next point of contact at Spotsylvania.

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