The Overland Campaign
By mid-June 1864 the Union Army of the Potomac once again found itself mired in stalemate. Since early May, Union forces had been steadily squeezing the Confederates in the east as part of General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign with the Army of the Potomac, under General George Meade but with Grant directly supervising, spearheading operations from the north.[1] Unlike previous Union commanders that President Abraham Lincoln had dismissed, Grant was able to see the war in primarily logistic and strategic terms.
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Understanding that Union forces held a large numerical and supply advantage over their enemy, Grant would maintain pressure on the Confederates almost regardless of losses or tactical setbacks. In response, General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fought increasingly on the defensive, using well-developed earthworks that proved costly for Union forces to assault such as at Spotsylvania Courthouse and the disastrous attack at Cold Harbor.[2]In one last attempt to outflank Lee’s defenses, Grant moved south to the town of Petersburg, a key railroad junction in the Confederate supply chain. While succeeding in rapidly transferring his army south via several massive pontoon bridges over the Potomac River, the preexisting Confederate defenses, known as the Dimock Line, proved too strong for Grants exhausted men and, by June 18, both sides began digging in for a long siege.[3]
Citations
Cover Image: The Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania (Courtesy of History on the Net) [link]
[1] While Grant stayed with the Army of the Potomac during the Overland Campaign, he was in charge of all Union forces. The direct commander of the Army of the Potomac was General George Meade.
[2] Elizabeth R. Varon, Armies of Deliverance, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 331-338; “Cold Harbor,” American Battlefield Trust. [link]; “Spotsylvania Courthouse,” American Battlefield Trust. [link]
[3] Elizabeth Varon, Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 331-338; Ulysses S. Grant, The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, (USA [city not specified]: Seven Treasures Publications, 2009), 288-291; Kevin M. Levin, Remembering the Battle of the Crater: War as Murder, (Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2012), 9.
[1] While Grant stayed with the Army of the Potomac during the Overland Campaign, he was in charge of all Union forces. The direct commander of the Army of the Potomac was General George Meade.
[2] Elizabeth R. Varon, Armies of Deliverance, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 331-338; “Cold Harbor,” American Battlefield Trust. [link]; “Spotsylvania Courthouse,” American Battlefield Trust. [link]
[3] Elizabeth Varon, Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), 331-338; Ulysses S. Grant, The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, (USA [city not specified]: Seven Treasures Publications, 2009), 288-291; Kevin M. Levin, Remembering the Battle of the Crater: War as Murder, (Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2012), 9.