The Bermuda Hundred Campaign

In April of 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant met with Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and approved his plan for attacking Richmond by moving an army up the James River. Grant decided that while the Army of the Potomac moved against Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia, Butler would land his Army of the James in Bermuda Hundred and move against Richmond. Knowing Butler lacked significant combat experience, Grant brought two West Point trained combat officers, William F. "Baldy" Smith and Maj. Gen. Quincy Gillmore to serve as Butler's Corps Commanders. This arrangement led to one of the most contentious commands of the war. From the opening days of the Bermuda Hundred Campaign, Butler and his subordinates quarreled openly to the detriment of the operation and the good order and discipline of the army they commanded.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler
Butler was a lawyer and Massachusetts Congressman prior to the war. In May of 1862 he commanded the troops that entered New Orleans after that city surrendered to the Federal navy. While success on the battlefield eluded him, he was widely regarded as a brilliant administrator. By 1864 he had become a strong supporter of the use of African-American soldiers to put down the rebellion and had more regiments of United States Colored Troops under his command than any other general.

Gen. William F. Smith
William F. "Baldy" Smith graduated near the top of his class at West Point in 1845. He was one of several generals who had fallen out of favor in Washington after the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862. In 1863 he was assigned to duty as chief engineer in the Army of The Cumberland where his skills impressed Grant. Smith came east with Grant in 1864 with the thought that he was going to command the Army of the James. Smith's subordination to Butler when he expected higher command created problems between them.

Maj Gen. Quincy Gillmore
Maj. General Quincy Gillmore graduated from West Point in 1849 at the head of his class. He had spent most of 1863 in South Carolina laying siege to Charleston. When he was assigned to Butler he moved his 10th Corps very slowly to Virginia. This perceived "foot dragging" did not win him any favors with Butler. They began to feud almost immediately.

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Ulysses S. Grant Commander of all Federal Forces (Library of Congress)
This sign was sponsored by Sandra Brown, Peabody, MA

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The Bermuda Hundred Campaign Begins
Confederate Leaders
Welcome to R. Garland Dodd Park at Point of Rocks
Point of Rocks
Actions in the East 1861-1863
Opening Actions of the Bermuda Hundred Campaign
Federal War Plans for 1864
Grant's Virginia Campaigns
The United States Submarine Propeller Alligator
Pontoon Bridge

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