Grant Takes Command

— Lee Vs. Grant - The 1864 Campaign —

In March 1864, President Abraham Lincoln placed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union's overall military effort. Grant's strategy was simple: attack the Confederates simultaneously on all fronts, overwhelming them by sheer force of numbers. His plan called for Gen. William T. Sherman to drive towards Atlanta from Chattanooga while Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks moved from New Orleans towards Mobile. In Virginia, Gen. George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac was to engage Lee's attention south of the Rapidan River. At the same time, smaller Union armies would move up the Shenandoah Valley and against Richmond from the south.

To win the war, Grant realized that he must first destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He told Meade, "Lee's army will be your objective point. Whereever Lee goes, there you will go also." To make sure that Meade used the Army of the Potomac to its full potential, Grant made his headquarters with the army infusing it with his own relentless drive and determination. The result was six weeks of incessant combat and more than 50,000 Union casualties.

"...I therefore determined, first, to use the greatest number of troops practicable against the armed force of the enemy...; second, to hammer continuously against the armed force of the enemy and his resources, until by mere attrition, if in no other way, there should be nothing left of him."—U.S. Grant

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