In June 1864, people scrambled to comprehend the terrible carnage of the past month. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee had inflicted over 80,000 casualties on each other, but Grant was not yet within striking distance of the Confederate capital of Richmond. More combat and hardship was to come, and politics also played a key role in the Northern war effort as the Republicans gathered to nominate a candidate for president.
The Battle of Cold Harbor
In Virginia, Grant continued his push south as Lee raced to stop him. The Federal and Confederate armies converged on a crossroads called Cold Harbor, about 10 miles northeast of Richmond. Anticipating Grant’s movement, Lee got there first and his men constructed formidable trenches and earthworks to defend against the inevitable Federal attack.
After two days of skirmishing, Grant ordered a general assault on the morning of June 3. If the Federals could break through the Confederate lines, a clear path to Richmond lay ahead. However the Confederates were firmly entrenched, holding the high ground and superior firing positions. As the Federals charged over open ground, they were quickly mowed down.
Within a half-hour, the Federals lost 7,000 killed or wounded against Lee’s losses of no more than 1,500. This was one of the worst Federal defeats of the war, and Grant later admitted that his order to charge was his greatest regret. Having been stopped at every advance toward Richmond since May, Grant devised a daring plan to skirt his army south and attack Petersburg, a key railroad city south of the capital.
The Atlanta Campaign
As General William T. Sherman’s Federals continued their advance into Georgia, the outnumbered Confederates under General Joseph Johnston did their best to check them. Fighting occurred at Dallas early this month before Sherman maneuvered his forces into successfully flanking the Confederates and forcing their retreat.
For over a month, Johnston had been skillfully retreating, placing his troops in strong defensive positions that the Federals could not penetrate. Each time, Sherman had responded by moving his forces around the Confederates and forcing them to move back. Finally Johnston’s troops entrenched themselves on Kennesaw Mountain and Sherman decided to launch a head-on assault.
The Federal thrust was repulsed with heavy losses; they suffered over 2,000 casualties compared to the Confederates’ less than 500. Sherman did not admit failure, but he did not repeat his mistake either. Once more, he maneuvered the Federals around the Confederate flank, and Johnston was forced to fall back again. As the Federals inched closer to Atlanta, the Confederate government began questioning Johnston’s resolve.
The National Union Convention
Republicans gathered at a national convention in Baltimore to nominate their candidate for president in the upcoming election. In an effort to garner support from Democrats who supported the war, the Republicans changed their name to the National Union Party. Despite his waning popularity, Abraham Lincoln was unanimously nominated to run for a second term as president.
For vice-president, war Democrat Andrew Johnson of Tennessee was nominated to balance the ticket. The party platform called for continuing the war until the South was completely defeated and the Union was restored, along with a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery.
The Battle of Petersburg
Following the Cold Harbor disaster, Grant decided to move his army across the James River and seize Petersburg, the vital railroad lifeline to Richmond. If he could take Petersburg, he could starve Richmond into submission. The army took four days to cross the James, during which time Lee was unaware of the movement.
When the Federals reached Petersburg, the city was defended by only 2,000 Confederates and could have easily been taken. However the lead commanders, remembering Cold Harbor, chose not to attack until reinforcements arrived. This gave Lee the time he needed to hurry his troops into Petersburg. This Federal blunder may have prolonged the war by months, but for the time being, Grant decided to lay siege to the city. Both armies entrenched themselves south of Petersburg.
Meanwhile, Lee dispatched a Confederate force under General Jubal Early on a daring raid through the Shenandoah Valley. Early moved north with plans to cross the Potomac River and possibly threaten Washington, D.C. itself. With luck, Early could draw enough of Grant’s forces away from Petersburg for Lee to break the siege.
Sources
- Long, E.B. and Long, Barbara: The Civil War: Day by Day (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971)
- Wallechinsky, David and Wallace, Irving: The People’s Almanac (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1975)
- Ward, Geoffrey C.; Burns, Ric; Burns, Ken: The Civil War (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990)
Walter Coffey - Walter Coffey is a freelance writer who resides in Houston, Texas. Walter has written several works of historical fiction and non-fiction, ...
Join the Conversation