* The Battle of the Wilderness.
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The
Overland Campaign (
Grant's Overland Campaign/Wilderness Campaign) was a series of battles fought in
Virginia during May and June 1864, in the
American Civil War.
Lt. General.Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Federal armies, directed the actions of the
Army of the Potomac, commanded by
Maj. General George G. Meade, and other forces against
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's
Army of Northern Virginia. Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign, it was a strategic Federal victory. It inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lee's army and maneuvered it into a siege at
Richmond and
Petersburg, Virginia, in just over eight weeks.
Crossing the
Rapidan River on May 4, 1864, Grant sought to defeat Lee's army by quickly placing his forces between Lee and Richmond and inviting an open battle. Lee surprised Grant by attacking the larger Federal army aggressively in the
Battle of the Wilderness (May 5–7), resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Unlike his predecessors in the
Eastern Theater, however, Grant did not withdraw his army following this setback, but instead maneuvered to the southeast, resuming his attempt to interpose his forces between Lee and Richmond. Lee's army was able to get into position to block this movement. At the
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (May 8–21), Grant repeatedly attacked segments of the Confederate defensive line, hoping for a breakthrough, but the only results were again heavy losses for both sides.
Grant maneuvered again, meeting Lee at the North Anna River (
Battle of North Anna, May 23–26). Here, Lee held clever defensive positions that provided an opportunity to defeat portions of Grant's army, but illness prevented Lee from attacking in time to trap Grant. The final major battle of the campaign was waged at
Cold Harbor (May 31 – June 12), in which Grant gambled that Lee's army was exhausted and ordered a massive assault against strong defensive positions, resulting in disproportionately heavy Union casualties. Resorting to maneuver a final time, Grant surprised Lee by stealthily crossing the
James River, threatening to capture the city of Petersburg, the loss of which would doom the Confederate capital. The resulting
Siege of Petersburg (June 1864 – March 1865) led to the eventual surrender of Lee's army in April 1865 and the effective end of the Civil War.
* The Overland Campaign Map.
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* Federal Lt. General Ulysses Simpson Grant vs. Confederate General Robert Edward Lee.
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* The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
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* The Battle of Trevilian Station.
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* The Battle of North Anna River.
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* The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek.
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* The Battle of Yellow Tavern (Confederate Major General J.E.B. Stuart's Mortal Wounding Site Memorial).
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* The Battle of Haw's Shop (Enon Church).
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* The Battle of Cold Harbor.
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* Federal Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant's Headquarters at City Point.
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* The Siege of Petersburg.
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* Photos courtesy of William Bechmann (2016)