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292

ARMY OF THE POTOMAC REORGANIZED.

where he was checked by a superior force, with a battery. Then he turned northward, in the direction of Stannardsville, skirmishing at times with Confederate cavalry, and then returned to camp, followed by a large number of refugees from slavery. This menace of the railway communication with the Shenandoah Valley, and the attacks on Richmond, produced the greatest alarm. When the danger disappeared, General Elzy,1 in command at the Confederate capital, issued a congratulatory order, that produced a pleasant quietude in the public mind, which was but

• March 8, 1864.

March 23.

2

little disturbed again until Lieutenant-General Grant made his appearance, at the beginning of May, like a baleful meteor in the firmament. We have seen that Lieutenant-General Grant, in his first order after assuming chief command, declared his head-quarters to be with the Army of the Potomac "until further orders." A week afterward he arrived in Washington City from the West, with a portion of his domestic and military families, and went immediately to the head-quarters of General Meade at Culpepper Court-House, where, on the following day, the Army of the Potomac was reorganized by consolidating and reducing the five army corps to three, named the Second, Fifth, and Sixth. These were respectively, in the order named, placed under the commands of Generals Hancock, Warren, and Sedgwick. Generals Sykes, Newton, French, Kenly, Spinola, and Meredith, were relieved and sent to Washington for orders. General Burnside, who, since his retirement from the command of the Army of the Ohio, at Knoxville, in December, had been at Annapolis, in Maryland, reorganizing and recruiting his old Ninth Corps, was ready for the field at the middle of April. His corps (composed partly of colored troops) was reviewed by the President on the 23d of that month, when it passed into Virginia and joined the Army of the Potomac. With this accession of force, that army, at the close of April, numbered over one hundred thousand men. Re-enforcements had been pouring in during that month, and before its close Grant and Meade had perfected their arrangements for a grand advance of the Army of the Potomac and its auxiliaries..

1 See page 396, volume II.

Hancock's (Second) corps consisted of four divisions, commanded respectively by Generais F. C. Barlow. J. Gibbon, D. B. Birney. and J. B. Carr. His brigade commanders were Generals A. S. Webb, J. P. Owen, J. H. Ward, A. Hayes, and G. Mott; and Colonels N. A. Miles, T. A. Smythe, R. Frank, J. R. Brooke, 8. 8. Carrel and W. R. Brewster. Colonel J. C. Tidball was chief of artillery, and Lieutenant-Colonel C. H. Morgan was chief of staff.

Warren's (Fifth) corps consisted of four divisions, commanded respectively by Generals C. Griffin, J. C Robinson, S. W. Crawford, and J. S. Wadsworth. The brigade commanders were Generals J. Barnes, J. J. Bartlett, R. B. Ayres. H. Baxter, L. Cutler, and J. C. Rice; and Colonels Leonard, Dennison, W. McCandice J. W. Fisher, and Roy Stone. Lieutenant-Colonel H. C. Bankhead, chief of staff; Colonel C. S. Wainwright, chief of artillery.

Sedgwick's (Sixth) corps comprised three divisions, commanded respectively by Generals H. G. Wright G. W. Getty, and H. Prince. The brigade commanders were Generals A. T. A. Torbert, A. Shaler, F. Wheston, T. H. Neill, A. L. Eustis, and D. A. Russell; and Colonels E. Upton, H. Burnham, and L. A. Grant. Chief of staff, Lieutenant-Colonel M. T. McMahon; chief of artillery, Colonel C. H. Tompkins.

The reserve park of artillery was under the chief direction of General H. J. Hunt, chief of artillery of the Army of the Potomac, and under the immediate command of Colonel H. S. Burton. A brigade of engineers and the pontoon trains were placed in charge of Major J. C. Duane; and the vast park of supply-wagons were under the direction of General Rufus Ingalls, Chief Quartermaster.

The cavalry of the entire army was consolidated, and General Philip H. Sheridan, of the Regular Infantry. was placed in command of it; and General Kilpatrick was assigned to the command of the cavalry of Sherman's army in Northern Georgia. General Pleasanton was ordered to report to General Rosecrans, in Missouri, where we have just observed him engaged in chasing Price out of that State.

* The staff of General Grant was nearly thirty less in number than that of General McCiellan, and was composed of fourteen officers, as follows: Brigadier-General John A. Rawlins, chief of staff; Lieutenant-Colonel -s and Captain E. S. Parker, assistant adjutants-general; Lieutenant-Colonel C. B. Comstock, senior ; Lieutenant-Colonels Orville E. Babcock, F. T. Dent, Horace Porter, and Captain P. T. Hudson, p; Lieutenant-Colonel W. L. Dupp, assistant inspector-general; Lieutenant-Colonels W. R. Rowley Badeau, secretaries; Captain George K. Leet, assistant adjutant-general, in office at Washington; W. Janes, assistant quartermaster, on duty at head-quarters, and First-Lieutenant William Dunn, e-camp. General Meade's chief of staff was Major-General A. A. Humphreys, and Brigadier-General ms was his adjutant-general.

CO-OPERATING FORCES.

293

eneral plan for the advance was for the main army to make an march from the Rapid Anna to the James, with co-operating or forces menacing communications with Richmond from different For the latter purpose General Butler was to advance from Fortress with about thirty thousand troops, establish himself in an intrenched in the vicinity of City Point, at the junction of the Appomattox th the James, whence he might operate, either against Richmond or its communications, or effect a junction with the Army of the marching down from the North, as circumstances might require. force was organized for the purpose of menacing the westward cations with Richmond. This force was to be composed of the General Franz Sigel, then engaged in protecting Western Virginia rontiers of Maryland and Pennsylvania. He was to form his army columns, one of them, about ten thousand strong, under General › march up from the Kanawha region and operate against the Vird East Tennessee railway, and the other, about seven thousand inder Sigel, in person, to go up the Shenandoah Valley as far as and, by thus menacing Lee's westward lines of supply, compel him detachments for their protection, and thereby weaken his forces to the Army of the Potomac. Lee's army was then occupying a ly twenty miles on each side of Orange Court-House, its left covered Rapid Anna and mountains near, and its right by a strong line of n Mine Run, which he had strengthened since Meade's threat in ber. The corps of Ewell and Hill composed the bulk of Lee's army e Rapid Anna, while Longstreet's corps, lately returned from East ee, was in the vicinity of Gordonsville, within easy supporting dis

Lee.

was the general position of the opposing forces in Virginia on the May, when Lieutenant-General Grant gave orders for an advance of t armies of Meade and Sherman, to operate against the rebellion, in

age 111.

me 3d of May, General Meade issued the following order to the Army of the Potomac, which was read giment:

ERS:-Again you are called upon to advance on the enemies of your country. The time and the ocсаemed opportune by your commanding general to address you a few words of confidence and caution. een reorganized, strengthened, and fully equipped in every respect. You form a part of the several our country-the whole under an able and distinguished general, who enjoys the confidence of the at, the people, and the army. Your movement being in co-operation with others, it is of the utmost that no effort should be spared to make it successful.

ers! The eyes of the whole country are looking with anxious hope to the blow you are about to strike sacred cause that ever called men to arms. Remember your homes, your wives, and children; and nd that the sooner your enemies are overcome, the sooner you will be returned to enjoy the benefits gs of peace. Bear with patience the hardships and sacrifices you will be called upon to endure. dence in your officers and in each other.

your ranks on the march and on the battle-field, and let cach man earnestly implore God's blessing, For, by his thoughts and actions, to render himself worthy of the favor he seeks. With clear con1 strong arms, actuated by a high sense of duty, fighting to preserve the Government and the institued down to us by our forefathers, if true to ourselves, victory, under God's blessing, must and will efforts."

294

GRANT'S IDEAS ABOUT MAKING WAR.

accordance with a plan which his view of the necessity of the case suggested, and which he so clearly set forth in his final general report, saying:

"From an early period in the rebellion I had been impressed with the idea that active and continuous operations of all the troops that could be brought into the field, regardless of season and weather, were necessary to a speedy termination of the war. The resources of the enemy, emy, and his numerical strength, were far inferior to ours; but, as an offset to this, we had a vast territory, with a population hostile to the Government, to garrison, and long lines of river and railroad communication to protect, to enable us to supply the operating armies.

"The armies in the East and West acted independently and without concert, like a balky team, no two ever pulling together, enabling the enemy to use to great advantage his interior line of communication, for transporting troops from east to west, re-enforcing the army most vigorously pressed, and to furlough large numbers, during seasons of inactivity on our part, to go to their homes and do the work of producing, for the support of their armies. It was a question whether our numerical strength and resources were not more than balanced by these disadvantages and the enemy's supe rior position.

"From the first I was firm in the conviction that no peace could be had that would be stable and conducive to the happiness of the people, both North and South, until the military power of the rebellion was entirely broken. I therefore determined, first, to use the greatest number of troops practicable against the armed force of the enemy, preventing him from using the same force at different seasons against, first one and then another of our armies, and the possibility of repose for refitting and producing necessary supplies for carrying on resistance. 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 to him but an equal submission with the loyal section of our common country to the Constitution and laws of the land."

Grant felt encouraged to work in accordance with these views, for the loyal people everywhere evinced entire confidence in him, and a disposition to furnish him with all necessary materials for making a vigorous and deci

sive campaign. Volunteering was rapidly increasing; and on the • 1864. 21st of April the Governors of the younger States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, tendered to the President the services of one hundred thousand men, for one hundred days, without requiring any bounty to be paid or the service charged or credited on any draft. This patriotic offer was accepted, and the Secretary of

* April 23.

War was directed to carry the proposition of the Governors into effect.

ADVANCE OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.

295

CHAPTER XI.

ADVANCE OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC ON RICHMOND.

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N the evening of the 3d of May, 1864, the Army of the Potomac was ready to advance, and at midnight it moved toward the Rapid Anna in two columns, the right from near Culpepper Court-House, and the left from Stevensburg. The right was composed of the corps of Warren (Fifth) and Sedgwick (Sixth); and the left, of the Second, under Hancock. The right

was led by Warren, preceded by Wilson's cavalry and, on the morning of the 4th, crossed the Rapid Anna at Gerord, followed, during the forenoon, by Sedgwick's corps. The left, | by Gregg's cavalry, and followed by the entire army-train of four thousand in number, crossed at Elly's Ford at the same time. right column pushed directly into The Wilderness, and Warren, with s cavalry thrown out in the direction of Robertson's Tavern,1 bivouat night at the Old Wilderness Tavern, while Sedgwick encamped e river. The left column pushed on to Chancellorsville, and bivoune same night on the battle-field around it, with Gregg's cavalry out toward Todd's Tavern. Burnside's (Ninth) corps, which had ng on the Rappahannock, intended, it was supposed, as a reserve for ense of Washington City, had now moved rapidly forad, on the morning of the 5th, crossed the Rapid Anna ania Ford, and joined the Army of the Potomac, into which it was d incorporated.

• May, 1864.

one hundred thousand men, fresh and hopeful, with the immense in, were now across the Rapid Anna, and well on the flank of the rate army lying behind the strong intrenchments on Mine Run. In ance the Nationals had met no opposition, and it was an achieverant said, which removed from his mind the most serious apprehennich he had entertained concerning the crossing of the river "in the an active, large, well-appointed, and ably commanded army."

He

confident that by another day's march the Army of the Potomac

ap on page 111. See map on page 37. 3 See page 24. rt of Lieutenant-General Grant of the Armies of the United States, 1864-5, page 6. General Grant n at the outset of the report to refer to the anomalous position of General Meade, who was the comThe Army of the Potomac. He says he tried to leave General Meade in independent command of the instructions were all given through Meade. They were general in their nature, leaving all the m. "The campaigns that followed," Grant said, "proved him to be the right man in the right 5 commanding in the presence of an officer of superior rank drew from him much of the public

296 THE CONFEDERATES MOVE TO MEET THE NATIONALS.

might pass The Wilderness, using it for a mask, and, by advancing rapidly on Gordonsville, take a position in the rear of the Army of Northern Virginia. For this purpose Sheridan was directed to move with the cavalry divisions of Gregg and Torbert against the Confederate cavalry, in the direction of Hamilton's Crossing, near Fredericksburg, and, at the same time, Wilson's division was ordered to move to Craig's Meeting-House, on the Catharpin road, and to send out from that point detachments upon other highways to watch the foe. Hancock was directed to move to Shady Grove Church, and extend his right toward the Fifth Corps, at Parker's store, while Warren, marching to the latter place, should extend his right toward the Sixth Corps, at the Old Wilderness Tavern, to which Sedgwick was ordered.

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developed Grant's intentions, the Confederate commander, with singular boldness and skill, changed his front, and proceeded to foil his antagonist. From Lee's center, near Orange Court-House, about twenty miles from the prescribed line of march of the Nationals, two roads running eastwardly, almost parallel to each other, penetrated and passed through The Wilderness. One (the more northerly) was an old turnpike, the other a plank road. Along these, when, on the 4th, the Army of the Potomac was passing the Rapid Anna and moving southward, a large portion of the Army of Northern Virginia was moving, leaving behind them the strong defenses on Mine Run as a place of refuge in the event of disaster. In two columns the Confederates were pressing along these roads, to confront the Nationals before they should reach the intersection of these highways with that from Germania Ford, and compel them to fight while in that wooded, tangled, and, to the latter, unknown region, so familiar to the former, where cavalry and artillery would be almost useless, and where the clouds of sharp-shooters belonging to Lee's army might ply their deadly vocation almost with impunity. General R. S. Ewell was leading the more northerly column along the turnpike, and A. P. Hill the other along the plank road; and that night Ewell's advance division, under Edward Johnson, bivouacked within three miles of the Old Wilderness Tavern, at the junction of the Orange turnpike with the Germania Ford road, near which Warren's corps was reposing. Neither party suspected the close proximity of the other.

This is from a fine photograph, from life, by Rockwood, of New York City.

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