Grant Takes Command

President Abraham Lincoln placed Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in charge of the Union's overall strategy in March 1864. He brought fresh energy to the Federal war effort and developed a strategy in which Union armies would attack simultaneously on all fronts. Grant ordered Gen. William T. Sherman to drive from Chattanooga to Atlanta while Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks advanced from New Orleans to Mobile. At the same time, smaller Union armies would move up the Shenandoah Valley against Richmond from the south. In the Eastern Theater, Grant confronted the dangerous Army of Northern Virginia under Gen. Robert E. Lee and concluded that destroying this force was necessary to win the war. He told Army of the Potomac commander Gen. George G. Meade, "Lee's army will be your objective point. Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also." Grant made his headquarters with Meade's army to infuse it with his relentless drive and determination and to ensure that his orders were followed after the Federals crossed the Rapidan River at Germanna Ford. The result was six weeks of incessant combat and more than 85,000 combined Union and Confederate casualties.

Virginia · United States