THE WORK TO BE DONE.
Two grand campaigns remained to be prosecuted to a successful conclusion before the great Civil War could be ended and the Union restored. The first and most important was that of General Grant against Richmond, or, more properly, against Lee, who was still at the head of the unconquered Army of Northern Virginia, and who must be overcome before the Confederate capital could fall. The second was the campaign of General Sherman, through the heart of the Southern Confederacy. Other interesting and decisive operations were to be pressed, but all were contributory to the two great ones mentioned.
Several momentous truths had forced themselves upon the national government. It had learned to comprehend the magnitude of the struggle before it. Had the North and South possessed equal resources and the same number of troops, the latter could not have been conquered any more than the North could have been defeated had the situation been reversed. But the North possessed men, wealth, and resources immensely beyond those of the South. The war had made the South an armed camp, with privation and suffering everywhere, while in the North a person might have traveled for days and weeks without suspecting that a domestic war was in progress. It was necessary to overwhelm the South, and the North had not only the ability to do so, but was resolved that it should be done. Its estimates were made on the basis of an army of a million men. Large bounties were offered for soldiers, and, when these did not provide all that was needed, drafting was resorted to. There had been rioting and disorder in New York City and other places during the summer of 1863, when there was a vicious revolt against drafting, but the government persisted and obtained the men it needed.
THE RIGHT LEADER.
Another proven fact was that the war could not be successfully prosecuted by a bureau in Washington. This attempt at the beginning had brought disaster; but the excuse for this interference was that the right leaders had not yet appeared. General after general was tried at the head of the armies, and had either failed or come short of the expected success. The events of 1863, however, indicated unerringly the right men to whom the destinies of the nation could be safely intrusted. Foremost among these was General Ulysses S. Grant. With that genius of common sense, which always actuated President Lincoln, he nominated him to the rank of lieutenant-general, the grade of which was revived by Congress in February, 1864, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on the 2d of March. In obedience to a summons from Washington, Grant left Nashville on the 4th of the month, arrived on the 9th, and President Lincoln handed him his commission on the following day.
"I don't know what your plans are, general," said the President, "nor do I ask to know them. You have demonstrated your ability to end this war, and the country expects you to do it. Go ahead, and you may count upon my unfaltering support."
Grant modestly accepted the tremendous responsibility, which placed him in command of all the armies of the United States, and he established his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac at Culpeper, Va., March 26, 1864.
THE GRAND CAMPAIGN.
The plan of campaign determined upon by Grant was to concentrate all the national forces into a few distinct armies, which should advance on the same day against the opposing Confederate armies, and, by fighting incessantly, prevent any one of them from reinforcing the other. The armies of the enemy were themselves to be the objective points, and they were to be given no time for rest. Sherman was to advance from Atlanta against Johnston, who had an army larger in numbers than that of Lee; Banks' army, as soon as it could be withdrawn from the disastrous Red River expedition, was to act against Mobile; Sigel was to pass down the valley of Virginia and prevent the enemy from making annoying raids from that quarter; Butler was to ascend the James and threaten Richmond; and, finally, the Army of the Potomac, under the immediate command of Meade, was to protect Washington, and essay the most herculean task of all—the conquest of Lee and his army.
Orders were issued by Grant for a general movement of all the national forces on the 4th of May. Since they were so numerous, and began nearly at the same time, it is necessary to give the particulars of each in turn, reserving that of the most important—Grant's own—for the last.