The Civil War Through the Camera - Henry W. Elson

THE COMING OF THE STRANGER GRANT

Hither, to Meade’s headquarters at Brandy Station, came Grant on March 10, 1864. The day before, in Washington, President Lincoln handed him his commission, appointing him Lieutenant-General in command of all the Federal forces. His visit to Washington convinced him of the wisdom of remaining in the East to direct affairs, and his first interview with Meade decided him to retain that efficient general in command of the Army of the Potomac. The two men had known each other but slightly from casual meetings during the Mexican War. “I was a stranger to most of the Army of the Potomac,” said Grant, “but Meade’s modesty and willingness to serve in any capacity impressed me even more than had his victory at Gettysburg.” The only prominent officers Grant brought on from the West were Sheridan and Rawlins.

SIGNALING ORDERS FROM GENERAL MEADE’S HEADQUARTERS, JUST BEFORE THE WILDERNESS

In April, 1864, General Meade’s headquarters lay north of the Rapidan. The Signal Corps was kept busy transmitting the orders preliminary to the Wilderness campaign, which was to begin May 5th. The headquarters are below the brow of the hill. A most important part of the Signal Corps’ duty was the interception and translation of messages interchanged between the Confederate signal-men. A veteran of Sheridan’s army tells of his impressions as follows: “On the evening of the 18th of October, 1864, the soldiers of Sheridan’s army lay in their lines at Cedar Creek. Our attention was suddenly directed to the ridge of Massanutten, or Three Top Mountain, the slope of which covered the left wing of the army—the Eighth Corps. A lively series of signals was being flashed out from the peak, and it was evident that messages were being sent both eastward and westward of the ridge. I can recall now the feeling with which we looked up at those flashes going over our heads, knowing that they must be Confederate messages. It was only later that we learned that a keen-eyed Union officer had been able to read the message: ‘To Lieutenant-General Early. Be ready to move as soon as my forces join you, and we will crush Sheridan. Longstreet, Lieutenant-General.’ The sturdiness of Sheridan’s veterans and the fresh spirit put into the hearts of the men by the return of Sheridan himself from ‘Winchester, twenty miles away,’ a ride rendered immortal by Read’s poem, proved too much at last for the pluck and persistency of Early’s worn-out troops.”