Grant in Virginia

         In March of 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant arrived in Virginia.  Grant was one of the Union's most   successful generals winning important battles at Shiloh, Tennessee (1862), Vicksburg Mississippi (July, 1863), and Chattanooga, Tennessee (November,1863).  His reputation as being an aggressive as well as innovator fighter caught Lincoln's attention and the President appointed Grant to be the highest ranking general in the U.S. army since George Washington.   Grant's goal was to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond and he was prepared to take the city at all costs.
      From May to June of 1864, Grant slowly fought his way across Virginia towards Richmond in some of the bloodiest battles of the war.  At Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Battle of the Wilderness, the Union army suffered greater casualties than the Confederacy but made progress slowly towards Richmond.  After suffering over 18,000 casualties at the Battle of Spotsylvania, Grant proclaimed, "I propose to fight it out along this line all summer", unlike previous Union commanders Grant was prepared to keep his army moving forward no matter the cost.
       The costly battles against the Union army took a heavy toll on the Confederacy.  Robert E. Lee's army was rapidly becoming depleted of both men and supplies. Each battle brought thousands of casualties that the Confederacy could not replace. Many of Lee's men were poorly equipped and many were suffering from disease and malnutrition.
    On June 9, 1864, Grant's army began the siege of Petersburg which would last until March of 1865.  Petersburg was nicknamed the "Breadbasket of Richmond" because of the city's commercial importance to the Confederacy.  In order to take Richmond, the Union army had to capture Petersburg.

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