MAY 26, 1864:
The Battle of The
North Anna River (Day Four):
After
a morning of inaction, Ulysses S. Grant decides that there is nothing more he
wants along the banks of the North Anna River, and he gives his army the order
to move south toward Richmond. As The Army
of The Potomac begins to pull up stakes so, perforce, must The Army of Northern
Virginia. Lee has no choice but to once again move into a blocking position
between Grant and Richmond. And so, the Battle of The North Anna River ends. Of
all the major battles of the Overland Campaign, the Battle of The North Anna River is
the least bloody, with a total of about 5,000 casualties (1,000 dead) divided
equally.
Grant is correct when
he says that a “battle with [the Confederates] outside of intrenchments
cannot be had. Our men feel that they have gained the morale over the enemy.” From this point forward, Lee’s men will
fight only from fixed positions, and Confederate morale is steadily eroding.
But Grant, misinterpreting Lee’s inaction at the North Anna River as a loss of esprit de corps, has been lulled into
thinking that the enemy is nearly defeated. The Army of Northern Virginia is
far from beaten, as Grant will soon discover to his everlasting regret.
Exact conditions in
The Army of Northern Virginia circa May 1864 are hard to assess from 150 years
in the future; records are incomplete, perhaps never kept, perhaps lost,
perhaps destroyed. What can be ascertained is that the Confederate Army is
exhausted after a month of outrunning the Union Army. Food stocks are far poorer
than those of the Union Army; the Confederate soldier is living on about half
the calories of his Union counterpart. Supplies and ammunition are becoming
harder to come by. Lee must beg, borrow, and steal from Commands in other
theatres in order to keep his men in fighting trim. Ultimately, this pattern of
“borrowing from Peter to pay Paul” will undo the entire military structure of
the Confederacy. But, in the meanwhile,
the relative quiet of the Battle of The North Anna River has allowed the Southerners
to rest, eat better meals, and replace or repair worn out gear. Lee has
received supplies, food, and fresh troops from P.G.T. Beauregard, Joseph E.
Johnston, and other Confederate field commanders, not as many or as much as he
needs, but enough to continue the fight. Lee is probably leading a force of
about 50,000 men after the Battle of The North Anna River. He is outnumbered
2-to-1, but his fighting men still have their moxie.
In Georgia, after the
defeat at New Hope Church, Sherman shrugs, and continues toward Atlanta. The
two great cities still in Confederate hands have been marked for the taking.
The United States
Congress creates the Territory of Montana from part of the Idaho Territory.
