Another. Lee basically takes a waiting game. What is grant going to do. Grant is going to move one way or the other. Lee is uncertain. So he for fits the initiative to his opponent. This is unlike the lee that we usually see. But in this instance he has no choice. He sends his cavalry out past each ends of his lines sort of to act as a trip wire to let him know where the federals are coming from and then waits. The army was commanded by general George Gordon lee, the hero of gettysburg, mead at this point was in a hot seat. He failed to destroy lees army at gettysburg. He was being investigated by congress. We all know how bad that can be. And so mead was in a bad situation. Grant visited him and was impressed by mead, because what mead told grant was that he would step down willingly and let grant bring some of his own people from the west to run the army of the potomac. Grant decided to keep mead on. He needed somebody with meads knowledge of that army in order to run it in detail. And that, of course, is knowledge that grant didnt have. So what grant decides to do is travel with the army of the potomac, look over meads shoulder, make sure they were fighting the way he wanted them to. But at the same time, not interfere with their operations. As i mentioned this morning, grant will keep that promise for about one day, as the armies move into the wilderness. I talked this morning generally about the relationship between the commanders of these armies. Id like to talk a little bit now also about some of the subordinate commanders. Here on the battle field of cold harbor theyre going to play a big park. Grant and mead have a very bad relationship. Initially mead will be hopeful it will work out, but these are two very different kinds of generals. Grant likes to do the unexpected. Is willing to take risks. Mead is much more cautious. Socially theyre very different people, and their age comes from different social strata. They write home and tell their wives basically that the relationship is deteriorating. After a few days of fighting, mead basically writes home and tells his wife that he would resign from his position if he could, but honor requires him to stay on. There will be a breakdown in the union command relationship. Of course, robert e. Lee will have no such problems. He will be the head of the army of Northern Virginia and everybody knew it. Who were the subordinate commanders that each of they was generals were going to have underneath them . Well, the union army will have four army corps, four infantry corps and one cavalry corps. The unions second corps will be led by hancock. Im sure youre all familiar with him. He will not perform well against grant, though, because hes been badly injured. He was shot at gettysburg, had a wound in his thigh. He will spend a lot of the campaigns against lee here in virginia in an ambulance. The unions fifth corps will be under a gentleman by the name of warren. General warren is an unusual character, a young man. He had been an engineer, had fathomed Little Round Top at gettysburg. Hes something of an odd duck. As a matter of fact, some of his cohorts would laugh at him. Im sure we all know people like that. Thats general warren. General warren also thought a lot of himself, and as youll see at this campaign, often thought his plans were better than those of his superiors. The unions sixth corps will be in the hands of general sedgwick. He will be shot down by a South Carolina sharpshooter at the battle of spotsylvania courthouse. The sixth corps will be beheaded by Ambrose Wright. Horacio Ambrose Wright is a general that most of you probably have not heard about. And he comes to the sixth corps without much background. The union army will also have within it general ambrose burnside, who will be commanding the ninth army corps. Burnside is the general who headed the army of the potomac during the battle at fredericksburg. Grant is now bringing him back to join the army of the potomac. Because of burnsides former position, grant decides that burnside cant serve underneath mead, and instead will report directly to grant who will coordinate him with general mead. You can see of the command confusion thats going to take place, and some of that will become evident here at cold harbor. The Union Cavalry, most of the commanders that you historians would have been familiar with are now gone. John buford has died. General kill patrick has been exiled to the west. What grant decides to do is bring one of his generals from the west, general Phil Sheridan, eastward and put him in charge of the cavalry of the potomac. General grant will be selecting the cavalry commander who will be reporting to general mead. A very awkward command relationship. And a command relationship that wont work, because each of these are extraordinarily strongwilled men. I suspect Phil Sheridans appearance might have had to do with problems as well. Writers tell us as the campaign opens, Phil Sheridan was about 55 tall, weighed about 115 pounds. Bowlegged, with a pointy head, looked like his black hair had been painted on. Abraham lincoln who had a good way with words explained that Phil Sheridan didnt have enough neck to hang him by. And also, noted that he was the only man he knew who could scratch his ankles without bending over. This is a new commander of the Union Cavalry for the army of the potomac. As well see, well see a lot of sheridan here at cold harbor. A fascinating figure. But also a lot of problems, particularly for general mead. What about robert e. Lee and his force . The people here at cold harbor . Well, lee had three Infantry Army corps, and one cavalry corps. Robert e. Lees first corps begins under longstreet. But longstreet will be badly wounded after the second day of fighting grant. And he will be replaced by general Richard Heron anderson, a South Carolinan. A man who liked to smoke mirchon pipes. Well see a lot of him at cold harbor. The confederate second corps is under Richard Stoddard ewell. He will be replaced by early, a former prosecutor, tctjstrongwd erasible guy. Well see how early performs here at cold harbor. The confederate third corps commanded by Ambrose Powell hill of virginia, out of culpepper county, a. P. Hill, though, had been quite ill. Hes now commanding the larger remnant of Stonewall Jacksons old confederate first corps, as well as his former light division. A. P. Hill will do very poorly. Theres one thing about a. P. Hill that most people havent really focused on that i think would make an interesting story. Being a storyteller and historian, i would like to write a book about it one day. A. P. Hill had the unusual talent of dating women who later married Union Generals. And its hard to figure out how he was able to figure this out ahead of time. I know most of you are familiar with the fact that he went out with this marcy, who, of course, married george mcclellan. What you might not know is he also went out with a young lady from baltimore, her name was emily chase, and just before the battle of gettysburg, she married general warren. Now, warren and hill first came up against each other at a battle called bristol station in the fall of 1863. And this was a few months after warren had married emily chase. When i was digging through some of warrens archives up in new york, i came across a copy of a letter that warren had sent across the line to hill, after that battle. Warren had defeated hill. And he sent a note across the line that said, general a. P. Hill, i have defeated your army corps, and i have married your old sweetheart. So this will give you an idea of the state of affairs as were approaching the battles here at cold harbor. This thing is getting pretty personal. Well, what brings the armies here to cold harbor . The union plan of campaign is a plan of maneuvers. Grants plan is to swing downriver from lee. Lee is just below this rapid ann river. Grants going to swing the army of the potomac downriver, across, and then come back at lee. Basically turning his flank. On may the 3rd, during that night, and into the Early Morning of may 4th, this union juggernaut crosses downriver from lee in Central Virginia and comes at him from below, stops in an area called the wilderness of spotsylvania. The union forces stop there in order to get supplies, their supply wagons catch up, and also because they dont think lee can catch them in the wilderness. Lee, however, realizes that he has to hold that line up at the rapadan river, 50 miles north of richmond. He feels he has to hold that line, otherwise he would be driven back to the confederate capital, and find in the entrenchments and would be unable to maneuver. So lees goal is to maintain his flexibility and his maneuverability. What lee does is to attack grant in the wilderness. He divides his army into three parts, launches a threepronged attack. The battle is brutal. It goes on for some two days. Something like 11,000 confederates are killed, wounded and captured. Something like 18,000 Union Soldiers are killed, wounded and captured. 30,000 americans in all. The wilderness catches on fire. Some of the most brutal scenes of the war up to that point take place. But grant at the end of those two days finds himself stymied. Lee is in a powerful position in the wilderness and grant cannot break through. What does grant do . He maneuvers. He decides he will pull the army of the potomac out of the wilderness, swing south about ten miles to a place called spotsylvania courthouse. This will put him between lees army and richmond. And as lee figures lee will have to come out from the wilderness and fight him on open ground. This is a tactical maneuver aimed at pulling lee out from his entrenchments. The army of the potomac starts to shift south. Up to this point, whatever Union Generals had been trounced as bad as lee, had defeated grant in the wilderness, they always retreated. But grant moved south. Lee gets a finger in his army in front of grant, blocks him at spotsylvania courthouse. There is brutal fighting in places like the mule shoe, the bloody angle, that goes on for over a week in spotsylvania courthouse, almost ten days. Finally grant realizes he cant break through there. Grant maneuvers again. He pulls the union army out from spotsylvania courthouse. Sends a finger of it out on a big looping march, hoping to endice lee to come out so he can pounce on him. That doesnt work. Theres a race to the north and a river. The next defensible position, about 25 miles north of richmond. The Confederate Forces take up position below the north anna. Lee throws his army up into a wedgeshaped formation with the tip of it touching the south bank of the north anna. He realizes it by doing this. Each wing of this wedge is on high ground. A very defensible position. The union army comes across and is basically split across the head of the union wedge, part of the union force is on this side, part on that side. Lee realizes at that point he could strike either half of this divided union army with his force and have parity of numbers. But hes unable to do so, because at this point lee falls ill, has a bad diarrhea. His subordinate command has fallen apart. According to his aides, hes there at the North Anna River, line in his tent saying we must strike them a blow. We must not let them pass. We must strike them a blow. But he cannot strike that blow. Grant finally realizes the quandary, the trap that he has fallen into. Throws up earth works. Then we see the two armies sort of cheek by jowl, as one of the union aides put it, like two school boys facing each other across earth works. The confederates in a wedgeshaped formation, and the union army in a wedgeshaped formation, larger than the confederate one facing inward. They stay there for two days. Grant comes up with another idea. Maneuver, of course. What he wants to do now is to pull out from the North Anna River, do it overnight, before lee understands whats happening. And then swing down the River Systems to the east. This would take him below the north anna. Where the north anna joins with other rivers, to the pamonkey. He will aim for the pamonkey crossing. That will put him only 17 miles from richmond. It will put him downriver from lee and he can make a sharp dash to the confederate capital, and finally get the victory hes been attempting to get. Well, this move goes off like clockwork. The night of may 26th, grant pulls his army under cover of darkness, bands playing, across the North Anna River onto the north side and heads off to the pamonkey crossings. Lee has no idea whats going on until the next morning. Then discovers the federals are gone. The union force makes its march, crosses at hanovertown, and part of it crossing at nelsons bridge. And now finds itself on the south side of the pamonkey ready to march toward richmond. A dramatic thing happens now with the cavalry. Lee is now getting reports where grant is showing up but he needs to send out a force to find out where the federals are. Jeff stewart, the confederate cavalry commander, has been killed. Sheridan has headed south during these fights at spotsylvania courthouse, had drawn stewart after him. And stewart had been mortally wounded at the battle of Yellow Tavern on may the 11th. So lee puts in charge at least temporarily of his cavalry corps a South Carolina general, wade hampton, who will distinguish himself mightily. Still commanding this large of a body of troops. What lee decides to do is send a force to find where the federals are. And grant and mead decide to send a force to reconnoiter to find out where the confederates on. On may 28th with the union army pouring across the pamonkey river, they go out in the direction of lee, lee has now pulled out from the north anna, and sends his Cavalry Force under wade hampton toward where he thinks the federals might be. The two of them, of course, encounter each other at haws shop near salem church. This is a place that the haws shop area, of course, in recent times has been renamed after bob creek, who introduced me here, and its now called studley. Theres a massive cavalry fight that occupies most of may 28th. Its a dramatic and different kind of cavalry fight. The confederates commanded by wade hampton, basically get off of their horses, throw up field works, and fight dismounted. A series of attacks are launched by general sheridan. He is unable to break through. The union army is now gathering near him. But he doesnt want help from Union Infantry, he wants to win this battle alone. This cavalry fight goes on all day, until toward the end of the day, George Armstrong custer is able to break the impasse, overruns portions of hamptons line and the confederates fall back. As nightfall comes across Hanover County, its clear that the federals have driven Wade Hamptons cavalry back. Who won this battle of haws shop . If you count winning battles as who occupies the field, clearly Phil Sheridan had done that. But if you gauge who won or lost by whose goals were achieved, clearly wade hampton had won. Hampton has still screened the army of Northern Virginia. Sheridan had no idea where lees main force was. And at the same time, hampton had discovered where grants army was. In scooping up union prisoners, he had also picked up some Union Infantry and was able to learn grants location. So the battle of haws shop will really be the first meaningful engagement in the battle of mead up to our fight here at cold harbor. Well, lee decides to take up a strong defensive line during that same day, may 28th, and early the next day. If you take a look at the pamonkey river, and look at richmond, the next defensible line below the pamonkey is the tatamoney creek. Its a marshy, highbanked, small stream that runs just below the pamonkey. Lee decides to take up a line there. During the last part of may 28th, all night and into the next day, the Confederate Army in Northern Virginia moves into place. Well, what happens on may 29th . Grant has now pulled his cavalry, Phil Sheridans men, back to the rear so they can guard the burgeoning depot called white house landing. What the Union Generals decide to do is reconnoiter in force, basically send out the whole union army to look for lee. So horacio wrights sixth corps moves down the main road at lee station, gets down near the creek, and then swings sort of upriver. The unions second corps, hancocks boys come on down and set up position near the modern day shelton house, which was there at the time. And the other union corps form in the rear, with general warren starting to shift down yet further downstream on the creek. So the 29th is a day of reconnoitering. Big thoughts are in the mind of both the union and confederate commanders with respect to reinforcements. Grant has learned that his two supporting armies, the one in the Shenandoah Valley and the one on richmond have just been defeated. Im told by my virginia friends up in the Shenandoah Valley was defeated by a handful of vmi cadets. That might be a slight exaggeration, but they definitely were defeated. Butler moving up the james river was defeated by general beauregard. Grant realizes now that his supporting armies are not going to get their job done, and decides he can draw reinforcements from them. He asks general butler, who is handling the army of the james, to send him baldy smiths 18th corps. So around the 28th of may,