Overland Campaign

Overland Campaign
Part of the American Civil War
Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, respectively, opposing commanders in the Overland Campaign
Date May 4 (1864-05-04) – June 24, 1864 (1864-06-25) (1 month, 2 weeks and 6 days) Location Virginia Result Union victory; See Aftermath[1][2]
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade	Robert E. Lee
Units involved
Army of the Potomac[3] IX Corps[4] XVIII Corps[5] (Army of the James)[6]	Army of Northern Virginia
Strength
103,875[7]–124,232 ("present for duty")[8][9]	60,000–65,000[10]
Casualties and losses
54,926 total (7,621 killed; 38,339 wounded; 8,966 captured/missing)[11][12]	30,000–35,000 (estimated)[12] 4,206–4,352 killed; 18,564–19,130 wounded; 9,861–10,164 missing/captured

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and other forces against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign, it was a strategic Union victory. It inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lee's army and maneuvered it into a siege at Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, in just over eight weeks.

Crossing the Rapidan River on May 4, 1864, Grant sought to defeat Lee's army by quickly placing his forces between Lee and Richmond and inviting an open battle. Lee surprised Grant by attacking the larger Union army in the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5–7), resulting in many casualties on both sides. Unlike his predecessors in the Eastern Theater, Grant did not withdraw his army following this setback but instead maneuvered to the southeast, resuming his attempt to interpose his forces between Lee and Richmond; Lee's army was able to get into position to block this maneuver. At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (May 8–21), Grant repeatedly attacked segments of the Confederate defensive line, hoping for a breakthrough but the only results were again many losses for both sides.

Grant maneuvered again, meeting Lee at the North Anna River (Battle of North Anna, May 23–26). Here, Lee held clever defensive positions to divide the Union army and attack them, however, the effectiveness of the plan is debatable. The final major battle of the campaign was waged at Cold Harbor (May 31 – June 12), in which Grant gambled that Lee's army was exhausted and ordered a massive assault against strong defensive positions, resulting in disproportionately heavy Union casualties. Resorting to maneuver a final time, Grant surprised Lee by stealthily crossing the James River, threatening to capture the city of Petersburg, the loss of which would doom the Confederate capital. The resulting siege of Petersburg (June 1864 – April 1865) led to the eventual surrender of Lee's army in April 1865 and the end of the Civil War.

The campaign included two long-range raids by Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan. In a raid toward Richmond, Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern (May 11). In a raid attempting to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad to the west, Sheridan was thwarted by Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton at the Battle of Trevilian Station (June 11–12), the largest cavalry battle of the war.