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A Decisive Moment
An impending presidential election, a divided Union war effort, a new Union commander, and Confederate setbacks beyond Virginia combined to render the first major battle of 1864 a pivotal moment. What happened in the Wilderness would set the tone for 11 months of campaigning that would decide the outcome of the Civil War in the Eastern Theater.
An Election in the Balance:
In a nation weary of war, Republican President Abraham Lincoln faces an uncertain battle for re-election in 1864. He knew, and Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant knew, that victory of defeat on battlefields across the South would determine the outcome of the election. If Lincoln lost, the Democrats promised peace. For the Confederacy, that meant victory -- and perhaps independence.
Lee: The Great Hope:
With Confederate armies reeling all across the South, the Confederacy's soldiers and civilians looked to Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia to forge victory from gloom.
"Of 'Uncle Bob's' plans, of course, we know nothing, but such as our faith in the integrity and ability of this old hero, that we feel perfectly confident... notwithstanding the mighty Grant confronts him, with all his Western Laurels green upon his radiant home."
-- Private JR Montgomery, 11th Mississippi Infantry, April 22, 1864
Grant Comes to Virginia:
Ulysses S. Grant had won a succession of victories in the west -- victories that threatened the survival of the Confederacy. But Grant knew that when the nation and the world judged how the war was progressing, they looked to Virginia.
In March 1864, the new General-in-Chief decided to make his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac -- the Union's largest and most prominent army, but one that had won few victories against Robert E. Lee. |