END OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1864-LOSSES.

dently decided to draw off, and, at 10 г. м., соmmenced the movement; which ended with our whole army back in its intrenchments before Petersburg, and thence westward to Warren's works, covering not only the Weldon railroad, but the Vaughan and Squirrel Level highways. Thus, while our several advances on the left had been achieved at heavy cost, the following movement, wherein we had the advantage in the fighting and in losses, gave us no foot of ground whatever.

Butler's advance on our farthest

597

right, being in the nature of a feint, had effected nothing but a distraction of the enemy's attention, and this at considerable cost.

Here ended, practically, for the year 1864, Grant's determined, persistent, sanguinary campaign against Lee's army and Richmond: and the following tabular statement of the losses endured by the Army of the Potomac, having been furnished by one of Gen. Grant's staff to the author of "Grant and his Campaigns," can not be plausibly suspected of exaggerating them:

Tabular Statement of Casualties in the Army of the Potomac, from May 5, 1864, to November 1, 1864.

NOTE -The first line of

our losses were fully 10,000. sylvania just about as many.

the above table includes several days' desperate fighting at Spottsylvania, in which Our actual losses in the Wilderness were rather under than over 20,000, and at SpottThese corrections, however, make no difference in the aggregates given above.

Whether the foregoing returns of ❘ and 24,000 missing (most of the latlosses do or do not include those of ter prisoners, of whom few of the

Burnside's (9th) corps before it was formally incorporated with the Army of the Potomac, is not stated; but, as they do not include the losses in the Army of the James, it is safe to conclude that the killed, wounded, and missing of 1864, in our armies operating directly for the reduction of Richmond, reached the appalling aggregate of 100,000 men. If we assume that, of nearly 54,000 wounded *Heth says that, if he had remained, he would have been attacked next morning by

able-bodied were exchanged during that year), 30,000 recovered of their wounds, or were recaptured, or escaped from the enemy, it leaves our net losses in that campaign not less than 70,000. The enemy's net loss, including 15,373 prisoners, after deducting the wounded who recovered and returned to their colors, we may safely estimate at 40,000, though they would doubtless make it less. Dur15,000 infantry and Hampton's cavalry. His lack of ammunition compelled withdrawal.

ing the many desperate combats of | purposeless commander would have this bloody year, the Army of the Potomac lost only 25 and gained but 32 guns. Its losses of guns were mainly incurred at Reams's station; its gains were chiefly made at Spottsylvania.

Grant's conduct of this campaign | was not satisfactory to the Confederate critics, who gave a decided pref erence to the strategy of McClellan. They hold that the former aimed only to overpower and crush by brute force-by the employment of overwhelming numbers-and by a lavish expenditure of blood. Doubtless, a great military genius, such as appears once in two or three centu- | ries, might have achieved them at a smaller cost; as a timid, hesitating,

failed to achieve them at all. The merit which may be fairly claimed for Grant is that of resolutely undertaking a very difficult and formidable task, and executing it to the best of his ability-at all events, doing it. That, when south of the James, he was just where the Rebels wished him not to be, they showed by desperate and hazardous efforts to draw him thence; and the proof was duplicated in the final collapse of the Rebellion. Other campaigns were more brilliant; but none contributed more positively and eminently to break the power of the Confederates than that which began on the Rapidan and ended in front of Petersburg and across the Weldon road.

XXVI.

WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTH OF THE RAPIDAN IN 1864.

at Jonesville, in the extreme west of old Virginia, near Cumberland gap, held by Maj. Beers with 300 Illinoisans and 3 guns, who were surrounded, surprised, and captured by Sam. Jones, after a smart contest, in which our loss was 60. The excuse for holding an outpost thus exposed was the necessity of collecting forage for our larger force at Cumberland gap.

THE 'ANACONDA' is a clumsy, slug- | northern Virginia. The first occurred gish beast; effecting his ends by an enormous, even lavish expenditure of force; but Grant's anaconda differed from that of Scott and McClellan in being thoroughly alive. The simultaneous National advance in 1864 from all points, against the armies and remaining strongholds of the Rebellion, was not merely ordered; it was actually attempted-with many reverses at the outset, and no decidedly encouraging results for some months, but with ultimately overwhelming success.

Before Gen. Grant had been placed in chief command, there had been several collisions in western and 1 Jan. 3, 1864.

A nearly simultaneous raid by FitzHugh Lee's cavalry, on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad west of Cumberland, came to nothing; but a later expedition, sent under Rosser over into West Virginia from the Valley by Early, surprised" a train

BRECKINRIDGE DEFEATS SIGEL AT NEWMARKET.

599

moving from New creek to Peters- | Gen. Crook, aiming at the Rebel re

sources in the vicinity of Staunton and Lynchburg. Sigel, with some 10,000 men, moved up the Valley accordingly, and was met, near NEWMARKET, by a Rebel army of at least equal force under Breckinridge; to strengthen whom, the region west of him had very properly been stripped and left nearly defenseless. After some maneuvering and skirmishing, Breckinridge, at 3 P. M., ordered a determined charge, by which Sigel's badly handled army was routed, and driven back to Cedar creek, near Strasburg, with a loss of 700 men, 6 guns, 1,000 small arms, his hospitals, and part of his train. Breckinridge seems not to have followed up his victory, because his forces were needed to repel the advance of Crook from the west.

Crook had moved from Charlestown simultaneously with Sigel's advance from Winchester; and as if to preclude the last chance of ultimate success-had divided his command; sending Averill, with 2,000 cavalry, to destroy the lead-mines near Wytheville, while he advanced farther to the left. But when Ave

7

days before. Verdigan, with but 10 | rill reached Wytheville, he found

men, captured a General, 4 other officers, and 25 privates, beside the steamboat and her crew; throwing overboard the captured arms so fast as he could seize them, so as to preclude the danger of a rescue. Scammon and his two aids were sent prisoners to Richmond; the residue paroled.

there John Morgan, with a formidable cavalry force dispatched by Gen. W. E. Jones from Saltville; and a stubborn fight came off, wherein Averill was clearly worsted. He tries in his 'General Order' to make the result a drawn fight against "overwhelming numbers;" but, as he does not claim to have destroyed the leadworks, nor taken the town, nor achieved anything in particular, save that "the purposes of the enemy were foiled by the engagement," there is 5 May 1. * May 15. May 10.

Gen. Grant's comprehensive plan of campaign embraced a cöoperative movement up the Shenandoah under Gen. Sigel, and up the Kanawha by

Hunter advanced to Staunton, where Crook and Averill-no considerable force having been left by Grant at once relieved Sigel, send- Jones to oppose them-joined him;

* June 5. beating back repeated charges of our infantry and • Col. C. G. Halpine, chief of staff to Hunter, cavalry, under Gens. Sullivan and Stahl-for

neither the divisions of Crook nor Averill had
then joined us; and it was quite late in the af-
ternoon, after a long and sweltering day of bat-
tle, when the movement of the gallant Col. Tho-
burne's division across the narrow valley, and
decided the contest in our favor. Gen. Wm. E.
its charge up hill upon the enemy's right flank,
Jones, their commander, was killed, as also four
including the worthless reserve militia, seventy
Colonels; and we had about 1,800 prisoners,
spoils attesting our success.
regular officers, and 2,800 stand of arms, as the
But for the com-

HUNTER MISCARRIES AT LYNCHBURG.

and moved thence directly to Lex- | have been misjudged; but Hunter, ington; disappointing Grant, who lacking many things, never lacked had expected him at Gordonsville, courage; and he believed that an atand had sent his cavalry under Sheridan to meet him there. His failure to do so subjected Sheridan to like failure in his approach to Gordonsville, as we have seen.