Grant now finds himself pitted against the first soldier of the continent, the leader who is to go down to history as probably the greatest soldier that America has ever produced.  Lee’s military career is a wonderful example of a combination of brilliancy, daring ingenuity of plan, promptness of action, and patient persistence under all kinds of discouragement, but it was not only through these qualities that it was possible for him to retain control, through three years of heavy fighting, of the territory of Virginia, which came to be the chief bulwark of the Confederacy.  Lee’s high character, sweetness of nature, and unselfish integrity of purpose had impressed themselves not only upon the Confederate administration which had given him the command but upon every soldier in that command.  For the army of Northern Virginia Lee was the man behind the guns just as Lincoln came to be for all the men in blue.  There never was a more devoted army and there probably never was a better handled army than that with which Lee defended for three years the lines across Northern Virginia and the remnants of which were finally surrendered at Appomattox.

Grant might well have felt concerned with such an opponent in front of him.  He had on his hands (as had been the almost uniform condition for the army of the Potomac) the disadvantage of position.  His advance must be made from exterior lines and nearly every attack was to be against well entrenched positions that had been first selected years back and had been strengthened from season to season.  On the other hand, Grant was able to depend upon the loyal support of the administration through which came to his army the full advantage of the great resources of the North.  His ranks as depleted were filled up, his commissary trains need never be long unsupplied, his ammunition waggons were always equipped.  For Lee, during the years following the Gettysburg battle, the problem was unending and increasing:  How should the troops be fed and whence should they secure the fresh supplies of ammunition?

Between Grant and Lincoln there came to be perfect sympathy of thought and action.  The men had in their nature (though not in their mental equipment) much in common.  Grant carries his army through the spring of 1864, across the much fought over territory, marching and fighting from day to day towards the south-west.  The effort is always to outflank Lee’s right, getting in between him and his base at Richmond, but after each fight, Lee’s army always bars the way.  Marching out of the Wilderness after seven days’ fierce struggle, Grant still finds the line of grey blocking his path to Richmond.  The army of the Potomac had been marching and fighting without break for weeks.  There had been but little sleep, and the food in the trains was often far out of the reach of the men in the fighting line.  Men and officers were alike exhausted.  While advantages had been gained at one point or another along the line, and while it was certain that the opposing army had also suffered severely, there had been no conclusive successes to inspirit the troops with the feeling that they were to seize victory out of the campaign.