1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Union (American Civil War)
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The Union was opposed by 11 southern slave states that formed the Confederate States, or the Confederacy. All of the Unions states provided soldiers for the U. S. Army, the Border states played a major role as a supply base for the Union invasion of the Confederacy. The Northeast provided the resources for a mechanized war producing large quantities of munitions and supplies. The Midwest provided soldiers, food, horses, financial support, Army hospitals were set up across the Union. Most states had Republican governors who energetically supported the war effort, the Democratic Party strongly supported the war in 1861 but in 1862 was split between the War Democrats and the anti-war element led by the Copperheads. The Democrats made major gains in 1862 in state elections. They lost ground in 1863, especially in Ohio, in 1864 the Republicans campaigned under the National Union Party banner, which attracted many War Democrats and soldiers and scored a landslide victory for Lincoln and his entire ticket. The war years were quite prosperous except where serious fighting and guerrilla warfare took place along the southern border, prosperity was stimulated by heavy government spending and the creation of an entirely new national banking system. The Union states invested a great deal of money and effort in organizing psychological and social support for soldiers wives, widows, orphans, and for the soldiers themselves. Most soldiers were volunteers, although after 1862 many volunteered to escape the draft, Draft resistance was notable in some larger cities, especially New York City with its massive anti-draft riots of 1863 and in some remote districts such as the coal mining areas of Pennsylvania. In the context of the American Civil War, the Union is sometimes referred to as the North, both then and now, as opposed to the Confederacy, which was the South. The Union never recognized the legitimacy of the Confederacys secession and maintained at all times that it remained entirely a part of the United States of America, in foreign affairs the Union was the only side recognized by all other nations, none of which officially recognized the Confederate government. The term Union occurs in the first governing document of the United States, the subsequent Constitution of 1787 was issued and ratified in the name not of the states, but of We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union. Union, for the United States of America, is repeated in such clauses as the Admission to the Union clause in Article IV. Even before the war started, the preserve the Union was commonplace. Using the term Union to apply to the non-secessionist side carried a connotation of legitimacy as the continuation of the political entity. In comparison to the Confederacy, the Union had a large industrialized and urbanized area, additionally, the Union states had a manpower advantage of 5 to 2 at the start of the war. Year by year, the Confederacy shrank and lost control of increasing quantities of resources, meanwhile, the Union turned its growing potential advantage into a much stronger military force
3.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
4.
Battle of Antietam
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After pursuing the Confederate general Robert E. Lee into Maryland, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan of the Union Army launched attacks against Lees army, in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn on September 17, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers corps mounted an assault on Lees left flank. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Millers Cornfield, and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church, Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. In the afternoon, Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsides corps entered the action, capturing a bridge over Antietam Creek. At a crucial moment, Confederate Maj. Gen. A. P. Hills division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a counterattack, driving back Burnside. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, during the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, despite having superiority of numbers, McClellans attacks failed to achieve force concentration, which allowed Lee to counter by shifting forces and moving interior lines to meet each challenge. Therefore, despite ample reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes, McClellan had halted Lees invasion of Maryland, but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. McClellans refusal to pursue Lees army led to his removal from command by President Abraham Lincoln in November, although the battle was tactically inconclusive, the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield, making it, in military terms, a Union victory. Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia—about 55,000 men—entered the state of Maryland on September 3,1862, emboldened by success, the Confederate leadership intended to take the war into enemy territory. Lees invasion of Maryland was intended to run simultaneously with an invasion of Kentucky by the armies of Braxton Bragg and it was also necessary for logistical reasons, as northern Virginias farms had been stripped bare of food. They sang the tune Maryland, My Maryland, as they marched, but by the fall of 1862 pro-Union sentiment was winning out, especially in the western parts of the state. Civilians generally hid inside their houses as Lees army passed through their towns, or watched in cold silence, while the Army of the Potomac was cheered and encouraged. While McClellans 87, 000-man Army of the Potomac was moving to intercept Lee, the order indicated that Lee had divided his army and dispersed portions geographically, thus making each subject to isolation and defeat if McClellan could move quickly enough. McClellan waited about 18 hours before deciding to take advantage of this intelligence and reposition his forces, McClellans Army of the Potomac, bolstered by units absorbed from John Popes Army of Virginia, included six infantry corps. The I Corps, under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, consisted of the divisions of, the II Corps, under Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner, consisted of the divisions of, Maj. Gen. Israel B. The V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter, consisted of the divisions of, the VI Corps, under Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin, consisted of the divisions of, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum, Maj. Gen. William F. Baldy Smith
5.
Battle of Fredericksburg
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A visitor to the battlefield described the battle to U. S. President Abraham Lincoln as a butchery. Burnsides plan was to cross the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg in mid-November, bureaucratic delays prevented Burnside from receiving the necessary pontoon bridges in time and Lee moved his army to block the crossings. When the Union army was able to build its bridges and cross under fire. Union troops prepared to assault Confederate defensive positions south of the city, Burnside ordered the grand divisions of Maj. Gens. Sumner and Joseph Hooker to make frontal assaults against Lt. Gen. James Longstreets position on Maryes Heights. On December 15, Burnside withdrew his army, ending another failed Union campaign in the Eastern Theater, in November 1862, Lincoln needed to demonstrate the success of the Union war effort before the Northern public lost confidence in his administration. Confederate armies had been on the earlier in the fall, invading Kentucky and Maryland, and although each had been turned back. Lincoln urged Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to advance against the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. McClellan had stopped Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland, mcClellans replacement was Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, the commander of the IX Corps. Burnside had established a reputation as an independent commander, with successful operations earlier that year in coastal North Carolina and, However, he felt himself unqualified for army-level command and objected when offered the position. Burnside assumed command on November 7, in response to prodding from Lincoln and general-in-chief Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck, Burnside planned a late fall offensive, he communicated his plan to Halleck on November 9. The plan relied on movement and deception. He would concentrate his army in a visible fashion near Warrenton, feigning a movement on Culpeper Court House, Orange Court House and he also believed that the Orange and Alexandria Railroad would be an inadequate supply line. Lincoln reluctantly approved the plan on November 14 but cautioned his general to move with great speed, the Union Army began marching on November 15, and the first elements arrived in Falmouth on November 17. Burnside first requisitioned the pontoon bridging on November 7 when he detailed his plan to Halleck, the plan was sent to the attention of Brig. Gen. George Washington Cullum, the chief of staff in Washington. Plans called for both riverine and overland movement of the trains to Falmouth. On November 14, the 50th New York Engineers reported the pontoons were ready to move, unknown to Burnside, most of the bridging was still on the upper Potomac. Communications between Burnsides staff engineer Cyrus B, comstock and the Engineer Brigade commander Daniel P. Woodbury indicate that Burnside had assumed the bridging was en route to Washington based on orders given on November 6
6.
Battle of Chancellorsville
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The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6,1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, two related battles were fought nearby on May 3 in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. The campaign pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers Army of the Potomac against a less than half its size. Chancellorsville is known as Lees perfect battle because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory. The Chancellorsville Campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27,1863, Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman began a long distance raid against Lees supply lines at about the same time. Crossing the Rapidan River via Germanna and Elys Fords, the Federal infantry concentrated near Chancellorsville on April 30, combined with the Union force facing Fredericksburg, Hooker planned a double envelopment, attacking Lee from both his front and rear. Despite the objections of his subordinates, Hooker withdrew his men to the lines around Chancellorsville. On May 2, Lee divided his army again, sending Stonewall Jacksons entire corps on a march that routed the Union XI Corps. While performing a reconnaissance in advance of his line, Jackson was wounded by fire from his own men. Stuart temporarily replaced him as corps commander and that same day, Sedgwick advanced across the Rappahannock River, defeated the small Confederate force at Maryes Heights in the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, and then moved to the west. The Confederates fought a delaying action at the Battle of Salem Church and by May 4 had driven back Sedgwicks men to Banks Ford. Sedgwick withdrew across the early on May 5, and Hooker withdrew the remainder of his army across U. S. Ford the night of May 5–6, the campaign ended on May 7 when Stonemans cavalry reached Union lines east of Richmond. In the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, the objective of the Union had been to advance and seize the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. In the first two years of the war, four attempts had failed, the first foundered just miles away from Washington. Robert E. Lee in the Seven Days Battles and that summer, Maj. Gen. John Popes Army of Virginia was defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run. In January 1863, the Army of the Potomac, following the Battle of Fredericksburg, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside decided to conduct a mass purge of the Army of the Potomacs leadership, eliminating a number of generals who he felt were responsible for the disaster at Fredericksburg. In reality, he had no power to anyone without the approval of Congress
7.
Gettysburg Campaign
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The Gettysburg Campaign was a military invasion of Pennsylvania by the main Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee in summer 1863. The Union won a victory at Gettysburg July 1-3, with heavy casualties on both sides. Lee managed to back to Virginia with most of his army. It was a point in the American Civil War, with Lee increasingly pushed back toward Richmond until his surrender in April 1865. The Union Army of the Potomac was commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, Lees army slipped away from Federal contact at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on June 3,1863. The largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war was fought at Brandy Station on June 9, the Confederates crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and moved north through the Shenandoah Valley, capturing the Union garrison at Winchester, Virginia, in the Second Battle of Winchester, June 13–15. Crossing the Potomac River, Lees Second Corps advanced through Maryland and Pennsylvania, reaching the Susquehanna River, however, the Army of the Potomac was in pursuit and had reached Frederick, Maryland, before Lee realized his opponent had crossed the Potomac. Lee moved swiftly to concentrate his army around the town of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was the largest of the war, on July 2, with most of both armies now present, Lee launched fierce assaults on both flanks of the Union defensive line, which were repulsed with heavy losses on both sides. On July 3, Lee focused his attention on the Union center, the defeat of his massive infantry assault, Picketts Charge, caused Lee to order a retreat that began the evening of July 4. The Confederate retreat to Virginia was plagued by bad weather, difficult roads, however, Meades army did not maneuver aggressively enough to prevent Lee from crossing the Potomac to safety on the night of July 13–14. Shortly after Lees Army of Northern Virginia defeated Hookers Army of the Potomac during the Chancellorsville Campaign, Lees army could also threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and encourage the growing peace movement in the North. Lee had numerous misunderstandings that shaped his strategy, Lee misread Northern opinion by his reliance on anti-war Copperhead newspapers for northern public opinion. Reading them, he assumed the Yankees must be just as war weary as southerners, Lee did know he was seriously short of supplies for his own army, so he planned the campaign primarily as a full-scale raid that would seize supplies. He wrote, If we can baffle them in their various designs this year & our people are true to our cause. our success will be certain, next year there will be a great change in public opinion at the North. The Republicans will be destroyed & I think the friends of peace will become so strong as that the administration will go in on that basis. We have only therefore to resist manfully, the war will be over and we shall achieve the recognition of our independence. The Confederate government had a different strategy, in essence, Lees strategy was identical to the one he employed in the Maryland Campaign of 1862
8.
Bristoe Campaign
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The Bristoe Campaign was a series of minor battles fought in Virginia during October and November 1863, in the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, Lee countered with a turning movement, which caused Meade to withdraw his army back toward Centreville. Lee struck at Bristoe Station on October 14, but suffered losses in two brigades and withdrew, as Meade followed south once again, the Union army smashed a Confederate defensive bridgehead at Rappahannock Station on November 7 and drove Lee back across the Rapidan River. Along with the battles, the cavalry forces of the armies fought at Auburn on October 13, again at Auburn on October 14. After the Battle of Gettysburg in July, Robert E. Lee retreated back across the Potomac River to Virginia and concentrated behind the Rapidan River in Orange County, Meade was widely criticized for failing to pursue aggressively and defeat Lees army. He planned new offensives in Virginia for the fall, early in September, Lee dispatched two divisions of Lt. Gen. James Longstreets Corps to reinforce the Confederate Army of Tennessee for the Battle of Chickamauga. Meade knew that Lee had been weakened by the departure of Longstreet, Meade planned to use his numerical superiority in a broad turning movement, similar to the one planned by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker in the Battle of Chancellorsville that spring. However, on September 24 the Union had to deplete its forces as well, sending the XI, Lee learned of the departing Union corps, and early in October he began an offensive sweep around Cedar Mountain with his remaining two corps, attempting to turn Meades right flank. On October 13, Maj. Gen. J. E. B, Stuart was on one of his typical cavalry raids to capture supply wagons and blundered into the rear guard of the Union III Corps near Warrenton. Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewells corps was sent to him, but Stuart hid his troopers in a wooded ravine until the unsuspecting III Corps moved on. Brigades from Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warrens II Corps fought an action against Stuarts cavalry. Stuarts cavalry boldly bluffed Warrens infantry and escaped disaster, the II Corps pushed on to Catlett Station on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. Lt. Gen. A. P. Hills corps stumbled upon two corps of the retreating Union army at Bristoe Station and attacked without proper reconnaissance. On October 14, Union soldiers of the II Corps, posted behind the Orange & Alexandria Railroad embankment, Hill reinforced his line but could make little headway against the determined defenders. After this victory, Meade continued his withdrawal to Centreville unmolested, Lees Bristoe offensive sputtered to a premature halt. Meade was well entrenched, and Lee had outrun his supplies, after minor skirmishing near Manassas and Centreville, the Confederates retired slowly to the Rappahannock River, destroying the Orange & Alexandria Railroad as they went. Meade was under pressure from general-in-chief Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck to pursue Lee, after defeat at Bristoe Station and an aborted advance on Centreville, Stuarts cavalry shielded the withdrawal of Lees army from the vicinity of Manassas Junction. Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick pursued Stuarts cavalry along the Warrenton Turnpike but were lured into an ambush near Chestnut Hill, the Federal troopers were scattered and chased five miles in an affair that came to be known as the Buckland Races
9.
Overland Campaign
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The Overland Campaign, also known as Grants Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign, it was a strategic Union victory and it inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lees 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 Lees army by quickly placing his forces between Lee and Richmond and inviting an open battle. Lee surprised Grant by attacking the larger Union army aggressively in the Battle of the Wilderness, Lees army was able to get into position to block this movement. Grant maneuvered again, meeting Lee at the North Anna River, here, Lee held clever defensive positions that provided an opportunity to defeat portions of Grants army, but illness prevented Lee from attacking in time to trap Grant. Resorting to maneuver a final time, Grant surprised Lee by stealthily crossing the James River, threatening to capture the city of Petersburg, the resulting Siege of Petersburg led to the eventual surrender of Lees army in April 1865 and the effective 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, legendary Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, in March 1864, Grant was summoned from the Western Theater, promoted to lieutenant general, and given command of all Union armies. He chose to make his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman succeeded Grant in command of most of the western armies. Johnston, and capture Atlanta, George Crook and William W. Averell to operate against railroad supply lines in West Virginia and this was the first time the Union armies would have a coordinated offensive strategy across a number of theaters. Lincoln had long advocated this strategy for his generals, recognizing that the city would fall after the loss of its principal defensive army. Grant ordered Meade, Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also, although he hoped for a quick, decisive battle, Grant was prepared to fight a war of attrition. Both Union and Confederate casualties could be high, but the Union had greater resources to replace lost soldiers, despite Grants superior numbers, he had manpower challenges. Furthermore, since many of his soldiers three-year enlistments were about to expire, to deal with these challenges, Grant supplemented his forces by reassigning soldiers manning the heavy artillery batteries around Washington, D. C. to infantry regiments. The Overland Campaign began as Grants forces crossed the Rapidan River on May 4,1864, Grants objective was to force an engagement with Lee, outside of his Mine Run fortifications, by either drawing his forces out or turning them. By forcing a fight here, Lee effectively neutralized the Unions advantage in artillery and he ordered Ewells Corps to advance on the Orange Turnpike, A. P. Hills in parallel on the Orange Plank Road, and Longstreets from the distant Gordonsville. Early on May 5, Warrens V Corps was advancing south toward the Plank Road when Ewells Corps appeared in the west on the Turnpike, Meade halted his army and directed Warren to attack if the Confederates were a small, isolated group. Ewells men erected earthworks on the end of the clearing known as Saunders Field
10.
Siege of Petersburg
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The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9,1864, to March 25,1865, during the American Civil War. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond, many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines, overloading dwindling Confederate resources. Lee finally gave in to the pressure and abandoned cities in April 1865, leading to his retreat and surrender at Appomattox Court House. The Siege of Petersburg foreshadowed the trench warfare that was common in World War I and it also featured the wars largest concentration of African American troops, who suffered heavy casualties at such engagements as the Battle of the Crater and Chaffins Farm. In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and was given command of the Union Army. He devised a strategy to apply pressure on the Confederacy from many points. Grant put Maj. Gen. William T, George Crook and William W. Averell to operate against railroad supply lines in West Virginia, and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Most of these failed, often because of the assignment of generals to Grant for political rather than military reasons. Butlers Army of the James bogged down against inferior forces under Gen. P. G. T, Beauregard before Richmond in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign. Sigel was soundly defeated at the Battle of New Market in May, banks was distracted by the Red River Campaign and failed to move on Mobile. However, Crook and Averell were able to cut the last railway linking Virginia and Tennessee, on May 4, Grant and Meades Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River and entered the area known as the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, beginning the six-week Overland Campaign. Grant spent the remainder of May maneuvering and fighting battles with the Confederate army as he attempted to turn Lees flank. Grant knew that his army and base of manpower in the North could sustain a war of attrition better than Lee. This theory was tested at the Battle of Cold Harbor when Grants army once again came into contact with Lees near Mechanicsville and he chose to engage Lees army directly, by ordering a frontal assault on the Confederate fortified positions on June 3. This attack was repulsed with heavy losses, Cold Harbor was a battle that Grant regretted more than any other and Northern newspapers thereafter frequently referred to him as a butcher. On the night of June 12, Grant again advanced by his left flank and he planned to cross to the south bank of the river, bypassing Richmond, and isolate Richmond by seizing the railroad junction of Petersburg to the south. While Lee remained unaware of Grants intentions, the Union army constructed a pontoon bridge 2,100 feet long, what Lee had feared most of all—that Grant would force him into a siege of Richmond—was poised to occur. This represented a change of strategy from that of the preceding Overland Campaign, Lee at first believed that Grants main target was Richmond and devoted only minimal troops under Gen. P. G. T
