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General Grant wrote that at the time of the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox Court House, his recollection was, “I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse.”
Statue of General Grant
Vicksburg Battlefield
On this day in the Civil War, Federal troops under General U.S. Grant prepare for an attack on the Confederate line at Cold Harbor, Virginia.
A Union officer observes an ominous sight, “I noticed that many of the soldiers had taken off their coats and seemed to be engaged in sewing up rents in them. On closer examination it was found that the men were calmly writing their names and addresses on slips of paper and pinning them on the backs of their coats, so that their dead bodies might be recognized and their fate made known to their families at home.”
On this day in the Civil War, the Union army under General Grant defeats General Pemberton’s Confederates at the Battle of Champion’s Hill.
The casualties of this battle are considered to be the most severe of the entire Vicksburg campaign.
On this day in the Civil War, the Battle of Spotsylvania becomes one of the bloodiest days of the war. A Federal soldier says, “This has been the most terrible day I have ever lived.”
On the previous day, Union General U.S. Grant wrote to General Halleck, “I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.”
General Ulysses S. Grant
(Photo Credit: Library of Congress)
The Civil War Book 