By John A. O'Brien
Denver, Colorado
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Lincoln wrote to U.S. Grant on April 30, 1864, five days before the Army of the Potomac marched into the Virginia Wilderness. The president assured the newly minted Lieutenant General of his steadfast support. “Not expecting to see you again before the Spring campaign,” he wrote, “I wish to express my entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time.” This would be the fourth time that a Union army marched south with high hopes for the victories that might end the rebellion. Lincoln’s note revealed his lingering fears, saying he was “very anxious that any great disaster . . . shall be avoided.” Lincoln wanted Grant to know that he was ready to respond with any support the general might need. He offered his prayer: “And now, with a brave Army, and a just cause, may God sustain you.”
John Nicolay was among those in the White House who were prepared for the worst. The presidential secretary wrote that “our Spring campaigns have so generally been failures that people are beginning to feel superstitious about them.” His fears remained elevated as days passed without word from the front. “We have been in another week of terrible suspense,” he wrote on May 8. All he knew was from the news of 10,000 casualties and a rumor that “the enemy is said to be retiring.”
The first report to reach Lincoln was unofficial and delivered by New York Tribune reporter Henry Wing. He had taken a special train to the front and asked Grant for a statement. The general replied, “if you see the president, tell him that whatever happens, there will be no turning back.” Wing brought the message to Lincoln, who was so gratified and relieved to hear his chief general was not going to retreat to Washington, that he bent over and kissed the reporter on his forehead.
The Battle of the Wilderness was a tactical draw. But by remaining engaged with Lee’s army and not retreating, Grant defied the expectations of even his own troops who now believed that circumstances had changed. The battle soon resumed at Spotsylvania Courthouse from May 8th to the 24th. On the 11th, Grant wrote similar letters to both Secretary of War Stanton and Chief of Staff of the Army, General Halleck saying: "We have entered the sixth day of very hard fighting ... The result to this time is much in our favor ... I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."
Despite the carnage and the trains of the wounded coming to Washington, Lincoln’s mood was a little lighter. He now believed that the situation, under Grant, was going to be different, and that the end was certainly nearer.
Come walk the ground with the Lincoln Group of DC on Saturday, May 18, when we tour the Spotsylvania Courthouse battlefield with master guide Craig Howell. Details and signup instructions are on the Events page of Lincolnian.org.
Notes:
"To Ulysses S. Grant," Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. VII, 324.
John Nicolay: With Lincoln in the White House, Michael Burlingame (ed), 2000. 139 & 141.