Key Events of the Election of 1864 and the Overland Campaign

March 9th - November 10th, 1864

 

 

March 9:

Ulysses Grant is promoted to US Lieutenant General and takes command of all Union armies.

 

March 13:

Abraham Lincoln letter to Michael Hahn (Ranked #72 on the House Divided: Lincoln’s Writings Page) encouraging the Louisiana Governor to extend suffrage some black citizens in the 1864 Election.

 

March 19-20, 1864:

While traveling from Nashville to Cincinnati, Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman work on their spring campaign strategies.

 

April 4:

US Major General Sheridan is brought to Virginia to command the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac

 

Abraham Lincoln public letter to Albert Hodges (Ranked #7 on the House Divided: Lincoln’s Writings Page) denouncing slavery and summarizing how the war has impacted his views on slavery.

 

April 9:

Grant’s three-part Overland Campaign (VA) orders are given; US General  Meade is ordered to follow CS General Robert E. Lee and defeat the Army of Northern Virginia and US Major General Sherman is given similar orders against CS General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee.

 

May 4:

The Overland Campaign begins with the Army of the Potomac’s crossing of the Rapidan River.

 

The Wade-Davis Bill, requiring complete abolition and a 50 percent oath of loyalty from former rebellious states, passes in the U.S. House

 

May 5-7:

The Battle of the Wilderness (the first Overland Campaign battle) begins. Grant tried to lead the Army of the Potomac quickly through the dense underbrush. The Wilderness is usually described as a draw, but it could be called a tactical Confederate victory or a strategic victory for the Union army due to Lee’s percentage of casualties (29,800 total casualties)*

 

May 5:

US Major General Benjamin Butler lands at Bermuda Hundred with the goal of cutting the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad; Butler proves unsuccessful and will later withdraw.

 

May 8-21:

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House - Grant’s forces disengaged Lee’s Army and moved south after the Battle of the Wilderness, hoping to lure Lee to more favorable fighting conditions. However, a portion of Lee’s army cut Grant off at Spotsylvania’s critical crossroads and entrenched. Grant will once again disengage and move southeast. (30,000 total casualties)*

 

May 9:

The Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain was a Union victory that allowed the Union forces to destroy the last railroad connecting Tennessee to Virginia. (1,500 estimated casualties)**

 

May 11:

Battle of Yellow Tavern – US Major General Philip Sheridan was detached from the Army of the Potomac to conduct a raid on Richmond and challenge Confederate cavalry commander Major General J.E.B. Stuart. The Confederate force was outnumbered and outgunned and Stuart was mortally wounded. (800 total casualties)*

 

May 15:

Battle of New Market - A small Confederate army under the leadership of Major General John C. Breckenridge, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, forced Union Major General Franz Sigel and his army out of the Shenandoah Valley. (1,380 estimated casualties)**

 

May 23-26:

Battle of North Anna - After disengaging from the stalemate in Spotsylvania, Grant moved his army southeast hoping to lure Lee into battle on open ground, but lost the race to Lee's next defensive. Lee devised a scheme for defensive inverted “V” earthworks that could split the Union army when it advanced. Grant initially fell into this trap, but the battle ended when Grant again moved southeast. (4,000 casualties)*

 

May 24:

Battle of Wilson's Wharf - Confederate Major General Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry division attacked the Union supply depot at Wilson's Wharf, on the James River. They were repulsed by two African American regiments of the United States Colored Troops (USCT); this was the first combat encounter of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia with African-American troops. (165 casualties)*

 

May 26-27:

Grant’s Union infantry withdrew stealthily after dark and by the morning of May 27, all were safely north of the North Anna River. They continued to head southward, in the direction of Richmond, entrenching between the Pamunkey River and Totopotomoy Creek.

 

May 28:

Battle of Haw's Shop - Union and Confederate cavalry forces collided at Haw’s Shop. While the Union gained the field, Confederate horsemen succeeded in discovering the location of Grant’s army while shielding Lee’s whereabouts from Grant. (744 casualties)*

 

May 28-30:

Battle of Totopotomoy Creek/Bethesda Church - As Grant continued to maneuver around Lee and lure him into a battle in the open, Lee saw an opportunity to attack. Confederate forces drove the Union troops back, but were stopped by immense artillery fire. After the inconclusive battle, the Union army resumed its moves to the southeast and the Battle of Cold Harbor. (2,200 casualties)*

 

May 30:

Battle of Old Church/Matadequin Creek - A Union cavalry division collided with a cavalry brigade and after sharp dismounted fighting, the outnumbered Confederates were driven back near Old Cold Harbor, preceding the Union capture of that crossroads the following day. (900 casualties)*

 

May 31:

The Radical Republican Party Convention in Cleveland, Ohio nominated John C. Fremont as their presidential candidate.

 

May 31- June 12:

Battle of Cold Harbor - One of the final battles of the Overland Campaign, thousands were killed/ wounded in a hopeless frontal assault against the fortified positions of Lee. While an impressive defensive victory for Lee, it will be his last of the war. (15,500 casualties)*

 

June 7-8:

The Republican National Convention, held in Baltimore, Maryland, nominates Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson as their presidential and vice-presidential nominees. The delegates also finalized their party platform, including goals such as a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery.

 

June 9:

Abraham Lincoln’s Union Delegation Speech (Ranked #90 on the House Divided: Lincoln’s Writings Page) – Lincoln thanks the chairman, committee and National Union Party for their nomination and compares his re-nomination to the adage, “It’s best not to swap horses when crossing streams.”

 

June 12-18:

Grant, again in a stalemate with Lee, decided to make headway by: (1) disrupting confederate supply lines in the Shenandoah Valley to force Lee to send reinforcements,  (2) sending Sheridan to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad near Charlottesville and (3) withdrawing from Lee's front/moving across the James River, bypassing Richmond for Petersburg.

 

June 11-12:

Battle of Trevilian Station - Sheridan and Union cavalry division headed toward Gordonsville to attack the Virginia Central Railroad, but were met by confederate forces. Union forces successfully destroyed Trevilian Station and two miles of track before heading back to the main army at Cold Harbor. (1,600 casualties)*

 

June 15-18:

Assault on Petersburg - After Grant crossed the James River, Lee was forced into a siege of Petersburg, a supply center for Richmond, given its strategic location just south of the capital and its role as a major junction for five railroads. The taking of Petersburg by Union forces would make it impossible for Lee to continue defending the Confederate capital. The siege would last until the Army of Northern Virginia’s retreat on April 2, 1865.

 

June 16:

Abraham Lincoln Speech at the Great Central Sanitary Fair (Ranked #73 on the House Divided: Lincoln’s Writings Page) thanks attendees for their dedication to fundraising and the promotion of sanitation and also reaffirms dedication to unconditional victory in the war.

 

June 24:

Battle of Saint Mary's Church/ Samaria Church – Sheridan’s forces gathered up supply wagons from the recently abandoned supply depot and proceeded toward the James River. The Confederate cavalry that outnumbered the Union forces attacked, but the Union forces successfully screened the wagon train, which continued their move. (630 casualties)*

 

July 2:

The Wade-Davis Bill (a Reconstruction plan created by Radical republicans to counter Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan) passes in the U.S. Senate, but was pocket vetoed by President Lincoln.

 

July 11-12:

Battle of Fort Stevens – Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early was dispatched by Lee from Richmond and was given orders to clear the Shenandoah Valley of Union forces and threaten Washington, D.C. to draw Grant’s forces northward. (874 total casualties)**

 

July 30:

Battle of the Crater – After weeks of preparation during the siege of Petersburg, Federals exploded a mine, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses. Burnside was relieved of command for his role in the disaster. (5,300 estimated casualties)**

 

August 1:

In response to Early’s move on Washington, D.C., Grant formed the Army of the Shenandoah and appointed Sheridan as its lead commander. The mission of this army was to cut off from the confederacy a northern invasion route, as well as destroy the agricultural productivity of the Shenandoah Valley.

 

August 19:

Abraham Lincoln meets with Frederick Douglass and asks him to lead efforts to free Southern slaves in the event that Lincoln was not re-elected.

 

August 22:

Abraham Lincoln’s Remarks to the 166th Ohio Regiment (Ranked #150 on the House Divided: Lincoln’s Writings Page) commends them for their service; the remarks’ tone suggest Lincoln hopes to gain the soldier vote/ the Ohio vote in the November election

 

August 23:

Abraham Lincoln’s Blind Memorandum (Ranked #8 on the House Divided: Lincoln’s Writings Page) states how he does not expect to be reelected but is determined to preserve the Union.

 

August 29:

The Democratic National Convention is held in Chicago and George B. McClellan is nominated the party’s presidential candidate. 

 

September 22:

John C. Fremont, Radical Republican Party candidate, drops out of the Presidential Election.

 

November 8:

Lincoln (National Union) defeats George McClellan (Democrat) with 212 to 21 electoral votes.

 

November 10:

Abraham Lincoln’s Response to Serenade (Ranked #36 on the House Divided: Lincoln’s Writings Page) upholds the significance of the 1864 election/promotes America’s dedication to republican virtues.

 

 

 

 *  Casualty statistics courtesy of “Dodging Bullets: The Overland Campaign of 1864” by Gordon Rhea in Hallowed Ground      

     Magazine (Spring 2014 issue) via the Civil War Trust (www.civilwar.org)

 

**  Casualty statistics courtesy of the American Battlefield Protection Program                               

     (http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/va049.htm )