Earlier, Lee had stated to Jubal Early: "We must destroy this army of Grant's before he gets to the James River. If he gets there it will be a mere question of time." Prophetic words.
Not only did Grant get to the James, he stole a march on Lee and moved his entire army, unbeknownst to Lee, south of the James over the longest pontoon bridge in military history (more below).
Grant, unlike previous Union generals, was resolved to fight to the finish stating, "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." There would no turning back. Sherman was right in his assessment of Grant, stating "Grant has all the tenacity of a Scotch terrier," also noting that "Grant would make the fur fly."
The Overland Campaign started when the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan in May. The scale of the logistics involved is mind boggling. By his own calculation Grant wrote that his assaulting column, if stretched out, when crossing the Rapidan would be ninety-five miles long. Lee had several advantages being on the defensive: he held interior lines which allowed shorter routes to reinforce weak lines; he was on defense forcing the offensive minded Grant to assault fortified positions, and he knew the topography of the land.
The initial engagement was the Battle of the Wilderness, followed by the carnage at Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. These were some of the most ferocious battles ever to occur in the Western Hemisphere. Grant lost near 40,000 men in the month or so leading up to his crossing of the James. It's important to note that after the assault at Cold Harbor the war became a siege, just what Lee wanted to avoid at all cost, for once south of the James River Grant could interdict and cut Lee's railroad supply lines. To Lee's credit he forced Grant to fight another nine months before capitulating at Appomattox.
Along with Grant's masterpieces at Forts Henry and Donelson, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga the crossing of the James ranks as one of the greatest feats of generalship in history. Again, Grant pulled his army from in front of Lee and crossed the James without Lee's knowing. This was a movement of 115,000 men, 3,500 animals, over a pontoon bridge, 2,100 feet in length, 13 feet wide in a swift flowing river 80 feet deep, all accomplished with great celerity. Not one man, one animal, or one vehicle was lost in the crossing. According to Theodore Lyman, an aide-de-camp to General Meade, the bridge was completed in ten hours and "over this passed a train of waggons and artillery thirty five miles long. . ."
It all seems so stupendous. And make no mistake, this was all Grant's doing. Lincoln: "You are vigilant and self- reliant; and, pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any constraints or restraints upon you." And he didn't. With Grant as General of the Armies of the United States Lincoln had a competent commander. Add Sherman and Sheridan and you have victory, but make no mistake Grant was, in Sheridan's words, "the steadfast center about and on which everything else turned." I find it interesting that Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan were all Ohioans, true sons of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Those western boys could fight.
http://www.beyondthecrater.com/…/150-18640614-crossing-jam…/
Supposedly when Grant was appointed General of the Armies Lee asked Grant’s old friend Longstreet what he would do. He told Lee, “He will attack, every day with everything he has until it’s over”. He was right.
McClellan could have pretty much won the war at Antietam. He held 30k troops in reserve, fought to a draw, and let Lee escape that night.
After that, Lincoln was looking for someone who was eilling to fight.
Say what you might about Grant’s shortcomings, as Lincoln said, “I can’t spare this man - he fights.” Kind of like Trump.
The Father of History disagrees! Herodotus reported Xerxes used much longer pontoon bridges to cross the Dardanelles in 480BC. Of course not much other than Herodotus remains to document Xerxes's feat, unlike Grant's bridging. Happily Grant's maneuver lead to a more successful conclusion than Xerxes's.
Additionally Grants siege of Petersburg, while not entirely planned that way pinned down troops that could have confronted Sherman’s March to the sea.
CC
If you want to go beyond reading about it, look into this:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1821/grant-takes-command
Great System.
Lee faced some really awful Union commanders in some of his battles, but when he was more evenly matched his losses as a share of his forces could be larger than those of his opponent.
To win, Lee would have had to follow an entirely different strategy -- something more like guerilla warfare -- but the Confederate government was already committed to holding territory and repelling assaults against Richmond, so maybe his hands were tied.