Grant actually did lose every battle in the Overland Campaign of 1864. From Wilderness to Cold Harbor.
He just failed to realize he was suppose to retreat afterwards. He retreated forward.
But having lost more men in the campaign than in the whole of Lee’s army, when it comes to numbers, he lost. When you look at it at who held the field after the battle, Grant lost. Grant never did actually ‘beat’ Lee in a battle until after the Army of Northern Virginia left the trenches in April 1865, almost a year after Grant took over.
After that he just won the war.
Grant’s strength was that he didn’t panic. He could pay the ‘Butcher’s Bill’ with his troops better than any other Union Commander. Meade, on the other hand, would have also finally beaten Lee, but, he would have not gotten quite so many folks killed while doing it.
Lee was by far a greater butcher of his own men the Grant.
Who surrendered?
Meade was Grants sub. Meade failed to realize what Grant was trying to do with Lee, that was to cut Lee off and Grant actually had to go and correct Meade. Meade was not well liked by his subs. He was tempermental and harsh-but was a very good tactician.
Grant never lost a battle. It even left Lee to say that he historically, never found a better general than Grant in the history of the world.
Two charges Grant said he regretted. Vicksburg and the Wilderness.
Lee on the other hand..lost lots of battles.