Stalemate

Stalemate. May 26-27, 1864. On May 26, General Grant admitted that he finally encountered an unmovable object; Lee's defenses on the North Anna River. His telegram to General Henry Halleck in Washington declared that "to make a direct attack from either wing would cause a slaughter of our men that even success would not justify. To turn the enemy by his right, between the two Annas, is impossible on account of the swamp upon which his right rests. To turn him by the left leaves Little River, New Found River, and South Anna River, all of them streams presenting considerable obstacles to our army, to be crossed.", Grant ordered the withdrawal of the Union army across the North Anna, beginning another turning movement around the Confederate right flank. The two armies clashed again in another deadlock on May 29 at Totopotomoy Creek, even closer to the Confederate capital at Richmond. Lee's Army followed closely, still seeking an opportunity to drive back the Union Army., Despite is reluctant withdrawal from the North Anna, Grant became more confident of victory. The Confederate failure to attack the Army of the Potomac when most vulnerable signaled to the Union general that after three weeks of fighting, the Army of Northern Virginia was now beaten. Grant posited on May 26, "Lee's army is really whipped...I may be mistaken, but I feel that our success over Lee's army is already assured." This overconfidence would prove disastrous on June 3, when he assaulted Lee's defenses at Cold Harbor, resulting in a bloody repulse., The struggle between Grant and Lee would continue for another eleven months until the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House., Donated to the People of the United States by the Henrico County Sesquicentennial Committee