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hall, many pressed around him to take him by the hand, and it was some time before he could finish his dinner. In the evening he attended the President's levee, entering the reception room unannounced, but was soon recognized and greeted with great cordiality by Mr. Lincoln. The noted visitor then became the observed of all observers.

On the afternoon of the following day he was presented by Mr. Lincoln with his commission, the ceremony taking place in the presence of the Cabinet, General Halleck, the retiring General-in Chief, the members of Grant's staff, that officer's son, the President's private secretary, and Representative Owen Lovejoy. When General Grant entered the room he was cordially received by Mr. Lincoln and presented to the Cabinet. The President then addressed him as follows:

GENERAL GRANT: The nation's appreciation of what you have done, and its reliance upon you for what still remains to be accomplished in the existing great struggle, are now presented with this commission, constituting you Lieutenant-General in the army of the United States. With this high honor devolves upon you, also, a corresponding responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely need to add, that with what I here speak for the nation, goes my own hearty personal con

currence.

To which General Grant replied as follows:

MR. PRESIDENT: I accept the commission, with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought on so many fields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the responsibilities now devolving on me, and I know that if they are met, it will be due to those armies, and, above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads both nations and men.

A short time was spent in pleasant social conversation,

and this simple and interesting interview ended. The next day, March 10, General Grant visited the Army of the Potomac, then lying north of the Rapidan, in company with General Meade, its commander. On his return to Washington he immediately made preparations for his departure for the West, leaving on the following day.

On the 12th a special order of the President assigned. the new Lieutenant-General to the command of the armies of the United States, the headquarters of the army being in Washington, and "with Lieutenant-General Grant in the field."

The Lieutenant-General found opposed to him at the time he assumed command of the armies of the United States, General Lee in Virginia, who was the senior officer of the Confederacy, strongly posted along the south bank of the Rapidan, covering Richmond. Lee was the idol of the Confederacy, cool and brave, clear-headed and quick in the dispositions of a battlefield, an excellent general, and a worthy antagonist for Grant.

General Johnston, whom Grant had several times met and defeated, was in command of the second great army at Dalton, Ga. This army covered Atlanta, a great railroad center, and an immense military depot for the Confederate army. Next to Richmond, of the most vital importance to the rebels, General Forrest was operating with a large force of cavalry in Northeastern Mississippi; while portions of Western Virginia, the eastern angle of Tennessee, and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, were in the enemy's hands. West of the Mississippi, with few exceptions, was also in rebel possession and held by a force of not less than eighty thousand men. This large force had become somewhat disintegrated by inaction and want of opposition by our armies. It will readily be seen that

the objective points of the new campaign were Atla.. and Richmond.

To oppose and destroy the army of Lee, and to capture Richmond, was the duty assigned to the Army of the Potomac, under that able General, George G. Meade, who so brilliantly won the battie of Gettysburg. LieutenantGeneral Grant was to accompany him.

Upon Grant's promotion, Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman had been assigned to the command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, with headquarters at Chattanooga. He was to operate against Johnston and drive him back and take Atlanta. His campaign was to be an aggressive one, to follow Johnston wherever he went and prevent his joining or reinforcing the army of Lee.

General Banks commanded the Department of the Gulf, and was to make an advance up the Red River as far as Shreveport. If his expedition was successful he was to turn over his command to General Steele. By withdrawing a portion of the garrisons at different points on the Mississippi he could collect an army of nearly thirty thousand men, and was to co-operate with Admiral Farragut in an attack on Mobile.

General Butler was to make an advance up the south bank of the James with an army of thirty thousand men, threatening Richmond. General Sigel was in command of the forces in West Virginia and the Shenandoah. He was to advance southward in two columns, to co-operate with the Army of the Potomac. Pending these movements all other organizations were actively employed in garrison duty in a hostile territory, protecting land and water communications, and in providing supplies for the army in the field.

A new era was to be inaugurated hereafter; instead of independent action of our armies east and west, the enemy

was to be engaged at all important points at once and continuously, thereby preventing the shifting of troops from one point to another. They were to be beaten if possible, but if that could not be done, then they must be worn out by constant shocks and attrition-in the latter case force of numbers alone would in the end produce the coveted result. The sequel proved the wisdom of General Grant's plans and purposes as the director and supervisor of all the campaigns.

CHAPTER XII.

THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS.

On the 23d of March General Grant, accompanied by Mrs. Grant and his eldest son, General Rawlins and three other members of his staff, arrived in Washington. The eyes of the whole nation were upon him. For the first time the army of the United States was so unified that it could be handled to the best advantage. General Grant was given unlimited scope. He had left his trusted Generals Sherman, Thomas, McPherson, and others of lesser note, in the West, and was about to take command in person of the veteran Army of the Potomac. He at once placed the dashing and fearless Sheridan, hitherto in obscurity, in command of the cavalry service.

The Army of the Potomac was at once reorganized; the Corps were consolidated and reduced to three-the Second, Fifth and Sixth. The Second, commanded by Major-General Winfield Scott Hancock, with Generals Gibbon, Barlow, Birney and Barr in command of divisions, and Generals Webb, Owen, Ward, Hayes and Mott of brigades. The Fifth Corps, commanded by the brilliant and skillful Major-General G. K. Warren; his division commanders were Generals Wadsworth, Crawford, Robinson and Griffin, and brigades under Ayres, Cutter, Baxter, Barnes and Rice-all veterans. The Sixth Corps was under command of Major General John Sedgwick, one of

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