The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1914-06-11

American continent. The un
versal mutiny of the Arm
of the Potomac. The makir
of the greatest mistake in Grant
military career, and the consequer
abandonment by him of the line 0
!, which only a few weeks before h
. had purposed to fight the war out if
took all summer. These are the men
cries which Wednesday, June 3, bring
1t was early in the last act of tn
drama. Grant, flushed with his West
ern triumphs from Donelson throug
Vicksburg to Lookout, had come Eas
to win success where Mcclellan, Pop
Hooker and Burnside had failed, no
realizing that now, for the first tim,
since Shiloh, he was confronted by {
first class commander with an efficien
army On May 2, 1864, he gave the
order, Forward to Richmond" which
three years before had led to SC
disastrous results; and on May he
crossed the Rapidan, the Rubicon OF
his campaign.
There he plunged into that "region
of gloom and the shadow of death"
which men appropriately named the
Wilderness, hoping to get through it
before he met the foe. The hope was
vain. To the Southern soldiers every
acre of that jungle was as familiar as
the streets of their home towns. So
within three days Lee struck fiercely,
and each army lost in the first impact
more than sixth Of its entire force
That was the prelude. Grant in
stantly made not Richmond but Lees
army the prime object of his attack
That was his line and 81 propose"
he said, "to fight it out on this line if
it takes all summer" The very next
day he fought Lee again at Spottsyl-
vania with appalling losses and little,
# any gain, though Barlow led his di-
vision of Hancock's corps almost to
victory in one of the most
gallant exploits of the war. Still the
rider was: Forward Fight it, out
IN this linel
May 23, found the two armies fight
ng again, with the same results, at
North Anna. And now Grant realized
hat he had in measure been be-
rayed. Butler, at the south, had
allied him, just as Grouchy failed Ma
oleon at Waterloo. Deprived of that
id, there seemed to be nothing to do ,
ut to push straight on, depending :
olely upon himself.
So June l, found him within sight G
Richmond, less than seven miles +
way He was now on ground that C
as familiar to Meade and many 9TH i
s of the Army of the Potomac. They o
Id been there two years before I'M q
sr Mcclellan. The battle ground n
as then called Gaines Mill, the scene u
the second of the seven bays bat ii
IS, in which Fitz-John Porter did it
eds of valor which would have end f,
the war then and there had not fl
cClellan neutralized them with the II
ggest blunder of his whole cam o,
ign. But now the positions of the w
o armies were exactly reversed. Lee re
d McClellan's ground, and Grant
d Lees. 70
The operations began auspiciously. dc
eridan, on June 1, captured the sa
ntage point known as Old Cold Har- nc
r-or Coal Harbor, as most then &C
led it--and held it in spite of the w
rious attacks of Fitzhugh Lee. The ae
St day he was relieved by Wright, in
IN the Sixth Corps, and Smith with at
} Eighteenth, who that evening ne
de a vigorous attack upon Lees an
es, and made substantial gains, al he
ugh at heavy cost. Lee essayed
ounter attack upon Warren's Fifth m;
rps, with little effect. 70
t was a restless night. Repeated DO
acks were made by Lee, in the face fir
which the Federal lines were re- ms
anged. Grant held council, of me
lch the often repeated story is
that all his generals respondent of
advised that the army should fall rim
k at daybreak from the position pre-
oh 1T could not hope to hold; that tai
mt grimly overruled them, saying: ed
will not wait till daybreak, but res
hour before it move forward all t
ig the linep and that Lee. on tie
ring the onset next morning, ex- figl
med; The Confederacy is lost, sta
the Yankees have got man to son
them at last" The story sounds gre
!, but is scarcely susceptible of Hal
re verihcation; though, indeed, VIII,
morning the advance was made for
along the line. Fro
was Friday morning, June 8. At app
the restless and busy night there rem,
an hour of quiet at dawn. Then ing
ngle cannon shot at 4:30 o'clock leas
out sunrise-gave the signal for sold