John Harrison Wilson, The life of Charles Henry Dana

[326] came to my camp near Long Bridge and remained to dinner, during which they took me completely into their confidence. They not only told me the story of the marches and battles substantially as I have condensed it above, but they did more: they gave me their innermost views of the campaign, its successes and its failures, concealing nothing and extenuating nothing. During this conversation they made it known to me, substantially as set forth in Dana's despatch of June 4th-7 P..A., that our infantry had begun regular siege approaches to the rebel works; that Sheridan had been ordered to destroy the railroad from Richmond through Gordonsville to Lynchburg, as an indispensable element in Grant's plan; that Grant expected before reaching the Chickahominy to have crushed Lee's army by fair fighting and completed this work; that before moving further in accomplishing the great object of the campaign the work of destruction must be finished; and finally that, if Sheridan failed in it, the whole army would swing around for that purpose, even if it should be necessary to temporarily abandon its communications with the White House. They commented with approval on the flanking movements which had brought the army from Spottsylvania to Cold Harbor with comparatively little loss. They heartily favored its continuance, and as heartily condemned “the insane policy of butting into intrenchments.” They lamented the bloody experiences of Cold Harbor, and explained that the change of policy which had there shown itself with such distressing results was due to the personal influence of an engineer who had come from the West with Grant and enjoyed his highest confidence. It was this officer to whom Rawlins attributed the cry of “Smash 'em up! Smash 'em up!” They explained that it embodied the pernicious idea which had taken possession of Grant and done all the mischief. When I expressed surprise that Rawlins had not prevented