Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 20.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

General Grant's tactics were to flank Lee out of all his fortifications and to interpose his army between him and Richmond. Having numerically a vastly superior army, he could simply leave Lee in his fortifications and beat him in the race to Richmond.

When Grant had crossed the river and began his flanking, Lee struck his right flank and, in a battle of two days in which great endurance and courage were shown by both armies, Grant was beaten, with a loss of 2,246 killed, 12,037 wounded and 3,383 captured; a total loss of 17,666. Grant then moved his army towards Richmond, and Lee confronts him at Spotsylvania, and a two days battle ensues, and Grant retires with a loss of 2,725 killed, 13,416 wounded, and 2,258 captured; a total loss of 18,399. In the meantime Sheridan makes two raids on Richmond. After the repulse at Spotsylvania, Grant is met at North Anna, where his loss is 591 killed, 2,734 wounded and 661 captured; a total loss of 3,986. Grant then moves by the left flank, intending to assault Richmond by way of Cold Harbor, but on arriving at that point Lee is there, and there occurred one of the bloodiest battles of the war, in which in less than one hour of actual battle Grant lost 1,884 killed, 9,077 wounded, and 1,816 captured; a total loss of 12,737.

Grant had lost in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania and North Anna, 40,051, and had when he reached Cold Harbor, 103,875, and was there reinforced with Smith's corps 12,500 strong, which made his effective force at that battle 116,375. As his original army when he crossed the Rappahannock was 181,000, and he had lost before reaching Cold Harbor 40,051, then he had left his original army, 118,000, less 40,051, which is 77,949; but as his report at Cold Harbor before the fight was 103,875 plus 12,500 Smith's corps, making 116,375, he must have received, after crossing the Rappahannock, 38,426 reinforcements.

Grant's army, then, from the day he left the Rappahannock up to and including the fight at Cold Harbor, was 156,426, leaving Butler's army south of the James, depleted only by Smith's corps of 12,500. Lee's army on the Rappahannock was 62,000, to which add 14,400 reinforcements, makes his entire force, up to and including the fight at Cold Harbor, 76,400, against Grant's 156,426.

Grant's losses, beginning at the Wilderness, including the Sheridan's two raids and the battle of Cold Harbor, were as follows: Killed 7,620, wounded 38,342, captured 8,967; making an aggregate loss of 54,929 between May 5th and June 3d; and in Butler's army,