...hile every letter that came to the camp told of suffering and starvation at home. The spring came, to find Lee holding thirty-five miles of entrenchments with 57,000 men of all arms (according to General Humphreys ), while Grant had 129,000 in his front. Lee's strength was steadily weakening; desertions were numerous; the privations of the winter had broken the spirit of the Confederates. Lee's last effort ...