and six thousand six hundred and sixty-seven men. Total, twenty-nine thousand four hundred and ten. On this account the rebels amused themselves by giving Grant the cognomen of "butcher." The name, however, is entirely misapplied. There never was a kinder or more considerate general; but the carnage in these first battles was an absolute, although painful, necessity. No man in that army thought otherwise then, and no one abated a jot of heart or hope; and if the end crowns the work, even the rebels will now confess that Grant's butchery finally slaughtered the rebellion, when nothing else would have done it.

It was now Saturday, the 14th. The enemy still held on to Spottsylvania Courthouse, well intrenched in a semicircular line. Our army was closed upon him with a concentric embrace, stretched at right angles across the Fredericksburg road. Finding him so strongly intrenched, Grant commenced to throw up rifle-pits for protection. The fighting on this day was desultory, and principally on the enemy's right, which he was constantly in fear that we should turn.

WHO RETREATS, GRANT OR LEE?

If, as General Meade's order indicates, we were satisfied with our successes, the rebels were equally so with what they called their own. They asserted that "what we represented as the retreat of General Lee towards Richmond, was only a movement from a position abandoned by his adversary, to confront him across the new road which he was obliged to take." "In this sense," says Pollard, "it was Grant who was pursued." Be it so, but it is very like the story of the man who caught a Tartar. General Lee is by no means so self-compromising as this. It is true that in his General Order of May 14, he announces to the army a series of successes; but, in specifying them, he names the Valley of Virginia, the attack upon Averill, the defeat of General Banks, the retreat of General Steele, and what he calls the repulse of the cavalry force under Sheridan. All that he has to say of his own

action is this: "The heroic valor of this army, with the blessing of Almighty God, has thus far checked the principal army of the enemy, and inflicted upon it terrible losses." We need not waste words nor torture language. Driven or led, or prompted by whatever motive, Lee's army was moving southward towards Richmond, constantly refusing its right flank, and being severely punished at every stand it made. It had been characteristic of the press on both sides, as well as of the early dispatches of rival generals, in most campaigns, to make out as fair a case, each for himself, and as dark a one for the enemy as possible. This is not right in the abstract, but before we entirely condemn it, we must remember the element of expediency. The people behind either army were eager and impressible, and the intelligence was often toned down or dressed up to suit them; and besides, morally wrong as it is, the study of history shows us a universal military precedent for this. The truth follows slowly, and when we are prepared by slow degrees for the bad news.

Every thing remained quiet from this time until the 18th, the intervening period being passed in manoeuvring and waiting for re-enforcements. During the 19th, there were more changes made in the position of the corps, and new dispositions were made of the cavalry and artillery, the former being moved out towards the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad.

The desperate shocks which had been sustained by both armies, and the bad condition of the roads on account of the rains, made the suspension of hostilities necessary. The time was also spent in making provision for the wounded. As the direct route to Washington was beset by guerrillas, Fredericksburg had been occupied as a depot. A large number of surgeons and agents of the Sanitary and Christian commissions had been sent down, and a route had been established by steamboats and gunboats, by way of Aquia Creek and Belle Plain, to Washington. It was now manifest, that if the army moved again to the south, Fredericksburg must be abandoned, and other points selected as depots; first, on the

Rappahannock, as at Port Royal, and afterwards on the Pamunkey and York.

THE LAND AHEAD.

Let us now look for a moment at the principal features of the topography in front of Grant. Spottsylvania Courthouse lies between the Ny and the Po; further South are the Ta and the Mat rivers, and the four streams join near the railroad, south of Bowling Green, to form the Mattapony. These present inconsiderable military obstacles in themselves but might be used by the enemy as natural intrenchments, while moving southward to New Market Beyond that, the country becomes more difficult; the North and South Anna, with a hundred tributary creeks, present great obstacles. The Pamunkey, which they form by their junction, is an important river-defence to the enemy; and still further south the Chickahominy is a strong line covering the approaches to Richmond. To these difficulties is to be added the very desperate and gallant resistance offered by Lee's army.

In consideration of all these, it began to be demonstrated that Grant might be forced to pursue his alternated design, and continue to march alongside of the enemy by the left flank, between the Mattapony and the Pamunkey, and crossing the latter river out of his reach, confront him upon the former battle-grounds of Cold Harbor and Gaines' Mill. But Grant was loth to come to this determination without another trial of the enemy's strength. Sending Torbert with the cavalry eastward to Guiney's Station, on the railroad, he massed his forces on the enemy's left, on the night of the 17th, and prepared to assault in the morning. The attack was made with great gallantry upon Ewell's corps, with the design of turning Lee's left, but was not successful, and an admirable riposte was made by Ewell. On the afternoon of the 19th, he made a bold attempt to turn our right. That portion of our line was held by Tyler's division, and Kitching's brigade of heavy artillery, acting as infantry, most of whom were under fire for the

first time. Ewell's veterans came on at a charge, and drove them back to the cover of the woods; but they held their retired position with commendable bravery, until Birney came up with the Third Division of the Second Corps, in support. A vigorous charge of our combined forces drove the enemy from the field. Some of Warren's troops that were on the extreme right participated in the success.

A NEW FLANKING MOVEMENT.

Convinced, by the nature and the point of the enemy's attack, that he was making ready again to abandon his position, Grant at once issued orders for a new movement. At midnight on the 20th, the main body of the cavalry, which had been posted at Mattaponax, followed Torbert to Guiney's Station, and advancing, drove the enemy's cavalry away from Guiney's Bridge and Downer's Bridge, on the Po, both a short distance west of the railroad. Bowling Green was then occupied without a fight. But at Milford Station, on the railroad, the enemy were drawn up, with artillery and rifle-pits, to contest the possession of the railroad-bridge across the Mattapony. At this point there had been concentrated quantities of stores for Lee's army, which we might have captured. But spies and traitors in our camp had given timely information; and although we flanked the enemy and drove him away precipitately, the stores were gone. This movement of our cavalry was designed to clear the way for the advance of the grand army by the left flank. Here we shall leave the direct advance for a short time, to consider the collateral parts of the great programme.

CHAPTER XXX.

CO-OPERATING MOVEMENTS.

SHERIDAN'S RAID. THE BATTLE OF YELLOW TAVERN.-J. E. B. STUART KILLED.THE RAIDERS REACH THE JAMES.-FORTUNES OF SIGEL.-DEFEATED BY BRECKINRIDGE. BUTLER'S MOVEMENTS.-HIS DISPATCH.-BEAUREGARD'S ATTACK.-HERMETICALLY SEALED.-KAUTZ'S RAID.-STANTON'S DISPATCH.-BUTLER'S FAILUREHOW THE WANT OF CO-OPERATION AFFECTED GRANT.

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THE Co-operating movements which Grant had, as we have seen, so skilfully and carefully prearranged, claim a place in the history, not only as parts, although subordinate, of the great campaign, but also, and especially, because they display new traits of genius and skill on the part of the great commander. The failure of some of these caused him to alter his plans under the pressure of circumstances, and gave him a thousandfold additional trouble. The first that we shall consider, because it was made by a portion of the Army of the Potomac, and may be considered indeed a part of its movement, is the very successful, well-conducted cavalry raid of. General Sheridan, to aid our advance by cutting Lee's communications with Richmond.

SHERIDAN'S RAID.

This gallant and self-confident general moved from Spottsylvania at daylight on Monday, the 9th of May, with portions of the three divisions of his corps,-General Merrit, with the First Division, leading; General Wilson, with the Third, in the centre; and General Gregg, with the Second, bringing up the rear. His first direction, to deceive the enemy, was