? The battlesof the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and North Anna, bloody and terriblethough...

� The battles
of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and North Anna, bloody and terrible
though they were on our side, were even more damaging
to our enemy. ‐ In some of the most savage
fighting of the war, you see 5 1/2 weeks
of constant movement, constant entrenching,
constant fighting that ultimately will produce
55,000 Union casualties, 35,000 Confederate casualties. Now Grant's men
are simply exhausted. By the time Grant reaches the crucial crossroads
of Cold Harbor, these soldiers understand
keenly what's ahead