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difficulties of the country would not allow him to carry out his share of the programme. Thomas was accordingly ordered to attack seriously in his front, and with wonderful valor the Army of the Cumberland swept up the heights of Missionary Ridge, and Bragg was sent flying into Georgia.

The grateful Nation again hailed the victorious general with universal praise for the success his courage and genius had commanded. On December 8 he was personally thanked by a letter from President Lincoln, in which he said: "Understanding that your lodgment at Chattanooga and at Knoxville is now secure, I wish to tender you and all your command my more than thanks, my profoundest gratitude, for the skill, courage and perseverance with which you and they, over so great difficulties, have effected that important object. God bless you all." On the seventeenth of the same month congress unanimously voted a resolution of "thanks to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant and the officers and soldiers who have fought under his command during the rebellion." A gold medal was ordered to be struck, and the President was directed to present it to Grant "in the name of the people of the United States." No mark of honor that could have been bestowed upon the man who seemed destined to lead the armies of the Union to eventual triumph and to save the land from dismemberment, was too great or high in the estimation of the people; and when it was proposed to place him in a position where all the armies of the north would be under his command, the suggestion was received with almost universal favor. On December 7, Mr. E. B. Washburne of Illinois introduced in congress a bill to empower the President to appoint a lieutenant-general, to command all the Union forces, thus reviving a rank which had existed but twice before in American history-created in 1798 for Washington, and bestowed by brevet upon Scott in 1855. The bill became a law, and was approved by the President, who, on March 2, 1864, nominated Grant to the high position. He was ordered to Washington at once, where the welcome of the people was such as to show him as he had never before understood, the high regard he had won in their affection and admiration. It was the first meeting between Mr. Lincoln and himself, although both were residents of the state, and Grant had been one of the great men of the Nation for over two years. He assumed command of all the armies on March 17, and upon accepting his commission from the President said: "Mr. President, I accept the commission with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought in so many fields for our common country, it will be my earnest desire not to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the responsibilities now devolving on me, and I know that if they are met it will be due to those armies, and above all to the favor of that Providence which leads both nations and men."

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Lieutenant-General Grant now found himself in command of over five hundred thousand men, and with a public sentiment behind him ready to sustain any move he might make. It was a time and place of great responsibility, but he moved toward the accomplishment of his purpose with the grave confidence of Vicksburg days, and the modest demeanor of the man who, only three years before, had feared that he might not be sufficiently skilled for the command of a regiment. He had discovered, with the people, that there were powers within him of which neither he nor they had dreamed.

When Grant had fully matured and set forth upon that memorable and final campaign which ended with Appomattox, he received a letter from President Lincoln, in which occurred the following words: "I wish to express in this way my entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, so far as I understand it. The particulars of your plans I neither know nor seek to know. You are vigilant and self-reliant, and pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any constraints or restraints upon you. . . And now with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain you." To these noble and generous words Grant responded: "From my first entrance into the volunteer service of the country to the present day, I have never had cause of complaint, have never expressed or implied a complaint against the administration or the secretary of war for throwing any embarrassment in the way of my vigorously prosecuting what appeared to be my duty." In conclusion he declared that he had been astonished "at the readiness with which everything asked for has been yielded, without even an explanation being asked. Should my success be less than I desire or expect, the least I can say is the fault is not with you."

Grant immediately took the field in person, making his headquarters. with the army of the east, and leaving Sherman in command in the west. On May 3, 1864, he crossed the Rapidan with Meade's army and Burnside's Ninth corps, aggregating one hundred and twenty thousand men. Lee marched forward to the attack, and the Battle of the Wilderness ensued. All day May 5 and 6 it raged, the Confederate chieftain making a desperate and heroic effort to crush Grant's campaign in the very start. During the night after the first day's terrific struggle, Grant formed his plan as to what should be done next. the whole line at five o'clock in the morning." resolve, and at a few minutes before five the The second day, as bloody as the first, gave no advantage to either side. This terrible struggle was kept up from point to point, until by the twentieth the Union losses were nearly sixteen thousand killed and wounded, and two thousand missing. It was from Spottsylvania, one of the historical places of this long fight, that Grant sent back to Washington that memorable dispatch: "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes

It was to "attack along Lee had formed the same engagement was resumed.

all summer!" Meanwhile Sheridan, the great cavalry leader, had raided on Lee's communications, defeated Stuart and made a bold dash at the outer defenses of Richmond. In the Shenandoah valley Sigel had been defeated and succeeded by Hunter. On the line of the James, Butler had fought a hard battle with Beauregard and intrenched himself at Bermuda Hundreds, from whence he sent sixteen thousand troops to Grant, while Beauregard sent aid to Lee.

On May 20 Grant ordered Meade to move out by the left. Lee promptly confronted him at the North Anna river, and the opposing. forces soon found themselves face to face on the Pamunkey and Chickahominy. Several days of skirmishing ensued. On June 1 the Sixth corps, under General Wright, found the Confederates in force at Cold Harbor, and by a bold assault captured one line of intrenchment and eight hundred prisoners. It was now evident to Grant that his able antagonist. had determined to hold the line of the Chickahominy, and he therefore ordered the other Union forces as rapidly as possible in such position as to sustain Wright. The position held by Lee was quite strong, but the forcing of it promised to aid materially in the operations against Richmond, the point at which Grant had aimed his whole campaign. The Second, Sixth and Eighteenth corps were directed to make the assault. They moved gallantly forward, but after a great loss of life it was discovered that the position could not be carried. Grant lost no portion of his faith in the eventual result, nor the means by which it should be accomplished. Finding the Peninsula approaches to Richmond so difficult, he crossed the James with his army in June, and began to operate against Petersburg. After a series of assaults he repeated his plan of operation. at Vicksburg, and sat down to the siege of Petersburg. During July a strong line of redoubts was constructed and furnished with heavy batteries, facing the Confederate line of defense, which comprised a chain of redans and parapets, whose approaches were obstructed by abatis. In August the movement to the north side of the city was renewed, under the charge of General Hancock, who crossed to Deep Bottom on the thirteenth. During the following succeeding days severe fighting took place, with a Union loss of from two thousand to twenty-eight hundred men. During this time Warren, on the other flank, had been dispatched with the Fifth corps to seize and hold, if practicable, the Weldon railroad. He succeeded in placing his troops along the road, and repelled several assaults of the enemy to recover it. Grant's next move was to destroy this road as far south as possible, and the attempt was made with small success. As the season advanced, the commander saw that whatever was to be done towards the capture of Petersburg before going into winter quarters, must be done. quickly. He therefore resolved to make one determined effort to lay hold of the South Side railroad, Lee's main line of communication. The Peters