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7 Grant Moves South: Combined Operations on the James River, 1864 Craig L. Symonds B y the spring of 1864, the Union had experienced so much disappointment with combined operations that instead of allaying suspicion between the services, the overriding sense of distrust was at least as prominent as it had been in 1862. Yet that same spring, circumstances conspired to overcome those suspicions during Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s move to the James River. Even with Grant’s prestige as the nation’s first threestar general since George Washington (Winfield Scott had been a brevet threestar ), it took a perceived crisis in command on the James River to overcome the traditional barriers to unified authority. In April 1864, Grant was preparing to embark on what subsequently came to be known as the Overland Campaign. In conformance with President Lincoln ’s long-held strategic vision, Grant’s plan called for the simultaneous advance of three Union armies against the Confederates in Virginia. Meade’s Army of the Potomac, with Grant in company, would advance southward across the Rapidan-Rappahannock line into the Virginia wilderness; the German -born Major General Franz Sigel would lead a smaller Union army southward through the breadbasket of the Shenandoah Valley; and Major General Benjamin Butler would lead the Army of the James up its namesake river toward Petersburg and Richmond’s back door. The idea was that the rebels would be overmatched in attempting to deal simultaneously with Grant’s advance from the north and Butler’s from the south. As Lincoln explained it to John Hay: ‘‘Those not skinning can hold a leg.’’ Since Grant planned to initiate this campaign on May 4, he wanted Butler to begin his move that same night and ‘‘be as far up the James River as you can get by daylight’’ on May 5. Butler’s move, of course, would have to be made in conjunction with the navy, and in particular with Acting Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee (a third cousin of the rebel army commander), who commanded the Union’s North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Though their partnership began well enough, the absence of a unified command led once again to misunderstanding, confusion, and disappointment.1 88 Combined Operations on the James River, 1864 This was neither the first nor the last time Butler would be involved with a combined operation. Soldiers under his command had occupied New Orleans after it surrendered to David Glasgow Farragut in April 1862, and he would command the landing force during the first assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina , that coming winter (see Chapter 8). In none of these adventures did Butler emerge victorious, and it seemed curious to some that he kept getting important assignments. But Butler was an important Democrat in what the administration wanted to avoid being portrayed as a Republican war. Moreover, Butler’s political savvy was useful in circumstances where strict adherence to protocol might have caused problems. It was Butler who had conceived of the notion that refugee slaves could be labeled ‘‘contraband of war’’ and therefore not returned to their rebel masters. Finally, Butler’s seniority as a major general made it essential to give him independent commands, for if attached to the Army of the Potomac he would outrank every general except Grant. As for Samuel Phillips Lee, he came with a certain amount of political baggage of his own. Unlike Butler, he was a career officer, but he was also well connected. He was married to Elizabeth Blair Lee, whose two brothers each held important posts: Major General Frank Blair Jr. was a corps commander under William T. Sherman, and Montgomery Blair was Lincoln’s postmaster general. Moreover, their father (and Admiral Lee’s father-in-law), Francis P. Blair Sr., was a confidante of the president and influential in Republican Party circles. Finally, while Lee commanded the nation’s largest squadron—the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron—he remained an acting rear admiral, and was eager for promotion. Throughout the James River campaign, therefore, Acting Rear Admiral Lee sought to achieve some signal victory that would gain him the promotion he sought. Butler had ‘‘positive orders’’ from Grant to start on schedule, and Lee told his captains, ‘‘No excuse will be received for not being ready to move at the appointed time.’’ On May 5, 1864, therefore, Lee’s five ironclads led the advance upriver. They were followed by nearly two hundred other vessels of...

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