United States Senate-chamber,
Washington, May 10, 1864.
We have an intense anxiety here about the recent battles,
though the people have not been so demonstrative as on many former occasions.
The battle on Friday was fiercely contested all day, was almost entirely a
musketry-fight, and was a success to us, inasmuch as the enemy did not
accomplish his purpose, which was to whip us. We had two men to their one in
action. Grant had one hundred and forty thousand men, and all engaged, save one
brigade of colored troops, say six thousand men. Grant and Meade estimate Lee's
army at seventy thousand, which I suspect is about the truth. On Saturday, Lee
slowly and sullenly moved off in the direction of Orange Court-House,
expecting, doubtless, that Grant would follow him, and that he would be able to
resume the fight where he would have great advantages in the topography of the
country. But Grant failed to be caught in that trap, and moved on the direct
road to Richmond, via Spottsylvania Court-House. We have all sorts of
rumors about battles since that of Friday, but there is nothing whatever
reliable. Nearly all of our army was some time or other in the day soundly
thrashed, but generally rallied very well. There were very few stragglers, less
than were ever known before. The enemy's tactics consisted of the most frantic,
impetuous and gigantic efforts to break our line by attacking it with large
masses. Their troops are far better at this than ours are. At times they drove
our whole line back, and took our positions, but we recovered them. We lost one
entire brigade at one time, most of a brigade at another, and a regiment at
another, by capture. We lost more prisoners than they did. Had the rebels not
gone away from the battle-field, it would not have been claimed as a victory by
us, for they lost no guns, comparatively no prisoners, no baggage, and carried
away their wounded. They are probably far more exhausted by the battle than we
are, and we hope that this is the beginning of the end. The rebels fight,
though, like very devils incarnate. It is useless to attempt to disguise it,
there is an abandon about their attacks that is not imitated even by
most of our men.
SOURCE: William Salter, The Life of James W. Grimes,
p. 261-2
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