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 1864] Grant at Washington. Position of the armies. 515 concurrent employment of the maximum of force against the Confederacy continual battle, continual slaughter till the will of his adversary was broken. He saw clearly that no manoeuvring and no capture of positions could end the war. His great objective was the destruction of the armed forces of his enemy. Until he called him to Washington, President Lincoln had never seen Grant; but their interviews during the few weeks of preparation established a cordial esteem and confidence between them. On April 30 the President wrote to him as follows. " Not expecting to see you again before the spring campaign opens, 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 plan 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.... If there is anything wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God sustain you." To this Grant made a generous reply on the following day : " Your very kind letter of yesterday is just received. The confidence you express for the future, and satisfaction with the past, in my military administration is acknowledged with pride. It will be my earnest endeavour that you and the country shall not be disappointed. 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 me my duty. Indeed, since the promotion which placed me in command of all the armies, and in view of the great responsibility and importance of success, I have 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 and expect, the least I can say is, the fault is not with you." In the East, the opposing armies lay confronting each other re- spectively north and south of the Rapidan near Fredericksburg, only a short distance south of where the first battle of Bull Run had been fought nearly three years before. Three years of campaigning had not only changed their personnel, but transformed them from raw recruits to seasoned veterans, tried in courage, and hardened to endurance. In balance of defeat and victory, they remained practically equal. The failure of McClelland advance against Richmond was more than balanced by the failure of Lee's two invasions of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Malvern Hill, Antietam, and Gettysburg balanced Second Bull Run, Fredericks- burg, and Chancellorsville. Serious as had been the fighting of the past, ce. xvi. 332
 * gain and loss of battlefields, in yielding and recovery of territory, in