Overland Campaign Facts

Also Known As

• Wilderness Campaign

Date and Location

• May 4–June 24, 1864
• Eastern Virginia

Timeline of the Overland Campaign

These are the main battles and events of the Overland Campaign in order.

• May 5–7, 1864 — Battle of The Wilderness
• May 8–21 — Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
• May 11 — Battle of Yellow Tavern
• May 23–26 — Battle of North Anna
• May 24 — Battle of Wilson’s Wharf
• May 28 — Battle of Haw’s Shop
• May 28–30 — Battle of Totopotomoy Creek
• May 30 — Battle of Old Church
• May 31–June 12 — Battle of Cold Harbor
• June 11-12 — Battle of Trevilian Station
• June 24 — Battle of Saint Mary’s Church

Principal Union Commanders

• Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant
• Major General George G. Meade

Principal Confederate Commanders

• General Robert E. Lee

Union Forces Engaged

• Army of the Potomac

Confederate Forces Engaged

• Army of Northern Virginia

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 103,000 – 124,000

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 60,000 – 65,000

Estimated Union Casualties

• 54,926 (7,621 killed, 38,339 wounded, 8,966 captured/missing)

Estimated Confederate Casualties

• 31–35,000 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)

Result

• Union victory

Impact of the Overland Campaign

• Although Major General George G. Meade commanded the Army of the Potomac during the Overland Campaign, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, who was general-in-chief of all Union armies, traveled with the Army of the Potomac and personally directed the campaign.
• The Overland Campaign was the bloodiest campaign of the American Civil War.
• Unlike previous Union campaigns in Virginia, which were designed to capture Richmond, the Overland Campaign was designed to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia.
• Because of the high number of casualties during the Overland Campaign, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant developed a reputation as a “butcher.”
• The Overland Campaign ended when Grant stopped pursuing Lee’s army and shifted his strategy to capturing the strategically important Southern cities of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia.
• The Overland Campaign was a strategic success for the North because: Grant hindered Southern efforts to send reinforcements to halt the scorched earth campaigns of Philip Sheridan in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and William T. Sherman in Georgia; even though the Federals suffered higher casualties (39,000 to 31,500), the Confederacy was not able to replace their losses as readily as the North; and finally, by threatening Petersburg, and ultimately, Richmond, Grant tied down the Army of Northern Virginia, limiting Lee’s options for the remainder of the war.
• The Overland Campaign’s high casualty rates and horrific battle conditions shocked war-weary Northerners.