A review of the database maintained by the Civil War Sites Advisory Committee, the government’s official repository of Civil War statistics, indicates that, of the 11 battles listed for the Overland Campaign, the Union won three, the Confederates won two and the rest were inconclusive. In most of the battles, the Confederates were outnumbered by a ratio of 2 to 1. For example, the CWSAC reports that, at Cold Harbor, the North had 108,000 soldiers while the South had only 62,000. Yet the South won the battle. The difference was General Robert E. Lee who commanded the Confederates.

The CWSAC reports that at Cold Harbor, the North suffered 13, 000 casualties while the South had only 2,500. Some reports indicate that Grant lost 6,000 men in a one-hour period. Lacking appropriate military skills, Grant callously pushed more and more soldiers into his front lines, ignoring the number of casualties in order to wear down the Confederates. For ruthlessly sacrificing the lives of these young men, Grant was given the designation "Grant the Butcher."

GP