427 Grant in Virginia ,1864

427.Grant in Virginia ,1864

Grant hadwith him in Virginia the Army of the Po - tomac under Meade , the Ninth Corps under Burnside , and a great cavalry force under Sheridan . In addition General Butler was on the James River with some thirty thousand men . Lee had under his orders about one - half as many soldiers as had Grant . In every other respect the advantage was on his side . Grant ＇ s plan of campaign was to move by his left from the Rappahannock southeast - wardly . He expected to push Lee southward and hoped to destroy his army . Butler , on his part , was to move up the James . By this plan Grant could always be near navigable water and could in this way easily supply his army with food and military stores . The great objection to this scheme of invasion was that it gave Lee shorter lines of march to all important points . This fact and their superior knowledge of the country gave the Confederates an advantage which largely made up for their lack in numbers .