fro in Grant's immediate rear; and on one occasion nearly captured
Grant himself just on the eve of the opening move. As Grant's unguarded
special train from Washington pulled up at Warrenton Junction, where
there was only one Union official, Mosby's men had just crossed
the track in pursuit of some Federal cavalry.

But neither these two Confederate thorns in the side nor the more
serious Federal failures could stop the general advance. Nor yet
could Butler's lack of success on the James. Butler had seized
and fortified an exceedingly strong defensive position at Bermuda
Hundred on a peninsula, with navigable water on both flanks and in
rear, and a very narrow neck of land in front. The only trouble
was that it was as hard for him to surmount the Confederate front
across the same narrow neck as it was for the enemy to surmount
his own. He was, in fact, bottled up, with the cork in the enemy's
hands. He did send out cavalry from Suffolk to cut the rails south
of Petersburg. But no permanent damage was done there. Petersburg
itself, which at that time was almost defenseless, was not taken. And
in the middle of the month Beauregard attacked Butler so vigorously
as to make the Army of the James rather a passive than an active
force till it was presently, absorbed by Grant when he arrived
before Richmond in June.

Grant felt perfect confidence only in four prime elements of victory:
first, in his ability to wear Lee down by sheer attrition if other
means failed; next, in his own magnificent army; then in Sherman's;
and lastly in Sheridan's cavalry. His supply and transport services
were nearly perfect, even in his own most critical eyes. "There
never was a corps better organized than was the quartermaster's
corps with the Army of the Potomac in 1864." His field engineering
and his signal service were also exceedingly good. At every halt
the army threw up earth and timber entrenchments with wonderful
rapidity and skill. At the same time the telegraph and signal corps
was busy laying insulated wires by means of reels on muleback.
Parallel lines would be led to the rear of each brigade till quite
clear, when their ends would be joined by a wire at right angles,
from which headquarters could communicate with every unit at the
front. Sherman's army was equally efficient, and Sheridan's cavalry
soon proved that sweeping raids could be carried out by one side
as well as by the other.

Crossing the Rapidan at the Germanna For