Ulysses S. Grant put Robert E. Lee into Check on this day 162 years ago...

"We must destroy this Army of Grant's before he gets to the James River. If he gets there it will become a siege and then it will be a mere question of time." - General Robert E. Lee, May 1864

In mid-June 1864, after more than five weeks of non-stop marching and fighting, it looked like Robert E. Lee had finally checked the armies of Ulysses S. Grant before Richmond at a place called Cold Harbor. From May 31-June 12, 1864, the line remained in that area. Over the course of the battle, the Union Army of the Potomac would suffer over 12,000 casualties while the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia suffered fewer than 6,000 losses. The Union advance had seemingly come to a halt with the only way south either through Lee's army or a seemingly impossible crossing of the mighty James River.

Grant opted for the latter option. In one of the most remarkable logistical operations of the entire war, Grant quietly swung the entire Union army around Lee's right flank without a single Confederate soldier ever realizing that the move was happening. Within a matter of hours, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the largest pontoon bridge in recorded history up to that time. Then, over the course of June 14-15, 1864, the 100,000+ members of the Army of the Potomac marched across the James River, around the flank, and into the rear of Robert E. Lee's army.

The destination was Petersburg, Virginia. This railroad town which sat along the banks of the Appomattox River was Lee's and Richmond's supply and communications link to the rest of the Confederacy. If Petersburg were to fall, Richmond's defenses would become virtually untenable.

While Lee was able to quickly recover and prevent the Army of the Potomac from capturing Petersburg in June 1864, the damage had been done and had become irreversible. Lee's worst fears had become realized. Grant had managed to cross the James and put Lee's army under siege in the defenses around Petersburg and Richmond.

It was now but a question of time. Nine months later, Grant would put Lee into checkmate at Appomattox Court House.