General Robert E. Lee Warns President Davis That Richmond Faces Imminent “Disaster”

In order to bring the Civil War to a conclusion in 1864, U.S. Grant, the newly-appointed Union commander, devised a detailed plan that would strike at the heart of the Confederacy from multiple directions: he and Gettysburg victor George Meade would operate against Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia around the Confederate capitol of Richmond; William T. Sherman would invade Georgia, defeat Confederate western theater commander Joseph Johnston and capture Atlanta; Franz Sigel and George Crook would operate in the Shenandoah Valley and along railroad supply lines in West Virginia; and Nathaniel Banks would capture Mobile.

This was the first time the Union armies would have a coordinated offensive strategy across a number of theaters. And although previous Union campaigns in Virginia had the rebel capital itself as the primary target, this time the objective was the destruction of Lee's army. Grant ordered Meade, "Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also."

On May 4, 1864, the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River west of Fredericksburg and rapidly became embroiled in a major battle in the Wilderness. Losses were severe and the battle was a tactical draw. Grant, however, did not retreat as had the other Union generals before him in similar situations. On May 7, the Federals advanced southeast by the Confederate right flank to the crossroads of Spotsylvania Courthouse. Lee beat Grant to his objective and dug in. In a series of attacks over two weeks, Grant hammered away at the Confederate lines but could not prevail. He once again disengaged and slipped to the southeast. Intercepting Grant's movement, Lee positioned his forces behind the North Anna River in a location that would force Grant to divide his army to attack it. The fighting at the Battle of North Anna (May 23–26, 1864) was fierce but inconclusive.

Grant continued to advance around the Confederate right in the direction of Cold Harbor. At the Battle of Totopotomoy (May 28–30, 1864), Lee's forces had entrenched behind the Totopotomoy Creek, covering all of the direct approaches to Richmond. Union forces crossed the creek in two places, capturing the first line of Confederate trenches, but the advance was stopped at the main line. Also on the 30th, at Old Church, the Federal cavalry under General Philip Sheridan began probing east and south. Confederate troops in his path were driven steadily back on the road to Cold Harbor, opening the door for Sheridan's capture of that important crossroads the next day. On the roads radiating from that point, Grant could threaten not only the Confederate army to the northwest but Richmond itself, just ten miles to the southwest beyond the Chickahominy. The day before, on May 29, facing a superior force and a determined commander, and having suffered very significant battle losses in the preceding three weeks, Lee sought reinforcements. Some might be had from the command of General P.G.T. Beauregard who was in charge of the defenses of Richmond, but Beauregard maintained that he could spare none.

Then, early on the morning of the 30th, Union forces began to disappear from the Confederate left and almost simultaneously there were signs of a new shift by Grant to the right of the Confederate line. Lee's most reliable scout reported that the Federals were moving along the road to Cold Harbor. Putting all this information together, Lee concluded that the enemy "will probably make another move by their left flank toward the Chickahominy." During the afternoon, evidence began to accumulate that General William F. Smith's entire XVIII Corps from Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James was being sent to reinforce Grant, via the White House on the Pamunkey River. Lee's scouts had it that Butler's fleet, conveying these troops to Grant, would be in position very shortly.

On the basis of this information, and to save time that might be lost in transmitting the request through Richmond, Lee called directly on Beauregard for reinforcements. When that officer answered about nightfall that the War Department would have to decide what troops should be sent, Lee lost patience.

Autograph Telegram Signed, Atlee’s, May 30, 1864, 7:30 PM, to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, warning him that the safety of Richmond was in imminent jeopardy. "General Beauregard says the Department must determine what troops to send for him. He gives it all necessary information. The result of this delay will be disaster. Butler's troops (Smith's corps) will be with Grant tomorrow. Hoke's division, at least, should be with me by light tomorrow." This telegram, completely in Lee’s hand, is contained in the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies and included in the The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee, a compendium of Lee’s most significant correspondence. It is also specifically referenced by Douglas Southall Freeman in his definitive biography, Robert E. Lee.

Lee was not an alarmist, so when this telegram reached Davis, he took the warning very seriously. As Freeman states, “When Lee used that grim word ‘disaster,’ the wheels of the War Department turned swiftly. Beauregard was ordered to dispatch Hoke by trains that would be sent him immediately…Before midnight, Lee had assurance from the President that every effort would be made to have Hoke's four brigades with the Army of Northern Virginia the next day. This was a good division of more than 7000 officers and men. Adding it to the reinforcements already received, Lee had now made good approximately 70 per cent of the losses he had sustained since the opening of the campaign.” Lee’s reinforcements arrived on time to stave off the disaster he feared, at least for another 11 months.

On May 31, as Lee’s forces got into place, Sheridan's cavalry seized the vital crossroads of Cold Harbor. On June 1, Grant’s reinforcements arrived and assaulted the Confederate works with some success. Fortunately for Lee, he now had all the men he needed to prevent this limited breach in his lines from leading to a major defeat. By June 2, both armies were fully on the field, forming on a seven-mile front. On June 3, at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant’s men attacked Lee’s line and were slaughtered at all points. Part of the assault directed against the Confederate line was repulsed handily by Hoke's Division. With Grant unable to beat Lee in set battles and Lee unable to dissuade Grant from pursuing him despite huge casualties, both sides began to dig in; the war would now enter its year in the trenches around Petersburg.

Research of auction records over the past 30 years discloses just a few wartime letters of Lee to Davis having been offered for sale, and none of more extraordinary consequence. It is also just the second letter we have ever had of Lee mentioning his archfoe, Grant.