Reports came from Butler and from Sherman
that each was pressing forward. There was encour-
agement in this, so far as it went, but almost any
other general than Grant himself would have shrunk
back in dismay from the terrific obstacles before
him. Not so with his men, however. When, on
the night after the first day's carnage, the men of
Hancock's corps recognized him, as he rode along
their sleeping lines, with his face toward Richmond,
weary soldiers roused their slumbering comrades to
cheer for the fact that there was to be no retreat.
They had done the hardest fighting of the day.
Other men like them, during the sanguinary com-
bats of the next three days, wept like children when
ordered to fall back from positions they had won.
There were defects here and there, and the less
efficient did much to neutralize the efforts and waste
the costly gains of the efficient and the daring 5 but
such is all history, in peace or war.
It was at the close of the indecisive conflict of
May 10th that General Grant sent to the President
the memorable dispatch : " I propose to fight it out
on this line, if it takes all summer."

At that time he had already lost, in killed,
wounded, and missing, over twenty thousand men
— but so had General Lee.
Encouraging advices came from General Butler
on the James. He was doing good work, and it
was important that Lee should be so hard pressed



230 ULYSSES S. GRANT.
as to be unable to send help to the force in front of
him. So the Army of the Potomac attacked again
on the nth, and fought another terrible battle.
