In Virginia, the Union Army crosses the Rapidan River and begins Grant's Overland Campaign

The Overland Campaign was a massive and sustained offensive General U.S. Grant designed to draw the Army of Northern Virginia to battle in defense of Richmond.  A series of battles were fought on this design, including the Wilderness and Cold Harbor.  Casualties were very heavy but Grant wore down Lee and achieved the strategic success of crossing the James River and besieging Petersburg.  (By John Osborne)  
Source Citation
Charles P. Roland, An American Iliad: The Story of the Civil War (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002), 168-179. 
    Date Certainty
    Exact
    Type
    Battles/Soldiers
    How to Cite This Page: "In Virginia, the Union Army crosses the Rapidan River and begins Grant's Overland Campaign," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/41809.