Video: 'Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle of the Wilderness' (May 4, 1864, at 24:42)

(Wednesday, May 4, 1864; during the Overland Campaign, part of the American Civil War) — Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, crossed the Rapidan River today, seeking to defeat Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia by quickly placing his forces between Lee and Richmond and inviting an open battle.