Battle along the North Anna River May 2125 1864. For sixteen days the armies had grappleda grueling horror-show of nonstop battle, march, and maneuver that stretched through May of 1864. Federal commander Ulysses S. Grant had resolved to destroy his Confederate adversaries through attrition if by no other means. He would just keep at them until he used them up.Meanwhile, Grants Confederate counterpart, Robert E. Lee, looked for an opportunity to regain the offensive initiative. We must strike them a blow, he told his lieutenants.The toll on both armies was staggering.But Grants war of attrition began to take its toll in a more