What strategy did Genera Robert E Lee adopt in 1864 and what was his goal?

Answer 1

In the last year of the war, with Grant as Union General-in-Chief, Lee was firmly on the defensive, and could only react to Grant's strategy of attrition.

He was not in a position to mount one of his bold, aggressive thrusts (especially as these really needed Stonewall Jackson, now dead), and Lee himself was suffering from Heart disease, misdiagnosed as rheumatism, and had confided to a few close friends that he was past his best.

Answer 2

As 1864 unfolded, President Lincoln decided to place General US Grant in charge of the Union's war efforts to end the Southern rebellion. Grant was made the Union's general in chief with the title of Lieutenant General. He would be based in the Eastern Theater which included Virginia and Lieutenant General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. Lee knew he would be faced with the task of facing US Grant and a huge Union army. Lee believed he had to prepare for Grant's renewed efforts to control Virginia. Lee therefore began to add to the already formidable fortifications protecting Richmond and the main source of Richmond's supplies from Petersburg. Lee's goal was to defend Richmond and Petersburg. He believed that the 1864 US presidential elections might bring forth a peace agreement between the North and the South.What ensued was Grant's Overland campaign. It was a costly series of battles that began in the Spring of 1864. Some pundits blamed Grant for losing too many soldiers as he continued heavy assaults on Lee's fortified army.