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Grant was never willing to spend the energy to get tactical control of the AOP. As generalissomo of Union forces he was happy to prod the various commander sto move on the strategic cheesboard as his grand plan required. The staff of the AOP went on making the sort of staff blunders which made it held in justifyable contempt by the very brave men who were called on to execute the uninspired plans.

The Crater has to be the classic inditement of Meade's staff. The plan didn't originate at HQ so it recieved the 'not invented here' disdain by the staff. On top of that the units executing the attack were from Burnside's corps. The staff despised Burnside for his apalling direction of the Battle of Fredericksburg and were more than happy to provide minimal and ineffectual coordination of other elements of the AOP and no detailed staff review of the assualt plan and the follow on phase. The Crater operaation is a classic to dissect for mistakes and errors by the attacker than ruined a brilliant tactical conception and for the remarkable ad hoc CSA reaction in which local commanders on their own volition took initiative to seal off the breach and immediately start counterattacking with resoorces at hand to pin the attackers in place. Mahones organization and direction of the counterattack is a classic of hasty improvisation and taking the initiative.
As usual the entire business was also a display of sheer naked guts on the part of the common soldiers and the company grade officers involved on both sides.

Then.

Now.

The battlefields around Richmond are a wonderful place to visit.

60, 51, 18, 9, meters? 197 feet, 167 feet, 59 feet, 29.5 feet. Come on you are in the United States now talk American.