Union General Ulysses S. Grant began a war of attrition with the Battle of the Wilderness. This was a change for the Army of the Potomac. No longer going after the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, Grant was directly going after Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It was the first battle of the Union army's Overland Campaign and ended with neither side victorious. The combined casualties totaled 28,000. Grant knew that although his losses were greater, any losses for the Confederacy would reduce their capacity to fight. The North had a much larger pool of resources to work with. So Grant concluded any Confederate losses were worth the sacrifice made by the Union army.