Lincoln as Commander in Chief

[Hess1865]

Before the Overland Campaign began, Grant came across a group of his aides discussing Lee.
Grant looked at them and said, "Stop wondering what Lee is going to do with us, and start thinking about what we are going to do to Lee"
That statement has aways made me think Grant wanted to meet RE Lee on an open field, regardless of Lee's troop strength.
Remember, both Grant and Lee suffered almost the same casulty rates during that blood bath of a campaign, so Lee's forces weren't that outnumbered.