Cold Harbor Battle Anniversary

History

Cold Harbor
Second Cold Harbor Virginia
American Civil War
May 31-June 12, 1864

On May 31, 1864m Sheridan's cavalry seized the vital crossroads of Old Cold Harbor near the Gaines' Mill battlefield of 1862. Sheridan's cavalry seized the junction after an intense fight on May 31 with southern horsemen commanded by Lee's nephew Fitzhugh Lee. Next day Sheriff's troopers hold on against an infantry counterattack until Union infantry came u and pushed the rebels back.

During the night of June 1-2, the remainder of both armies arrived and entrench lines facing each other for seven miles from the Totopotomy to the Chickahominy.

To match additional southern reinforcements from south of the James River, Grant pried one of Butler's corps from the same sector. At Cold Harbor, 59,000 Confederates confronted 109,000 Federals. Both armies had thus started the campaign four long weeks earlier.

These four weeks had been exhausting as well as bloody beyond all precedent. The Federals had suffered 44,000 casualties, the Confederates about 25,000. (Since no records exist for overall Confederate losses during this campaign, casualty figures for Lee's army are at best an estimate.) This was a new kind of relentless, ceaseless warfare.

Source: McPherson, James, M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press, Inc. 1988.

Cold Harbor Battle Anniversary

Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorated the anniversary of the battle of Cold Harbor with a weekend series of events at the Cold Harbor battlefield on June 1 and 2, 2002.

Firing Demonstrations

Alan and I witnessed confederate artillerists performing firing demonstrations and Confederate and Union infantrymen presenting rifle-firing demonstrations immediately afterward.

Walking Tour

After the firing demonstrations, Alan and I took a guided walking tour of the battlefield.

The rebels fought from trenches described by a newspaper report as "intricate, zig-zagged lines within lines, lines protecting flanks of lines, lines built to enfilade opposing lines...works within works and works without works."

Source: McPherson, James, M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press, Inc. 1988.

Trench
(Remains intact due to vegetation, which minimizes erosion).

Trench

Bloody Run
(Names comes from the blood that flowed through the creek.)

"The losses sustained by armies during the Wilderness to Cold Harbor campaign made the world shudder. Casualties by some estimates averaged 2,000 per day, and at Cold Harbor nearly 18,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or captured.

While Confederate dead were removed and taken to Richmond, Union dead were hastily buried in shallow trenches near where they fell. In 1866,burial parties scoured the battlefields, collecting the remains and reburying them just east of here. Today 2,000 Union soldiers lie buried at the Cold Harbor National Cemetery."

Soldier Life at Cold Harbor

We saw volunteers portraying soldier life at Cold Harbor, focusing on 1864 infantry tactics and the trench warfare that made the battle of Cold Harbor one of the Confederacy's greatest victories.

Winfield Scott Hancock briefs us "reporters."

Musical Group Southern Horizon

At dinner time, we left the park to have dinner at the Gooseberry Cafe, then we returned to the park to hear an evening concert by the musical group Southern Horizon.

These talented musicians research Civil War period musical arrangements and play them on instruments authentic to the time. They have been performing together for fifteen years.

While others went on a candlelight walking tour, Alan and I continued to enjoy the concert into the night. It finally started to cool off as the sun set and a strong breeze blew in. The high today was 95 degrees!