Battle Of Cold Harbor,5/31-6/12/1864

About 10 miles slightly to the northeast of downtown Richmond,VA,the Battle Of Cold Harbor was fought on the dates listed in the title of this thread. Below is a link to the summary of the battle on the Civil War Trust website. It was a horrendous battle. It was the last battle fought between the Army Of Northern Virginia and Army Of The Potomac before both moved to Richmond/Petersburg and the long siege and series of battles that occurred there. You can find maps of the various stages of Cold Harbor at the CWT site too.

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/cold-harbor.html?tab=facts

On the morning of Jan. 11,2016,I visited the National Park Service(NPS) Cold Harbor Battlefield Park. It was a cold,but clear Monday morning and there were only about 3-4 of us there during my visit. There is a small Visitor Center at the entrance and there are not a lot of monuments there but that's ok. What there are there are lots of remnants of earthworks. When the war ended and the landowners returned the earthworks constructed there by Union and Confederate forces were so extensive that the landowners lacked the funds and manpower to restore a lot of the battlefield to it's prewar state. Erosion has taken some toll there but it's still a pretty impressive site to see and imagine what it was like in 1864.

I really like this one:

The Visitor Center at Cold Harbor is a one room structure with sort of a partition in the center. In the back half of the room,one side is devoted to the Battle of Gaines' Mill(fought nearby in 1862),the other to Cold Harbor. The displays are mostly reproductions of pictures and plaques with quotes about the battles. The only artifact on display is a canteen fashioned into a digging utensil that was found on the Cold Harbor battlefield:

This picture was there at the Visitor Center too. I had seen it before but didn't remember that it was from Cold Harbor:

As I said,there are not a lotta monuments or markers on the driving tour but that is ok. As soon as you get on the driving tour you can see remnants of earthworks on either side of the road and it's like that almost to the end of the road. There are walking trails there where more earthworks can be viewed but I did not have time to walk them. Had a plane to catch about 2:50pm and still had to check outta the hotel. My spouse was still there. She has no interest in Civil War battlefield tours especially in sub-freezing temperatures. I hope to go back there some day to explore the walking trails. There are a places on the driving tour where the road cuts right through earthworks and you can stop and take pictures from your car window on either side. I believe this shot and the next shot were taken from driver's side and passenger's side window of the same trench line.

The only monument on the NPS Cold Harbor Battlefield Tour:

Just outside of the Cold Harbor Battlefield Visitor Center:

On the other side of the Visitor Center:



"Remnants of that line are visible emerging from the woods to your left.":

Closeup of earthworks in "the woods to your left." The woods weren't there in 1864.:

Also visited Cold Harbor National Cemetery just a mile or 2 down the highway from the battlefield. The chest-high brick wall surrounding the cemetery is literally a car-length off the highway.

Sweet.

Monument at Cold Harbor National Cemetery to the soldiers of the Eighth New York Heavy Artillery who were killed or died of their wounds at Cold Harbor:

Pennsylvania Monument at Cold Harbor National Cemetery:

I just got back from an ASL tourney, and someone had four boxes of Civil War books for sale. That's when I thought of you.

BitterPill said:

I just got back from an ASL tourney, and someone had four boxes of Civil War books for sale. That's when I thought of you.

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Didja buy 'em?

bdtex said:

Didja buy 'em?

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I was overwhelmed by choice, yet I managed to select and buy three.

bdtex said:

About 10 miles slightly to the northeast of downtown Richmond,VA,the Battle Of Cold Harbor was fought on the dates listed in the title of this thread. Below is a link to the summary of the battle on the Civil War Trust website. It was a horrendous battle. It was the last battle fought between the Army Of Northern Virginia and Army Of The Potomac before both moved to Richmond/Petersburg and the long siege and series of battles that occurred there. You can find maps of the various stages of Cold Harbor at the CWT site too.

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/cold-harbor.html?tab=facts

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Historian Bruce Catton made Cold Harbor and the Wilderness sound like Grant kept sending troops in to get slaughtered until the Confederates ran out of bullets.

The Sage of Main Street said:

Historian Bruce Catton made Cold Harbor and the Wilderness sound like Grant kept sending troops in to get slaughtered until the Confederates ran out of bullets.

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Haven't read his book(s) but I've heard of that accusation being levelled at Grant. I have a book on The Wilderness in my reading stack. I'm guessing it may be May before I get to it. Reading one on Fredericksburg right now and the next one is about Chancellorsville.

BitterPill said:

I was overwhelmed by choice, yet I managed to select and buy three.

Click to expand...

Which 3 didja buy?