Battle of Cold Harbor

Battle of Cold Harbor
Part of the American Civil War

Union troops of the II Corps repelling a Confederate attack
DateMay 31 (1864-05-31) – June 12, 1864 (1864-06-13)
Location37°35′N 77°17′W / 37.59°N 77.29°W / 37.59; -77.29
Result Confederate victory[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Belligerents
United States United States (Union) Confederate States of America Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
United States Ulysses S. Grant
United States George G. Meade
Confederate States of America Robert E. Lee
Units involved

United States Army of the Potomac[9]

Confederate States of America Army of Northern Virginia
Strength
108,000–117,000[11] 59,000–62,000[11]
Casualties and losses
12,738 total
1,845 killed
9,077 wounded
1,816 captured/missing[12][13]
5,287 total
788 killed
3,376 wounded
1,123 captured/missing[13]

The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign, and is remembered as one of American history's most lopsided battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in the frontal assault of June 3 against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army, an event that compounded the image of Grant's apparent disregard for high casualties.

On May 31, as Grant's army once again swung around the right flank of Lee's army, Union cavalry seized the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor, about 10 miles northeast of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, holding it against Confederate attacks until the Union infantry arrived. Both Grant and Lee, whose armies had suffered enormous casualties in the Overland Campaign, received reinforcements. On the evening of June 1, the Union VI Corps and XVIII Corps arrived and assaulted the Confederate works to the west of the crossroads with some success.

On June 2, the remaining forces of both armies arrived, and the Confederate troops constructed an extensive series of fortifications extending seven miles. At dawn on June 3, three Union corps launched an assault on the Confederate defenses at the southern end of the line. The attack was easily repelled, resulting in significant casualties for the Union forces. Attempts to assault the northern end of the line and to resume the assaults on the southern were unsuccessful. The armies confronted each other on these lines until the night of June 12, when the Army of the Potomac finally disengaged.

  1. ^ Battle of Cold Harbor Facts & Summary American Battlefield Trust
  2. ^ Furgurson 2000, p. 525.
  3. ^ Rhea 2002, p. 357.
  4. ^ Cold Harbor National Park Service
  5. ^ Bruce Catton, Never Call Retreat (Doubleday, New York, 1965) pp. 363–364
  6. ^ Shelby Foote The Civil War: Yellow Tavern to Cold Harbor (Time Life Edition, 2000) pp. 87–110
  7. ^ "Robert e. Lee's Last Great Victory: Clash at Cold Harbor". December 14, 2016.
  8. ^ "Battle of Cold Harbor | Summary". May 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Further information:
    Organization of Army of the Potomac, May 31, 1864: Official Records, Series I, Volume XXXVI, Part 1, pp. 198–209.
  10. ^ Temporarily attached to the Army of the Potomac from the Army of the James. See: Official Records, Series I, Volume XXXVI, Part 1, page 178 (note at the bottom of the page).
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference strength was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Return of Casualties in the Union forces, Battle of Cold Harbor, June 2–15, 1864 (Recapitulation): Official Records, Series I, Volume XXXVI, Part 1, p. 180.
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference casualties was invoked but never defined (see the help page).