Cold Harbor
The
battle of Cold Harbor on June 3d was the third tremendous engagement of
Grant's campaign against
Richmond within a month.
It was also his costliest onset on
Lee's veteran army.
Grant had risked much in his change of base to the
James in order to bring him nearer to
Richmond and to the friendly hand which
Butler with the Army of the James was in a position to reach out to him.
Lee had again confronted him, entrenching himself but six miles from the outworks of
Richmond, while the
Chickahominy cut off any further flanking movement.
There was nothing to do but fight it out, and
Grant ordered an attack all along the line.
On June 3d he hurled the Army of the Potomac against the inferior numbers of
Lee, and in a brave assault upon the
Confederate entrenchments, lost ten thousand men in twenty minutes.
Grant's assault at Cold Harbor was marked by the gallantry of
General Hancock's division and of the brigades of
Gibbon and
Barlow, who on the left of the
Federal line charged up the ascent in their front upon the concentrated artillery of the
Confederates; they took the position and held it for a moment under a galling fire, which finally drove them back, but not until they had captured a flag and three hundred prisoners. The battle was substantially over by half-past 7 in the morning, but sullen fighting continued throughout the day. About noontime
General Grant, who had visited all the corps commanders to see for himself the positions gained and what could be done, concluded that the
Confederates were too strongly entrenched to be dislodged and ordered that further offensive action should cease.
All the next day the dead and wounded lay on the field uncared for while both armies warily watched each other.
The lower picture was taken during this weary wait.
Not till the 7th was a satisfactory truce arranged, and then all but two of the wounded Federals had died.
No wonder that
Grant wrote, “I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made.”
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Where ten thousand fell |
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Federal Camp at Cold Harbor after the battle |
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