On May 31, Sheridan's cavalry seized the vital crossroads of Old Cold Harbor. Early on June 1, relying heavily on their new repeating carbines and shallow entrenchments, Sheridan's troopers threw back an attack by Confederate infantry. Confederate reinforcements arrived from Richmond and from the Totopotomoy Creek lines. Late on June 1, the Union VI and XVIII Corps reached Cold Harbor and assaulted the Confederate works with some success. By June 2, both armies were on the field, forming on a seven-mile front that extended from Bethesda Church to the Chickahominy River. At dawn June 3, the II and XVIII Corps, followed later by the IX Corps, assaulted along the Bethesda Church-Cold Harbor line and were slaughtered at all points. Grant commented in his memoirs that this was the only attack he wished he had never ordered. The armies confronted each other on these lines until the night of June 12, when Grant again advanced by his left flank, marching to James River. On June 14, the II Corps was ferried across the river at Wilcox's Landing by transports. On June 15, the rest of the army began crossing on a 2,200-foot long pontoon bridge at Weyanoke. Abandoning the well-defended approaches to Richmond, Grant sought to shift his army quickly south of the river to threaten Petersburg.
Result(s): Confederate victory
Location: Hanover County
Campaign: Grant's Overland Campaign (May-June 1864)
Date(s): May 31-June 12, 1864
Principal Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee [CS]
Forces Engaged: 170,000 total (US 108,000; CS 62,000)
Estimated Casualties: 15,500 total (US 13,000; CS 2,500)
Source:
The armies skirmished for three days until, on June 1, General Sheridan's cavalry seized the important crossroads at Cold Harbor, only ten miles from Richmond. Both armies at once converged on this strategic point. The Confederates spent all the following day constructing a strong line of fortifications. Grant and Meade attacked on June 3. In a series of frontal assaults, the Federals were slaughtered, sustaining approximately 7,000 casualties compared to Confederate losses of 1,500. Grant always regretted ordering the assault at Cold Harbor. The Federals dug in. For ten days, the two antagonists remained in their trenches. But the Federal commanders had no intention of fighting a stagnant war of siege and attrition, and now proposed one final, side-stepping movement around Lee's Confederates. The Federal army would direct its next move against Richmond's railroad center, at Petersburg. Lee, his army lacking the strength to take the initiative, was compelled to wait for the next Federal attack to come.
Source:
Last Updated 08 May 2002
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