May 31-June 12, 1864 * Bethesda Church
Other Names: Cold Harbour
On the morning of June 3 1864, 8,000 men fell in a matter of minutes. The Second was at that point on the extreme north of the Union line, in what are now suburbs two miles north of Cold Harbor Battlefield Park. Its brigade was ordered to push diagonally to the northwest in an attempt to roll back Early's Corps and turn Lee's left flank--or, at the very least, to keep him from stripping troops from that area to reinforce his middle. Early had a forward line of "rifle pits" (trenches) south of Beaver Dam Creek, a tiny stream with marshy borders, with his main lines two hundred yards farther on. [The location is now a field in Richmond's northeastern suburbs, north of modern Rt. 360, west of Rt. 615. the forward Confederate lines were on the south
edge of a small road just south of Beaver Cam Creek; the main line parallelled the modern Rt. 627.]
The brigade deployed with three regiments in the front line and two in the rear; the 27th and 2d were on the extreme right of the first and second lines, respectively. The brigade drove across the open fields and overran the outermost confederate lines; in the process the 27th lost Major Moody, commanding.
(Moody was a Great Lakes sailor, famed for giving his troops nautical orders such as "bear to port!" He fell with a shattered arm and died later of the infection).
The brigade could not, however, take the main confederate lines 200 yards beyond and was pinned down under heavy fire from ahead and from its left. Civil War infantry did not carry shovels; the men in desperation dug in as best they could.The brigade commander's report states: "To procure cover, in default of better entrenchments, the men used their bayonets, tincups and plates to pile the soil into earthworks and thus partially protected themselves." Under the converging musket fire, the Second lost J. Burns and Thomas Glenny, killed, and Patrick Cullen of Saginaw, mortally wounded.
(Cullen's pension file at Archives shows he was shot in the left lung and attended by William Clark; his last record shows him being placed on the hospital ship for General Hospital in Washington. On June 6, an unknown with his height and hair color was sent to Arlington. He rests there somewhere in plot 27, near George Fox.)
Page
Casualty List
BETHESDA CHURCH
June 3rd 1864
Casualties at this battle was 2 Killed and 36 Wounded.
Killed in Action
- Glenny, Thomas, Coy G
- Burns, J.
Wounded in Action
- Williams, G.S., Lt., Coy D, Died of Wounds June 15th
- Cullen, Patrick C., Died of Wounds June 6th
- Fry, Oren C., Coy D, Recovered
- Fishell, George A., Coy K,
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| YEAR |
HISTORY |
TIME LINE |
BATTLES |
| 1861 |
Sept. 30,2005 |
Sept. 30,2005 |
Sept. 30,2005 |
| 1862 |
Sept. 30,2005 |
Sept. 30,2005 |
Sept. 30,2005 |
| 1863 |
Oct. 9,2005 |
Oct. 9,2005 |
Oct. 9,2005 |
| 1864 |
Oct. 10,2005 |
Oct. 10,2005 |
Oct. 10,2005 |
| 1865 |
Oct. 10,2005 |
Oct. 10,2005 |
Oct. 10,2005 |
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2005
� Private Church & Friends 1995-2005
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