Battle of Cold Harbor - Mechanicsville, VA
Posted by: 
archway
N 37° 35.123 W 077° 17.180
18S E 298127 N 4162271
This battlefield monument marks the location of the main Confederate line.
Waymark Code: WM7V5D
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 12/05/2009
Views: 5
The Battle of Cold Harbor was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant tried to attack Richmond directly but met fierce Confederate defenses. The Union effort was handicapped by poor reconnaissance, and many soldiers died between the battle lines when Grant refused to ask for a truce. Grant would later say that this is the attack he wish he had never ordered.
The Confederate victory marked the end of Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign, and it resulted in a change of tactics. Later, the Union occupied City Point and, instead of direct attacks, it fought a war of attrition by laying siege to Petersburg, a major supply route to Richmond.
The text of the battlefield marker, which is located behind the visitor's center at the park entrance, reads as follows:
"Here Longstreet's corps , with Breckinridge and A. P. Hill's corps to the southward, repulsed on June 3, 1864, fourteen assaults from the east against the confederate main line. The Federal losses, about 7,000, were the heaviest ever sustained in America in so brief an action."
Name of Battle:
Battle of Cold Harbor
Name of War: American Civil War
Entrance Fee: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Parking: N 37° 35.130 W 077° 17.226
Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 05/31/1864
Date of Battle (End): 06/12/1864
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Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.
In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.