Gettysburg Address - Cold Harbor National Cemetery - Mechanicsville, VA - Abraham Lincoln on Waymarking.com

The area around Cold Harbor National Cemetery saw intense fighting in 1862 during the Battle of Gaines' Mill and in 1864 at the Battle of Cold Harbor. The latter battle is the one Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant later said he regretted most. The tremendous casualties inflicted on the Union by Confederate defenses created an uproar in the north. Lincoln refused to yield to those calling for the General's head and he stood behind Grant. As a result of the failed frontal assault at Cold Harbor, Grant changed tactics and attacked Richmond indirectly by cutting off its link to Petersburg.

The outcome of the Battle of Cold Harbor was a low point for Lincoln's reelection campaign. His opponent, Gen George B. McClellan, was using recent loses against the Confederacy as a call for change. Key victories in the late summer by Sherman in Georgia and by Grant against Lee in Virginia, however, showed that the north was indeed winning the war. Lincoln and Andrew Johnson ran their campaign with the slogan “don't change horses in the middle of a stream”, and eventually won in a landslide.

Location Type: Historic Marker Property Type: Public Date of Event: Battle of Cold Harbor - 1864; Cold Harbor Nat'l Cemetery established - 1866 Location Notes: National Cemetery visitation hours: daily from sunrise to sunset. URL for Additional Information: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Enjoy your visit, tell your story and post a picture.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   07/31/2021 dream chaser visited it