Battle of Cold Harbor and the Siege of Petersburg,

along with The Crater

Battle of Cold Harbor- June 1-3, 1864

Siege of Petersburg

The Siege of Petersburg- June 15, 1864 through March 25, 1865

Grant’s plan of moving to Richmond Continues

Grant still had a tremendous advantage after Spotsylvania as he still held 109,000 soldiers to Lee’s 59,000 as Grant continued down towards Richmond.

The next point where Lee pinpointed that Grant would cross over was at Cold Harbor, Virginia, and they intersected here on June 1-3, 1864.

A new style of warfare

The daytime of the summer of 1864 was for fighting, but the nighttime was for trench-digging. Little sleep would be had as many men became shell-shocked and even A.P. Hill and Richard Ewell suffered mental breakdowns in this fighting.

Cold Harbor Assault by Ulysses S. Grant

The Union attack gained no success and they lost heavy casualties, losing 7,000 in the two days of fighting versus the Confederates losses of 1,500.

• The initial assault by Grant upon Cold Harbor took place on June 1, and was an assault upon all defenses.

•The Confederates were entrenched and the Union gained no ground on this day or the assault on June 3.

The Cold Harbor Confederate Trenches

Little to no ground was gained by the Union forces at Cold Harbor as the Union army felt “a great horror and dread of attacking earthworks again.” They kept losing great amounts of their comrades yet were expected to continue assault after assault.

•The Cold Harbor defenses were “intricate, zig-zagged lines within lines, lines protecting flanks of lines, lines built to enfilade opposing lines”

Grant after Cold Harbor “I regret this assault more than

any one I have ever ordered.”

Meade wrote that, “I think Grant has had his eyes opened, and is willing to admit now that Virginia and Lee’s Army is not Tennessee and Bragg’s Army.”

Some say that through the Wilderness Campaign and Cold Harbor Campaign Grant actually wept during the night-time after contemplating the losses through these two battle.

Grant’s actions after Cold Harbor

Despite the losses felt by Grant at Cold Harbor, Grant still decided to move forward, and, for the first time, tricked Lee as he kept sending feints towards Richmond while destroying the rail lines leading to Richmond, along with looting the towns in Western Virginia.

Grant’s Railroad destruction operations after the loss at Cold

Harbor

Confederate Defenses at Petersburg

Union defenses on the outskirts of the Confederate trenches

Union soldiers set behind their entrenchments

Harper’s Weekly depiction of the Federal Army behind trench-works planning an

attack on the Confederates

The Petersburg Crater