Battle of Cold Harbor 1864
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 31 May 1864 – 12 June 1864 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1864 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 37.5900, -77.2850 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in the frontal assault of June 3 against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army—an action that intensified criticism of Grant's perceived indifference to heavy casualties.
On May 31, as Grant's army once again swung around the right flank of Lee's army, Union cavalry seized the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor, about 10 miles northeast of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, holding it against Confederate attacks until the Union infantry arrived. Both Grant and Lee, whose armies had suffered enormous casualties in the Overland Campaign, received reinforcements. On the evening of June 1, the Union VI Corps and XVIII Corps arrived and assaulted the Confederate works to the west of the crossroads with some success.
On June 2, the remaining forces of both armies arrived, and the Confederate troops constructed an extensive series of fortifications extending up to seven miles.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cold Harbor (revision 1380654475), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the American Civil War
- Siege of Suffolk 1863
- Siege of Vicksburg 1863
- Skirmish at Ashley's Mills 1863
- Skirmish near Brooklyn, Kansas 1863
- Skirmish of Sporting Hill 1863
- Action at Ashley's Station 1864
- Ambush of the steamboat J. R. Williams 1864
- Bahia incident 1864
- Battle of Adairsville 1864
- Battle of Albemarle Sound 1864
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles