what was the outcome of the battle of cold harbor

Ultimately, no one would fully take control during the fighting, resulting in uncoordinated attacks with disastrous results. With the failure of the assault, Grant remained in place at Cold Harbor until June 12 when he moved the army away and succeeded in crossing the James River. Shortly thereafter, to the surprise of many, Meade decided to order a frontal assault on the Confederate forces digging in opposite Smith and Wright. A description of the major events of the battle in chronological order, including the date and time of day the events happened ; The generals and leaders of each army at the battle. Each formation squared off with the Confederate fortifications directly in front of it, providing Lee with the advantage—Confederates were able to easily enfilade the Union troops because of the angles at which Lee had arranged his lines. Thus the assault quickly became a collection of isolated, individual actions. But when Grant heard this news, he understood how important that move was. The Army of the Potomac does not require General Grant’s inspiration or anybody else’s inspiration to make it fight!’. Defense: General Lee will contact Sheridan’s cavalry on May 31st and attack so as to buy time while reinforcements are brought up. This article was written by Civil War historian Robert N. Thompson and originally published in the November 2006 issue of Military History magazine. The Union forces advanced under a storm of rifle and artillery fire, and men went down in large groups under sweeping volleys. Some had crawled back to their lines under fire, some had been retrieved by comrades during hours of darkness, but thousands died crying out for water under the summer sun over the course of those five days. The strategic decisions would be Grant’s, but Meade would now attend to the details. The Johnston’s sacrifice allowed for General Douglas MacArthur to retake the Philippines... Homepage Featured Top Stories, Homepage Hero. Casualties: Union: 12,737(1,844 killed) / CSA: 4,595( 83 killed) “Not War But Murder“…Cold Harbor 1864 by Ernest B. Furgurson While the decision provided Lee’s army with even more time to entrench and reinforce, Meade’s order to postpone until the next morning did direct commanders to conduct a reconnaissance of the ground in front of their positions. But things got off to a terrible start. Our line of historical magazines includes America's Civil War, American History, Aviation History, Civil War Times, Military History, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Vietnam, Wild West and World War II. Confederate •General Robert E. Lee •62,000 men. Mar 22, 2018 - The Battle of Cold Harbor Unions vs. Confederacy. I heard the order given, and I saw it disobeyed.’ The common soldier had put in his vote, and the battle for the crossing at Cold Harbor was over. As a result, when the Confederates opened fire, they were able to enfilade the Union attackers with devastating effectiveness. Battle of Cold Harbor. If Grant could extend his left flank to the south quickly enough, he could keep access to the James open, overpower the leading edge of Lee’s flank, and come between Lee and Richmond. There were some isolated moves forward, but they apparently amounted to nothing more than brief exchanges of rifle fire. The only real reconnaissance was made during the fighting late on June 1, and much had probably changed. Shortly after, in the late afternoon, he ordered an attack on the Confederates. The Union Army will be across the James by June 15. The II, VI and XVIII corps were the main attack, on Lee’s right, while Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Warren’s V Corps and Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s IX corps would occupy Lee’s left, preventing the Confederates there from reinforcing his right flank. In human terms, Cold Harbor was an utter catastrophe, the direct result of a flawed command process that finally broke under the strain of battle. That took Sheridan into Old Cold Harbor where he confronted infantry and cavalry. Wreck of USS Johnston Discovered 77 Years After its Sinking at the... How a One-Armed Outfielder Became an Inspiration to Wounded WWII Veterans. The Battle of Cold Harbor claimed nearly 5,000 lives. Meade sent Grant a message indicating that the attack might not be successful, asking if it should be continued. Facts about Cold Harbor 7: the importance of Cold Harbor Battle. For four years from 1861-1865, battles were waged around the landscape of the United States, pitting brother against brother in a Civil War that would change the history of the USA forever. Army of the Potomac Army of Northern Virginia Commanders; Ulysses S. Grant … Finally, late on June 11 or early on June 12, Grant’s aides returned from planning a route for the army across the James River. The Battle of Cold Harbor JUNE 2: GRANT DELAYS Despite his displeasure over Grant's fondness for assaults, Meade concluded that an attack early on the morning of June 2 at Old Cold Harbor stood a fair chance of success. Meade flew into a rage, telling Dana: ‘Sir! While the exact number of casualties has become an item of debate, no matter their total, Cold Harbor had been an unmitigated Federal disaster. There was certainly evidence that field fortifications had been prepared, but their nature, their orientation and the enemy strength were totally unknown. Meade also ordered Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock’s II Corps to pull out of the Union position held after the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse and provide support at Cold Harbor. Within minutes, as the first wave moved forward, the heavy vegetation and previously unseen swamps and wetlands began to break up the neat formations, and any appearance of coordination vanished within the corps. He will dig in and let the Union Army batter itself against his defenses starting on June 1 . Meade responded that he had ordered the attack take place at that time, but suggested 6 a.m. instead, adding, ‘Should you permit this change, I will advise the corps commanders.’ Grant replied through his staff that Meade could change the attack to 5 but not 6. Lieutenant Colonel Horace Porter, one of Grant’s staff officers, wrote that, when speaking to his staff, Grant indicated he would take a more hands-on approach. Lee had already guessed that Grant would attack Petersburg and countered by sending II Corps to the Shenandoah Valley in an effort to threaten Washington and distract Grant from Richmond. On May 31, 1864, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan’s cavalry captured Cold Harbor. Meade next ordered an early morning attack on the Confederates, but Smith refused and Hancock’s II Corps had gotten lost and would not arrive until about 6:30 a.m. on June 2. At 7 a.m., with attacks failing up and down the line, Meade sent Grant a message advising him, ‘I should be glad to have your views as to the continuance of these attacks, if unsuccessful.’ This dispatch in some ways seemed to indicate that Meade was surrendering his control back to Grant. Dan Bullock died at age 15 in 1969 and efforts to recognize the young African-American Marine continue and are highlighted in this Military Times documentary. Despite these setbacks, after discussing the issue with his key commanders, Grant still believed that attacking Lee in his present position was the best course of action. However, things were happening faster than they could report them. Of the three corps in the main attack, none had committed all of its troops. In addition, his staff went out to ride the lines and gather information, which they funneled back to the general-in-chief. Lyman said that from the very beginning, he sensed an air of overconfidence among Grant’s staff, which ‘talked and laughed flippantly about Lee and his army.’ To be certain, Grant fostered some of this attitude in an effort to remove the seemingly mystic spell Lee had cast on the Army of the Potomac. The battle ended the Union drive through the Virginia Wilderness. Cold Harbor was a horrible example of what happens when command cohesion breaks down under the weight of an unworkable system, when the stress of battle overcomes professionalism and when otherwise good officers forget the basics of command and their responsibilities as commanders. Privately, he was not a happy man. After sharp fighting, he took control of the town on May 31. From the soldiers on the line to the generals in command, the emotional and physical strain was quietly and insidiously taking a heavy toll. The battle, which cost 18,000 Union and 11,000 Confederate casualties, included nearly 20 hours of brutal hand-to-hand combat at the infamous “Bloody … The remaining four Union corps went forward, some getting farther than others, until the overwhelming fire from Lee’s entrenchments slowed, stopped and eventually pinned down the Federals. In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general, a rank that had been newly reactivated by Congress, and assumed the position of general-in-chief of the armies of the United States. Interestingly, he was never sanctioned for that move. I regarded it as a stern necessity, and believed it would bring compensating results; but, as it has proved, no advantages have been gained sufficient to justify the heavy losses suffered.’ With that said, as was his manner, Grant focused his energies on planning his next moves. For his part, Meade was publicly supportive, courteous and subordinate to Grant. Grant intended to attack General Robert E. Lee’s army, cut his supply lines from the Shenandoah Valley and Richmond, and isolate him from the Confederate capital. In Grant’s view, if Lee’s army was crushed, Richmond would fall by default and the war would end. Attack: Union General Grant is continuing his “Overland Campaign” and continually attacking Lee. For example, on the evening of May 5, Grant ordered an attack all along the line to be carried out at 4:30 a.m. on May 6. As a result, the Army of the Potomac appeared to have two heads. Each of the three corps commanders on the Union left complained to Meade that the corps on his right or left had failed to protect him from enfilading fire. Reinforcements were sent to aid Sheridan: Maj. Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith’s XVIII Corps and Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright’s VI Corps. ... Pfc. Civil War Timeline, Battles, Weapons, Generals, Movies and Books. Civil War Timeline - Major Battles . Colonel Theodore Lyman wrote at length in his journal about the relationship between the two headquarters’ staffs, and his biggest concern was not so much Grant’s treatment of Meade but the disrespect Grant and his staff showed toward their opponent. The questions that naturally arose revolved around Meade’s actual role and how far Grant would go in directing the army’s activities. Reconnaissance reported that Lee was extending his right flank, which would cut off the Union’s shortest route to the James River, needed as a critical supply line. Their progress toward Richmond from Spotsylvania and Orange counties, where the Battle of the Wilderness took place, was painstaking but steady. The tragedy of Cold Harbor was that it was avoidable. On June 7, a two-hour flag of truce was raised, but by then few of the wounded were found alive. Confederates called Cold Harbor the easiest victory of the war, though it would be Lee’s last great victory. Grant ordered Meade to leave Cold Harbor as quickly as possible to avoid immediate detection by the Confederates, cross the James, and proceed toward Petersburg. At 4:30 p.m. the infantry attacked and after fierce fighting managed to sweep over the Confederate rifle pits and seize their main trenches, but a strong Southern counterattack forced them back. Finally, early on June 3, the attack began in darkness and dense fog. First, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, the army’s commander and the victor at Gettysburg, had chafed under criticism from the administration and the press, as well as congressional investigations, because he had failed to pursue and destroy Lee’s army in the days following Gettysburg. To Smith’s dismay, Wright replied that his plan was simply to ‘pitch in.’ Therefore Smith realized his only option was to do the same: charge straight ahead and see what happened. During the Battle of Cold Harbor, Meade inadequately supervised his corps commanders and did not insist they perform reconnaissance before their disastrous frontal assault. Time should not have been a problem, since the circular went out at 2:30 p.m., which meant there was more than enough daylight left before nightfall to probe the Confederate positions. This not only would tell them the nature of the terrain between the Union and Confederate lines but it would also aid in determining the makeup of the enemy’s fortifications. Roads emanating through this critical junction led to Richmond as well as supply and reinforcement sources for the Union army. In the days immediately following Grant and Dana’s pronouncements that Lee’s army was near its end, Grant continued to shift the Army of the Potomac to the left, forcing Lee to remain between the Federal forces and Richmond while still trying to get Lee to come out and fight the final climactic battle. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by Historynet LLC, the world's largest publisher of history magazines. But continue it did, from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania and on to the North Anna River. A documentary of History Channel about the battle of the battle of Cold Harbor in the spring of 1864. Essentially, Union forces would pound and hammer the Confederate armies, inflicting losses in both men and supplies that they could ill-afford to sustain, while attacking the economic and social infrastructure of the South. Meade adjusted the time of attack to 5 p.m. that day but Grant, concerned that Hancock’s men wouldn’t be ready to attack, advised Meade to wait until the early morning of June 3. Not surprisingly, the staffs that surrounded Grant and Meade felt even stronger about the situation, and they would be a primary obstruction to command cohesion. The concept for the attack was simple but without any solid military logic. Of the battle, Grant stated in his memoirs: Colonel James H. Wilson described it as a sense of despondency. The only coordination in this plan was that everyone would attack at 4:30 a.m. At the appointed time, a signal gun sounded and the Army of the Potomac stepped off in a heavy mist and fog. .. from the dash to Cold Harbor crossroads by both armies and won by the CSA. Colonel Charles Wainwright, who served in Sheridan’s cavalry at the time of the campaign, heard about the attack and the lack of planning in the days after the battle. He wrote in his memoirs, "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made … No advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained." Nevertheless, there was a profound change at Grant’s headquarters. The Army of the Potomac posed many problems for Grant in terms of command, however. On June 12, Grant will resume his night marches around Lee’s right flank moving south as before. var NetMarketingAdvisers_goal = { id: "1275" }; Civil War Times Editor Dana Shoaf shares the story of how Battery H of the 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery found itself in the middle of the Battle of Gettysburg. In a meeting with Baldy Smith two days after the battle, he told his corps commander that he had worked out every plan for every move since the campaign began. Lee had won the fighting and he ultimately won this war of words. So he sent a message to Wright asking him to explain his plan of attack. 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