Battle of Cold Harbor

Battle of Cold Harbor
Part of the American Civil War
Union troops of the II Corps repelling a Confederate attack
Date May 31 (1864-05-31) – June 12, 1864 (1864-06-13) Location Hanover County, near Mechanicsville, Virginia 37°35′N 77°17′W / 37.59°N 77.29°W / 37.59; -77.29 Result Confederate victory[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade	Robert E. Lee
Units involved
Army of the Potomac[9] XVIII Corps[10](Army of the James)	Army of Northern Virginia
Strength
108,000–117,000[11]	59,000–62,000[11]
Casualties and losses
12,738 total 1,845 killed 9,077 wounded 1,816 captured/missing[12][13]	5,287 total 788 killed 3,376 wounded 1,123 captured/missing[13]

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, and is remembered as one of American history's most lopsided battles. 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 event that compounded the image of Grant's apparent disregard for high 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 seven miles. At dawn on June 3, three Union corps launched an assault on the Confederate defenses at the southern end of the line. The attack was easily repelled, resulting in significant casualties for the Union forces. Attempts to assault the northern end of the line and to resume the assaults on the southern were unsuccessful. The armies confronted each other on these lines until the night of June 12, when the Army of the Potomac finally disengaged.