BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Cold Harbor Natl Battlefield Visitor Center

VA -- Cold Harbor Natl Battlefield Visitor Center:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. COLDVC_150604_001.JPG: Faces of War: Thousands of soldiers died on Richmond's Civil War battlefields. Many of those men posed for photographs, anxious to preserve their image as a memento for their loved ones. That frozen moment in time offers us a window into their lives, too. Every soldier profiled in this interactive display was killed or mortally wounded here, or at one of the other area battlefields. Proud descendants have donated most of these views. Feel welcome to browse through, to learn the often poignant stories, and to see the faces of America's fighting men of the 1860s.
2. COLDVC_150604_005.JPG: Welcome to Cold Harbor Visitor Center: Cold Harbor, like so many places in Virginia (Manassas, Fredericksburg, Winchester), felt the presence of Civil War armies more than once. The 1862 Battle of Gaines' Mill and the 1864 Battle of Cold Harbor shared common ground. The two battles, less than 24 months apart and involving many of the same soldiers on the same landscape, were very different. Studied together, these two battles offer a window into how the war had changed.
3. COLDVC_150604_009.JPG: The Seven Days: George B. McClellan led the North's largest army, more than 100,000 men, up the peninsula between the York and James rivers. Arriving outside Richmond in mid-May 1862, he hoped to capture the city and perhaps end the war. He relied on the Richmond & York River Railroad for supplies. The swampy Chickahominy River divided his army and became a great obstacle to his campaign. Robert E. Lee ascended to command of the Confederate army on June 1. With startling aggressiveness, he laid plans to take the offensive and save his capital city. Aiming for McClellan's supply line, Lee inaugurated a series of battles known to history as the "Seven Days." Lee's successful campaign reversed the course of the war in Virginia. The two armies together lost approximately 35,000 men in that memorable week. Did You Know? Only eight cities in the US were larger than McClellan's 125,000 man army in 1862; seven of the eight were in the North. The Generals: The opposing army commanders, George B. McClellan (left) and Robert E. Lee (right), matched wits during a whirlwind week of action at the end of June. Neither man could afford to lose. A series of Confederate defeats all across the South during the previous 11 months elevated the stakes; Lee knew that the failure of his offensive outside Richmond could be fatal to the Southern Confederacy. McClellan felt pressure too. The government's immense investment of money and manpower in his army, combined with his tense relationship with Abraham Lincoln, made defeat unthinkable, both for the Union war effort and for McClellan's own shiny reputation. "Our city was startled, late yesterday evening, by reports of heavy ordnance... the Great Battle had at last opened, and... the greatest and most momentous conflict of the age was finally inaugurated." -- Richmond Dispatch, June 22, 1862
4. COLDVC_150604_021.JPG: Battle of Gaines' Mill Lee's First Victory: By June 27, McClellan aimed for a new base on the James River. To slow down Confederate pursuit, he deployed his 5th Corps north of the Chickahominy River. Lee seized the opportunity, hoping to drive that Union force into the river. The ensuing battle, usually called Gaines' Mill, raged across two miles of farm fields and woodlots. The Confederates had a rare manpower advantage. They brought approximately 55,000 men to the field, confronting only 34,000 Federals. After much indecisive fighting, Lee finally hurled all of his remaining troops against the weakening Union line. Soundly defeated, the 5th Corps retreated across the Chickahominy overnight. The mutual confidence between Lee and his army, which carried them through many subsequently campaigns, originated at Gaines' Mill.
5. COLDVC_150604_026.JPG: The home of Sarah Watt (which survives today) became a battlefield landmark and suffered extensive damage. Its "walls and roof were torn by shot and shell... a once neat and comfortable home now a... foul and battered wreck." The photograph, taken about 40 years after the battle, still conveys and air of desolation. "The conflict became almost hand to hand, and the crash of musketry was absolutely appalling." -- Amos Judson, 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry "It was impossible to see twenty yards... I never saw smoke so thick in any battle as it was at Gaines' Mill." -- E. Burd Grubb, 3rd New Jersey Infantry "I stood off on an eminence and beheld the scene, which was awful and terrible beyond the power of human tongue to tell or pen to describe." -- Noble J. Brook, Cobb's Legion (GA.) cavalry
6. COLDVC_150604_030.JPG: Did You Know? General Robert E. Lee secured his first victory in the field, at the cost of 9,000 soldiers killed and wounded. Estimated US deaths by war: * American Revolution -- 25,000 * War of 1812 -- 20,000 * Mexican War -- 13,000 * American Civil War -- 625,000 * World War I -- 117,000 * World War II -- 405,000 * Korean War -- 37,000 * Vietnam War -- 58,000 * Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm -- 293
7. COLDVC_150604_032.JPG: In 1860, Hanover County numbered approximately 17,000 inhabitants, 55% of whom were slaves. Two years later, at Gaines' Mill, more than five times that number of men locked in mortal combat, producing almost as many casualties in six hours as there were residents in the entire county. The losses at Cold Harbor in 1864 actually exceeded that number. Every family and every building within a wide radius of here felt the effect of the armies' presence.
8. COLDVC_150604_035.JPG: Did You Know? The Southern Claims Commission offered a postwar opportunity for residents to seek reimbursement for damages caused by the Union army during these battles. Nearly forty Hanover County farmers applied; only about 25% received partial compensation. The others were rejected due to their inability to prove their pro-Union sentiments.
9. COLDVC_150604_039.JPG: Ravaged twice by massive battles, the people of the Cold Harbor neighborhood had practical experience in the hard consequences of civil war. They endured a classic one-day battle in 1862; they suffered through two weeks of constant action in 1864; and they inherited a maze of nearly indestructible entrenchments criss-crossing their farms. As much as any community in America, Cold Harbor bore witness to the evolving nature of warfare. (photo) Many of the slain at Cold Harbor received inadequate battlefield burials in 1864. In 1865, work crews (seen above) gathered Union dead for mass reburials in large pits. A third reburial occurred the following year when all the graves that could be located were removed to the new Cold Harbor National Cemetery.
10. COLDVC_150604_053.JPG: Did You Know? Over the course of nearly two weeks at Cold Harbor, the Federal army lost more than 13,000 men; Confederate casualties are estimated at approximately 5,000 men. Soldiers had been constructing defensive fortifications all spring, a practice that reached a new level of sophistication at Cold Harbor. Even artillery, like the Union cannon seen in action at the Garthright House (above), piled up dirt for protection. Once convinced of the life-saving merits of entrenchments, fighting men in both blue and gray embraced them. "All this army have got to be very expert diggers," remarked a Union officer at Cold Harbor. "The soldiers easily throw up the dirt so dry and sandy with their tin plates, their hands, bits of board, or canteens split in two, when shovels were scarce..." -- Theodore Lyman, Union staff officer, June 3, 1864
11. COLDVC_150604_056.JPG: Self-Portrait of David C. Holmes: David C. Holmes, a printer by profession, arrived at Cold Harbor with the 20th Michigan Infantry. The young sergeant recorded his surroundings in a notebook (some of his sketches are in the flipbook to the right), capturing on-the-spot views of the Cold Harbor battlefield. On June 7, after completing a sketch of one of his comrades, Holmes went out on the skirmish line and was killed. He is buried in the Cold Harbor National Cemetery.
12. COLDVC_150604_070.JPG: Did You Know? Cold Harbor had nothing to do with water. It took its name from the Old Cold Harbor Tavern, a local landmark providing rudimentary shelter to travelers, and thus a "cold" harbor.
13. COLDVC_150604_076.JPG: Did You Know? Over the course of nearly two weeks at Cold Harbor, the Federal army lost more than 13,000 men; Confederate casualties are estimated at approximately 5,000 men.
14. COLDVC_150604_077.JPG: The Truth About Cold Harbor: Armies returned to the old Gaines' Mill battlefield in 1864. The first Union troops arrived at Cold Harbor on May 31. Believing that Lee's army was vulnerable, Grant repeatedly launched assaults. After four consecutive days of heavy fighting, followed by nine more days of sharpshooting and entrenching, he marched his men south toward Petersburg. Since then Cold Harbor has become one of the memorable places of the Civil War, its name forever associated with carnage and trench warfare. Grant's largest attack at Cold Harbor occurred on June 3. He famously wrote after the war that he "always regretted" it, because "no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained." Historians continue to argue about that loss, which probably numbered somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 men. The popular tale about pessimistic Federal soldiers pinning their names on their uniforms before the attack, to help grave diggers identify their bodies, appears to be false. But the story serves a purpose, helping to convey the gloomy futility associated with the Union attacks.
15. COLDVC_150604_089.JPG: "Rural Plains," wartime home of the Shelton family, was 140 years old even in 1864. The compelling story of the battle and its effect on the house and family is preserved in a unit of Richmond National Battlefield Park. Just east of there is Polegreen Church, another richly historic site that blends 18th and 19th century history. The church burned to the ground in the battle.
16. COLDVC_150604_099.JPG: The Old Cold Harbor Tavern stood at the intersection of five roads. Nearly every soldier in Grant's army marched past the tavern during the two-week battle.
17. COLDVC_150604_102.JPG: Did You Know? In May, Grant's army incurred 40,000 casualties. By the time his army reached Cold Harbor, many replacement regiments had arrived. Most were designated as "Heavy Artillery," but in the emergency they exchanged their large cannon for rifles and were converted into foot soldiers. Being inexperienced, the "heavies" suffered enormous losses at Cold Harbor. The Road to Cold Harbor: The armies did not follow a peaceful path from the Pamunkey River to Cold Harbor. One of the Civil War's largest cavalry battles, at Haw's Shop on May 28, illustrated the increasingly deadly nature of mounted warfare. On May 29, Union soldiers found their direct route to Richmond blocked by Confederate defenses at Totopotomoy Creek. For three days, a series of small yet deadly fights raged along the creek. Their cumulative effect convinced Grant that another southeastward move, this time to Cold Harbor was his next best stop. "We must destroy this army of Grant's before he gets to James River. If he gets there, it will become a siege, and then it will be a mere question of time." -- General Jubal A. Early, quoting R.E. Lee
18. COLDVC_150604_110.JPG: Military bridges across the Pamunkey, including at Hanovertown, allowed Grant's large column of supply wagons to keep pace with his army as it neared Cold Harbor.
19. COLDVC_150604_113.JPG: Ulysses S. Grant and Staff: At Cold Harbor, the future president and his grim-looking staff reflect the accumulated stress of the campaign.
20. COLDVC_150604_117.JPG: The Overland Campaign: The Overland Campaign began on May 4, 1864, when the Union army under Ulysses S. Grant crossed the Rapidan River west of Fredericksburg. Ensuing battles at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Totopotomoy Creek, and Cold Harbor took the war in Virginia to new levels of continuous carnage. Other Union armies under Benjamin F. Butler and Franz Sigel applies simultaneous pressure elsewhere in the state. Lee fought defensively for most of the campaign, always blocking Grant's direct approach to Richmond. Their mighty duel reached its zenith at Cold Harbor, only eight miles northeast of the city. Blocked here early in June, but not entirely disheartened, Grant moved his army south to Petersburg, inaugurating a separate and ultimately decisive phase of the war. The Overland Campaign lasted more than five weeks and strewed at least 75,000 casualties across Virginia's soil.
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