BATTLE // May 31, 1864
Battle of Cold Harbor
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Source · Wikipedia
Significance
Cold Harbor was one of the final engagements of Grant's Overland Campaign in Virginia. The battle is defined above all by the frontal assault of June 3, in which Union forces suffered the majority of their approximately 12,700 casualties attacking Confederate fortified positions. Lee's army, roughly half the size of Grant's force, held its lines and inflicted disproportionate losses—around 5,287 Confederate casualties against more than twice that number on the Union side. The outcome intensified criticism of Grant's generalship and his willingness to absorb heavy losses. Despite the tactical repulse, the engagement did not halt the broader Union strategic effort; Grant subsequently shifted the Army of the Potomac toward Petersburg, continuing pressure on Lee's forces. Cold Harbor thus stands as a costly Union failure within a campaign that, despite its attrition, kept Lee's army on the strategic defensive.
Tactics
Union forces under Grant and Meade launched a frontal assault on June 3 against Confederate positions that had been fortified and entrenched. The Confederate army under Lee held prepared defensive works, and the attacking Union infantry suffered severe casualties in the assault against these fortified lines. The overview does not provide further detail on specific maneuvers, formations, or terrain use beyond the character of the attack as a frontal assault on entrenched positions.
Forces & casualties
Troop strength
- United States108,000–117,000medium
- Confederate States59,000–62,000medium
United States fielded a 1.9 : 1 numerical advantage
Casualties
- United States12,738medium11% loss rate
- Confederate States5,287medium9% loss rate
Commanders (3)
Confederate States
Robert E. LeeGeneral in chief
United States
George G. Meadebrigadier general
Ulysses S. GrantGeneral of the Army
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6 sibling battles · 2 factions