Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Near Mechanicsville in Hanover County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

A Dreadful Harvest

Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail

 
 
A Dreadful Harvest Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009
1. A Dreadful Harvest Marker
Inscription. The grim drama at Cold Harbor cost some 13,000 Federals and nearly 5,0000 Confederates killed, wounded, or captured. Southern morale soared after the battle, while Grant’s men were embittered by the lopsided defeat. One Union officer wrote that it was “a murderous engagement” because “we were recklessly ordered to assault the enemy’s entrenchments.”

The gallantry of the Union soldiers at Cold Harbor is a powerful testament to their commitment. “This is a pretty hard way of living,” admitted one Northerner, “but then if it will put down this wicked rebellion I am willing to live this way all summer.”

Vacating the Cold Harbor trenches on June 12, 1864, Grant out-flanked Lee by moving to Petersburg, pinning the Confederates to the Petersburg and Richmond defense. Lee had feared such a situation, predicting that “it will be a mere question of time.”
 
Erected by Hanover County Parks and Recreation, National Park Service.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1864.
 
Location. 37° 35.18′ N, 77° 16.605′ W. Marker is near Mechanicsville, Virginia, in Hanover County. Marker can be reached from Cold Harbor Road (State
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
Highway 156) 0.2 miles east of Boatswain Lane when traveling east. This marker is located along a one-mile trail in the 50-acre Cold Harbor Battlefield Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6005 Cold Harbor Road, Mechanicsville VA 23111, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Battle of Gaines’ Mill - 1862 (within shouting distance of this marker); Preparation For Battle (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Union Reserve Line (about 400 feet away); The Bloody Eighth (about 500 feet away); From Farmland to Forest (about 500 feet away); Scars of Conflict (about 500 feet away); Federal Artillery Battery (about 500 feet away); A Well Preserved Union Artillery Position (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mechanicsville.
 
Also see . . .
1. Hanover County Parks and Recreation. Cold Harbor Battlefield Park (Submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.) 

2. Richmond National Battlefield Park. Cold Harbor (Submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.) 

3. CWSAC Battle Summary. Cold Harbor (Submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.) 

4. Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail. This marker is one along the walking trail around a portion of the Cold Harbor Battlefield preserved by Hanover County Parks
A Dreadful Harvest Marker on the trail. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009
2. A Dreadful Harvest Marker on the trail.
and Recreation. (Submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,371 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=16188

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 28, 2024