Near Mechanicsville in Hanover County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Preparation For Battle

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009

1. Preparation For Battle Marker

Inscription. On June 2, 1864, the night before the grand assault at Cold Harbor, Union staff officers passed among the battle lines issuing orders. One officer, Major Horace Porter, was in this vicinity when he witnessed a scene of foreboding. Porter recalled:

As I came near one of the regiments which was making preparations for the next morning’s assault, I noticed that many of the soldiers had taken off their coats, and seemed to be engaged in sewing up rents in them. This exhibition of tailoring seemed rather peculiar at such a moment, but upon closer examination it was found that the men were calmly writing their names and addresses on slips of paper, and pinning them on the backs of their coats, so that their dead bodies might be recognized upon the field, and their fate made known to their families at home…Such courage is more than heroic - it is sublime.

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 1862.

Location. 37° 35.19′ N, 77° 16.68′ W. Marker is near Mechanicsville, Virginia, in Hanover County. Marker can be reached from Cold Harbor Road (State Highway 156) 0.2 miles east of Boatswain Lane, on the right when

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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. Union Reserve Line (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Dreadful Harvest (about 400 feet away); The Battle of Gaines’ Mill - 1862 (about 400 feet away); From Farmland to Forest (about 500 feet away); A Well Preserved Union Artillery Position (about 500 feet away); The Deadly Work of Sharpshooters (about 500 feet away); The Bloody Eighth (about 600 feet away); Federal Artillery Battery (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 and Recreation. (Submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)

Preparation For Battle Marker on the trail. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009

2. Preparation For Battle Marker on the trail.

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 966 times since then and 25 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.