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

The Bloody Eighth

Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail

 
 
The Bloody Eighth Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009
1. The Bloody Eighth Marker
Inscription. The 8th New York Heavy Artillery joined the Army of the Potomac midway through the Overland Campaign in an effort to offset the Federal casualties suffered at the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. The regiment of 1,600 men, still fresh from serving in the defenses of Baltimore and now fighting as infantry, had seen only limited action before Cold Harbor.

Starting from this vicinity on the morning of June 3, 1864, the 8th New York attacked the Confederate earthworks located 500 yards in front of you as part of Grant’s assault to break Lee’s lines. The 8th New York sustained the highest loss of any regiment at Cold Harbor suffering 505 casualties, with the vast majority falling within 30 minutes. A veteran of the regiment later commented on the disastrous assault: “The army seemed to melt away like a frost in the July sun.”

The New York State Monuments Commission erected a monument to the 8th New York Heavy Artillery in 1909. It can be found in the Cold Harbor National Cemetery.
 
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 date for this entry is June 3, 1862.
 
Location. 37° 35.104′ N, 77° 16.636′ W. Marker is
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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 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. Federal Artillery Battery (a few steps from this marker); Scars of Conflict (a few steps from this marker); A Well Preserved Union Artillery Position (within shouting distance of this marker); The Battle of Gaines’ Mill - 1862 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Deadly Work of Sharpshooters (about 400 feet away); A Dreadful Harvest (about 500 feet away); Preparation For Battle (about 600 feet away); Digging In (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mechanicsville.
 
More about this marker. On the right is a photo with the caption, "Colonel Peter A. Porter commanded the 8th New York Heavy Artillery at Cold Harbor. Major General John Gibbon reported, “The gallant Colonel Porter…fell only a few yards from the enemy’s works, surrounded by the dead of his regiment, which although new to the work, fought like veterans.”"
 
Also see . . .
The Bloody Eighth Marker. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009
2. The Bloody Eighth Marker.

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.) 
 
 
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 1,730 times since then and 17 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.

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Mar. 28, 2024