Near Mechanicsville in Hanover County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Preparation For Battle
Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 27, 2025
1. Preparation For Battle Marker
The NPS marker has been replaced by this county marker with identical text.
As I came near one of the regiments which was making preparations for the next mornings 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. It can be reached from Cold Harbor Road (State Highway 156) 0.2 miles east of Boatswain Lane, on the right when
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont, in Central Virginia, and in the Richmond Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
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); Federal Artillery Battery (about 500 feet away); The Deadly Work of Sharpshooters (about 500 feet away); The Bloody Eighth (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.)
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009
2. Preparation For Battle Marker
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009
3. Preparation For Battle Marker on the trail.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 13, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,141 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 12, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. 2, 3. submitted on February 17, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
