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

Misery In The Trenches

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 27, 2025

1. Misery In The Trenches Marker

The county installed a larger marker matching the format of the others on the trail to replace the NPS original. The text is identical, as is the location.

Inscription. The earthworks before you were home to Union soldiers for nearly two weeks during the fighting at Cold Harbor. One Federal officer described the suffering that these troops endured living and working in the trenches:

“The work of intrenching could only be done at night. The fire of sharp-shooters was incessant, and no man upon all that line could stand erect and live an instant. This condition of things continued for twelve days and nights: Sharp-shooters’ fire from both sides went on all day; all night the zig-zags and parallels nearer to the enemy’s works were being constructed. In none of its marches by day or night did that army suffer more than during those twelve days.”

Erected by Hanover County Parks and Recreation, National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil.

Location. 37° 35.061′ N, 77° 16.744′ W. Marker is near Mechanicsville, Virginia, in Hanover County. It can be reached from Cold Harbor Road (State Highway 156) near 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.

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.

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At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Digging In (within shouting distance of this marker); The Deadly Work of Sharpshooters (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Well Preserved Union Artillery Position (about 400 feet away); Federal Artillery Battery (about 500 feet away); The Bloody Eighth (about 600 feet away); Scars of Conflict (about 600 feet away); The Battle of Gaines’ Mill - 1862 (approx. 0.2 miles away); Preparation For Battle (approx. 0.2 miles 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. Misery In The Trenches Marker

Misery In The Trenches Marker behind Union entrenchments. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, February 15, 2009

3. Misery In The Trenches Marker behind Union entrenchments.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 27, 2025

4. Misery In The Trenches Marker

New marker, same spot, same text. Trenches beyond.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 27, 2025

5. Trenches

Looking left from the marker, the trenches are more clearly defined.

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 1,138 times since then and 14 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. 4, 5. submitted on April 12, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.