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

Keep Your Head Down

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, March 9, 2009

1. Keep Your Head Down Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

This shallow, winding depression is all that remains of a “zigzag” constructed by Union troops in June 1864. In trench warfare, soldiers dug ditches, called zigzags or covered-ways, to provide protection from sharpshooters as they moved from one line of entrenchments to another. Soldiers at Cold Harbor crawled through covered-ways carrying heavy loads of rations or ammunition, prompting one infantryman to remark that he felt “like some unholy cross between a pack mule and a snake.”

Erected by 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° 35.289′ N, 77° 17.018′ W. Marker is near Mechanicsville, Virginia, in Hanover County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Anderson-Wright Drive and Cold Harbor Road (Virginia Route 156). This marker is located along the walking trail in the Cold Harbor Battlefield Unit of the Richmond National Battlefield Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5515 Anderson-Wright Drive, Mechanicsville VA 23111, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Battle of Cold Harbor (a few steps from this marker); Keep Digging (within shouting distance of this marker); A Captured Trench (within shouting distance of this marker); We Have Broken Through (within shouting distance of this marker); Stand Guard And Stay Awake (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Deadly Delay (about 500 feet away); a different marker also named Battle of Cold Harbor (about 600 feet away); 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mechanicsville.

Also see . . .
1. Richmond National Battlefield Park. Cold Harbor (Submitted on March 8, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)

2. CWSAC Battle Summary. Cold Harbor (Submitted on March 8, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)

3. Cold Harbor Battlefield Virtual Tour by Markers. This is one of the many markers along the walking trail, extended loop trail, and auto tour route in the Cold Harbor Battlefield Unit of the Richmond National Battlefield Park. (Submitted on March 9, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)

Cold Harbor Walking Trail image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, March 9, 2009

2. Cold Harbor Walking Trail

Cold Harbor Battlefield image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, March 9, 2009

3. Cold Harbor Battlefield

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on March 8, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,052 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 8, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.