Showing posts with label Cold Harbor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cold Harbor. Show all posts

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Retreat from Cold Harbor

Sunday, June 12, 1864

General Ulysses S. Grant broke the bloody stalemate at Cold Harbor and ordered the Army of the Potomac to retreat from Cold Harbor. After remaining in reserve at Cold Harbor for over a week, providing support and assistance to wounded soldiers entrenched on the battlefield, the Thirteenth New Hampshire began their retreat from the battlefield at 10:00 A.M., covering fifteen miles to White House Landing by nightfall. 1

References:
1S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 374-79.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Battle of Cold Harbor - Day 3

Friday, June 3, 1864

The Thirteenth New Hampshire was deployed in a reserve position at the rear of the Union line. Although exposed to Confederate fire the Thirteenth was not engaged in battle. A grand infantry charge began at 4:30 A.M. with Union artillery fire to support the infantry. Poor reconnaissance concerning the difficult ground the Union traversed to attack the well-entrenched Confederates proved disastrous. The Union assault terminated by 1:00 P.M. Casualties were staggering for the Union, as in the first twenty minutes of the charge nearly ten-thousand Union infantry soldiers were killed or wounded.1

References:
1S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 357-61.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Battle of Cold Harbor - Day 2

Thursday, June 2, 1864

The Thirteenth New Hampshire surveyed the field from the previous day's battle to recover the wounded and bury the dead. Later in the day the Thirteenth was detached from their brigade and ordered to the left after nightfall to survey the enemy's position. General Ulysses S. Grant orders a grand charge to break the Confederate line at 4:00 A.M. the next morning. The Thirteenth New Hampshire would not take part in the grand charge and was ordered to the reserve position, as they were used up from the previous day's conflict. 1

References:
1S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 352-57.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Battle of Cold Harbor - Day 1

Wednesday, June 1, 1864

Earlier in the week General Ulysses S. Grant, ready to seize an opportunity to break the Confederate lines around Richmond, ordered a temporary detachment of the Eighteenth Corps from the Army of the James to join the Army of the Potomac at Cold Harbor.

Early this morning General William Smith, in charge of the Union Eighteenth Corps, realized he had been ordered in error to New Castle Ferry instead of New Cold Harbor. He immediately began the twelve-mile march to Cold Harbor, arriving around noon. This delay in deployment would prove fateful for the outcome of the ensuing battle.

Around 6:00 P.M. the Sixth Corps and General Smith's Tenth and Eighteenth Corps successfully charged the Confederate lines and took six-hundred prisoners by day's end. Portions of the conflict continued until midnight
1

References:
1S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 338-40.