Cold Harbor

My next big trip is going to be to the Cold Harbor battlefield. I'm hoping that by the middle of October I will be heading down to Cold Harbor, VA, but that's kind of up in the air for now. I'll know the sooner I get to that date.

So, in advance of my trip, I've decided to read up on the battle. I need to get a good feel for the battle so that once I hit the battlefield, I'll just be taking in the battlefield and trying to understand what happened and how it occurred on that field.

First, some basic facts about the battle:
* occurred May 31 - June 12, 1864
* Also known as "2nd Cold Harbor"
* Commanders: Ulysses S. Grant/George G. Meade (USA) v. Robert E. Lee (CSA)
* Confederate victory
* 15,000 casualties - 13,000 Union/2,000 Confederate
* forces: 108,000 Union/62,000 Confederate

Sheridan's Cavalry attacked Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry on May 31. The Union force was able to force the Confederates beyond the crossroads in this town. But Robert E. Lee was determined to take this town. Seems that Grant was just as determined to take this town. Thus the battle ensued.

I'll be reading more about this battle to understand how the troops moved and what the terrain was like. Terrain is such a key in understanding a battle...any battle. So I'm going to have to start to read up on the rivers/creeks/hills/farms and whatever else may be in the area.

There is a driving tour that can be taken of the battlefield. I will definitely plan to hit this. There are only 6 stops (so it should be fairly easy to take in the battlefield). One thing that I would love to do, but don't know if I'll be able to, is to go into Richmond and see Hollywood Cemetery. Many of the Confederate dead from Gettysburg were interred here and this is a definite must-see on my list of places to go....but I'm not sure if I'll get in there or not.

As I study the battle, I'll be posting more and more about it.