The Battles of Cold Harbor were two American Civil War engagements that took place 10 miled northeast of Richmond, the Confederate capital.The First Battle of Cold Harbor, part of the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, resulted in a Union defeat, as Gen. George McClellan was forced to abandon plans to march on Richmond. Robert E. Lee secured another victory two years later, in June 1864, at the Second Battle of Cold Harbor, one of the most lopsided engagements of the war.
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Ulysses S. Grant expressed remorse for what many saw as his reckless actions at Cold Harbor, stating, "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made...no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained."
The first battle (June 27, 1862), sometimes called the Battle of Gaines's Mill, was part of the Seven Days' Battles (June 25–July 1), which ended the Peninsular Campaign (April 4–July 1), the large-scale Union effort to take Richmond. After fighting at Mechanicsville and Beaver Dam Creek, General George B. McClellan ordered Union troops to high ground between Gaines's Mill and Cold Harbor. When Confederate General Robert E. Lee attacked on June 27, the Union troops were driven back in disorder and withdrew to the south side of the Chickahominy River.
The second Battle of Cold Harbor (June 3–12, 1864) is considered one of the worst tactical defeats suffered by the North in the Civil War, though its subsequent effect was negligible. Following the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (May 8–19), Union General Ulysses S. Grant advanced southward toward Richmond in a series of flanking movements. Confederate troops under Lee at Cold Harbor entrenched themselves in defensive positions behind earthworks. From these, Union assaults were repulsed with heavy losses. Because of Grant's vast numbers (more than 100,000 men), his losses of about 7,000 (compared with fewer than 1,500 for Lee) did not deter him from continuing to Petersburg later that month in his drive toward Richmond.
Copyright © 1994-2009 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com.
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