JUNE 1, 1864:
The Battle of Cold Harbor (Day Two):
The Confederacy appears to be in deep
trouble. For the last month, The Army of Northern Virginia has been forced to
give ground steadily as Ulysses S. Grant and The Army of The Potomac have
pressed southward in the face of determined resistance. Battle after battle has
been fought. Soldiers in blue seem to appear from a well-nigh inexhaustible
source. The Confederacy has no such source. In just a single month of intensely
concentrated combat, Grant has managed to advance from the Rapidan River to the
outskirts of Richmond, a distance of 60 critical miles.
Although most
historians hold that most of the many individual battles of Grant’s Overland
Campaign were tactically inconclusive, Grant has displayed strategic genius. By
simply pressing forward regardless of the intransigence of the enemy, he has
forced Robert E. Lee to, time and again, take up blocking positions in an
attempt to keep Grant from the gates of Richmond.
As of the morning of
June 1, 1864, Lee’s blocking maneuvers have been a failure. Although he has
been able to inflict fearsome casualties on the Union Army, this has not
deterred Grant from moving forward. As the sun rises, Union troops are in
control of the town of Old Cold Harbor, just ten miles from Jefferson Davis’
desk.
Lee’s only advantage
is speed, and today he uses it. The Union Army is scattered hither, thither,
and yon over a forty mile front twenty five miles deep stretching from the
North Anna River to the Chickahominy River. Lee knows it will take time --- a
precious day at least --- for the Federals to organize and move in force.
Lee’s smaller army
can maneuver faster, and today he puts out the call. His men abandon their
positions and race toward greater Richmond. In the meantime, Lee sends what infantry and
cavalry units he already has toward Old Cold Harbor. Lee knows that Union
troops are there, and he is determined to retake the crossroads.
Lee orders an attack
shortly after dawn, hoping to overwhelm the small Union force at Old Cold
Harbor before more Northern troops can arrive. This plan goes awry when the
Commander of the assault force, Colonel Lawrence Keitt of South Carolina is
killed early in the battle. Keitt’s green 20th South Carolina regiment panics.
The inexperienced men in the vanguard beat a frantic retreat. The panic spreads,
and the Confederates run off, allowing Sheridan's troops to hold the
crossroads. The Union sustains 2,200 casualties, the Confederacy 1,800.
Lee eventually
masters his men, and they dig in, just as they have been doing throughout the
Campaign. Grant decides that he does not have enough men on hand to overcome an
entrenched enemy, and so he decides to wait for the bulk of The Army of The
Potomac to arrive before renewing the attack. The delay proves costly. Lee’s
forces arrive first.
