Battle Brief - “Deadly, Bloody Work”: The 1864 Battle of Cold Harbor
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National Museum of the United States Army 1775 Liberty Dr, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060
Library of Congress
Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at his headquarters in Cold Harbor, VA, 1864.
As part of the 1864 Overland Campaign in Virginia during the Civil War, Union forces under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant faced off against a smaller but determined Confederate army led by General Robert E. Lee at Cold Harbor. Despite the strong entrenchments defended by Lee’s troops, Grant ordered repeated assaults against the Rebels from May 31 to June 3. None of the attacks were successful and resulted in heavy casualties among the Northern troops. Learn from Museum educator John Maass how Grant’s attacks were born of weeks of frustrating attempts to bring the Confederate army to battle and a determined Yankee strategy of destroying Lee’s command.
Dr. John R. Maass is an education specialist and historian at the National Museum of the United States Army. He received a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in early U.S. history and military history. His most recent book is “From Trenton to Yorktown: Turning Points of the Revolutionary War” (2025).
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