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The battle began on May 31, 1864, when Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Phillip H. Sheridan occupied the crucial crossroads of Old Cold Harbor, 10 miles (16 km) from the Confederate capital of Richmond. By outflanking Lee's army three separate times, including twice after battles that were actually Confederate tactical victories, they stood at the gates of Richmond. Grant hoped that one more attack might finally break the outnumbered Army of Northern Virginia commanded by Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Over the next two days, the armies of Lee and Grant, having disengaged from a standoff at the North Anna River 10 miles (16 km) to the north, took up new positions around Cold Harbor. Grant, having received heavy reinforcement, brought 105,000 men (the bulk of the Army of the Potomac) onto the field. Lee had also managed to replace many of his 20,000 casualties to that point in the campaign, and his army numbered 59,000. But the disparity in numbers was no longer what it had been—Grant's reinforcements were often raw recruits, while most of Lee's had been veterans moved from inactive fronts, and they were strongly entrenchedTrench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. Trench warfare arose when there was a revolution in firepower without similar advances in mobility and communications in fortificationPhotographed by Andy Carvin, October 2003. 1750 situation, Groningen (province), Netherlands Fortifications are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. They have been used for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex des.

Grant, unaware of the strength of the Confederate earthworksIn civil engineering, earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed stone. Engineers need to concern themselves with both issues of geotechnical engineering (such as soil fluidity and friction), and that confronted his army, ordered his II and XVIII CorpsThis article is about a military unit. For alternate meanings see Corps (disambiguation). A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, but originating in the Latin "corpus, corporis" meaning body) is a large military unit. In the United State, totaling 31,000 men, to attack the Confederate right flank on the morning of June 3June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. Events 1098 Crusaders take Antioch, Turkey. 1140 French scholar, Peter Abelard found guilty of heresy. 1608 Samuel de Champlain completes his thi. The defenders, consisting mostly of men from the Confederate First and Third Corps, who fought from behind earthworks, slaughtered them as soon as they moved forward. Grant, not realizing what was happening, threw in the VI Corps, arguably his best fighting unit at that point in the campaign. They were slaughtered as well. The Confederate musketA musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore long gun. It is fired from the shoulder, except for the rare wall guns. The date of their origin is unknown, but they were obsolete by the middle of the 19th century, having been superseded by rifles. Typical calib and artilleryFor the thrash metal band, see Artillery (band Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. The term also describes ground-based troops with the primary function of manning such weapons. The word as used i fire along the XVIII Corps front was so severe that its men were actually pinned to the ground for protection, unable even to retire to their own lines. Grant lost 7,000 men in about 30 minutes, and the only reason he didn't lose more was that his corps commanders ignored his orders to advance again.

The next day, Grant realized he had made a horrible mistake and launched no more attacks on the Confederate defenses. He later said that he regretted the decision to send in his men for the rest of his life. The Army of the Potomac stayed within its own lines until June 12June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. Events 1381 Peasants' Revolt: In England rebels arrive at Blackheath. 1653 First Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of the Gabbard lasted until June 13., when they disengaged to march southwards toward the James River and attack Petersburg, a crucial rail junction south of Richmond.

The Battle of Cold Harbor was the final victory won by Lee's army (part of his forces won the Battle of the Crater before Petersburg later in the year, but not in a general engagement), and its most decisive in terms of casualties. The Union army, in bravely attempting the futile assault, lost 13,000 men against a loss of only 1,500 for the well entrenched Confederates. The battle brought the toll in Union casualties since the beginning of May to a total of more than 52,000 as compared to 23,000 for Lee.

The battle was fought over the same ground as the Battle of Gaines's Mill during the Seven Days Campaign of 1862. In fact, some accounts refer to the 1862 battle as the First Battle of Cold Harbor, and the 1864 battle as the Second Battle of Cold Harbor. Despite the name, Cold Harbor was not a port city. It was named for a hotel located in the area which provided shelter (harbor), but not hot meals.

The battle caused a rise in anti-war sentiment in the Northern States. Grant became known as the "fumbling butcher" for his poor decisions. It also lowered the morale of his remaining troops. But the campaign had served Grant's purpose—as foolish as his attack on Cold Harbor was, Lee was trapped. He beat Grant to Petersburg, barely, but spent the remainder of the war (save its final week) defending Richmond behind a fortified trench line: see Siege of Petersburg. The end of the Confederacy was just a matter of time.