June 3, 1864 - Friday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Howard's Corps - Newton's Division - Wagner's Brigade

On June 1, Union cavalry captures Allatoona, GA and will attempt to get the railroad intact up to that point.  The rest of the Union army is moving to its left in order to contact the railroad for re-supply.  Most of the army has moved to the area of Allatoona, Acworth, and areas west of there.

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Virginia Campaign - Battle of Cold Harbor

Maneuvering east of Richmond results in the armies facing each other in the Cold Harbor area.  General Grant then determines to attack the entrenched Confederate army with 3 corps.  Union troops can see that this has little chance of success; yet the order is made, and the Union men suffer terribly.  The first wave of Union troops is shot down easily; the second wave attacks only haphazardly after the destruction of the first; and the third wave does not really advance at all.

In these attacks there are around 7000 Union casualties; as no truce comes to recover the wounded for several days, many of them die slowly between the lines over the next few days.  This is a Union disaster.  Around 7000 Union casualties occur on June 3rd alone.  Grant states in his memoirs: "I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made...... At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained."

Since the start of the campaign, but the Union and Confederate armies had both sustained just over 40 per cent casualties.  The Confederate army was much smaller and could less afford these casualty rates.

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More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXXVIII, Chapter L, Part IV, Correspondence, pp. 363-401.
  
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 163-164.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1II, Red River to Appomattox, Shelby Foote, pp. 348-353.
• Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Retreat With Honor, pp. 305-309.
  
• Decision In The West, The Atlanta Campaign of 1864, Albert Castel, pp, 251-259.
• Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, pp. 572-589.
• Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, pp. 511-519.
  
• Events: 1864
  

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