On the morning of June 3, 1864, General John H. Martindale’s division of the 18th Corps deployed on this ground before joining the Federal attack. At 4:30 a.m., roughly 3,400 men advanced toward strong Confederate earthworks about 1,000 yards ahead and charged into concentrated rifle and artillery fire. Benjamin Hett of the 12th New Hampshire recalled that “The men went down in rows, just as they marched in the ranks….” Martindale’s division suffered perhaps the most complete defeat of the day, with 1,043 casualties. George Place of the 12th New Hampshire Infantry remembered the tense wait before the assault, when every face was more or less pale but determined as the men stood ready for the charge. Martindale, who had led a brigade when the Union army fought around Richmond in 1862, commanded a division at Cold Harbor two years later, where his two brigades had to cross ground swept by fire converging from three directions.
