Digging In

By the time the armies reached Cold Harbor, soldiers on both sides were adept at building earthworks. The trenches here were typical of the works that stretched for nearly seven miles and defined the fighting at Cold Harbor. Union general John Gibbon wrote that only a few hours were needed to make a position so strong with breastworks that the opposing side could not carry it, and that the men themselves recognized that if the enemy had occupied a position six or eight hours ahead of them, trying to take it was useless.

Highland Springs, Virginia · United States