Union Reserve Line

The Union front lines lay 325 yards west of here, while reserve troops occupied this ground. These Union pits may have been a stop along the relay system that brought reinforcements and supplies to the forward line. Soldiers huddled inside these trenches with their rifles, canteens, blankets, and haversacks, waiting for the call to the front. One veteran recalled that the baking down of the summer sun became so intolerable that the line of men would canopy the whole trench with their blankets. Overcrowded conditions, poor sanitation, and too few rations allowed sickness and disease to weaken Grant's army, and nearly 3,000 Federal soldiers reported to Union hospitals during the two weeks at Cold Harbor.

Highland Springs, Virginia · United States