COLD HARBOR - The rivers of eastern Virginia slid down from the northwest.

- In Spring 1864, the Potomac Army had to cross them all; they had no defense. They moved in zigzags across the Rappadan, Ni, North Anna, and the Chickahoma. - significant lands during the Battle of Cold Harbor were, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. They were insignificant, but then made it significant. - In late May, within the Army came rumors. A Connecticut soldier told a comrade; he said, Id rather be shot than marched to death. - In March, coming to Cold Harbor, no man in the Army of the Potomac realized the significant. The Battle at Cold Harbor was a confrontation of Old vs New America. - Men arrived on June 1st and 2nd. The attack was scheduled for 4:30AM on the morning of June 3rd, several hundred yards up-hill. It rained that night. - So, the night before the battle the men had said goodbye to each other. They hadnt changed their clothes in a month. They wrote their name on a piece of paper, and pinned it to their jackets, just waiting to die. They were glad it was raining. There was no dust and no heat. - The Army of the Potomac came from the age of Jackson, which was an age of individualism. They believed the individual was more important than the group. Slavery was an insult to individualism. In the Jackson age the individual meant something. The men came from small communities; because, America was a country of small towns. - After the war, men new their life. They came from the Romantic Age. They came from an expanding United States. They came filled with romantic zeal. - They came with community terms and with love of blacks for being in this. - The rain stopped before dawn. Gunners could see the infantry. They saw riderless horses come back. A cannon shot was signaled. There were three miles of gun pits. The men ran to their places. The crash of artillery broke the quiet. Sheets of blaze ran end to end; the sound dazed the veterans. - The first assault ended in blood. The men were caught in a cross-fire. Then, a small group broke through the Confederate lines. They were wiped out. Men fell by rows, yet there was no retreat. The men began to dig in. Rifle products advanced. They began using bullets instead of bayonets. - Wilderness in Spotsylvania Courthouse. Offices hot 60 tons of lead. That was only a fraction. - The rifle rendered the sword and bayonet useless. These men used rifles and shovels. Range of

the musket was incredible; it could be loaded and reloaded rapidly from the prone position. - Technology was changing the world from individual to dynamo. - The second assault was worse. The men were going into a death trap. A color bearer was shot. The Regimental Commander told a person to carry the flag; he declined. The commander said, Ill make you a sergeant. So he carried the flag. - The casualty rate was uncountable. - Regimentation: the craftsmanship of the individual was gone. They found power in mass. Grant introduced the men to the power of Rockefeller. - Dig in, shovel. Did something with their minds. Beaten men didnt go to the rear. They began to dig in. The men seldom seen the enemy, only flashing fire. - On the third assault, the Army of the Potomac refused to move. Romanticism was dead and the battle flag was secured. The soldiers became more sanicle. The Romanticism gave way to Naturalism. - The battle too place in less than 30 minutes. 7,000 were killed. - It was the greatest loss in the time period. They couldnt get to the wounded. - Three days later, Grant pulled them out. But, everything had changed. - Grant regretted the battle. It was the one he wished he hadnt fought. - Cold Harbor stood for industrialization.