Keep Digging
These trenches represent a dramatic change in battlefield tactics. When the two armies met on this ground in 1862, soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder; victory was often dependent upon the success or failure of a dramatic charge.
By 1864 field fortifications played an increasingly significant role in determining the outcome of a battle. Despite the obvious advantage held by an entrenched army, commanders continued to order frontal assaults against these nearly impregnable positions, resulting in enormous casualties.
Marker can be reached from the intersection of Anderson-Wright Drive and Cold Harbor Road (Virginia Route 156).
Courtesy hmdb.org
