Union Reserve Line
Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail
The Union front lines lay 325 yards west of here; 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. Imagine soldiers huddled inside these trenches, with their rifles, canteens, blankets, and haversacks, waiting for the call to the front. “The baking down of the summer sun became intolerable,” remarked one veteran, “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. Nearly 3,000 Federal soldiers reported to Union hospitals during the two weeks at Cold Harbor.
Marker can be reached from Cold Harbor Road (State Highway 156) 0.2 miles east of Boatswain Lane, on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
