Trench Warfare under Grant and Lee by Earl J. Hess

Author:Earl J. Hess [Hess, Earl J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877), Military
ISBN: 9780807882382
Google: d-rSl0rMOl4C
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Published: 2011-04-01T00:39:57+00:00

9 Attack and Siege—Cold Harbor, June 3–7

The usual delays forced the Federals to postpone their attack so that Grant ordered a general assault along the line, rather than just an advance on the left, to take place at dawn on June 3. It would be the first planned general assault since the Wilderness. The tremendous effort of May 12 at Spotsylvania also involved all corps of the Army of the Potomac, but that general involvement had evolved due to circumstances. No effort was made on June 3 to find a weak spot in the Confederate line; in fact, save for Edgar’s Salient, there were no weak spots.

It is likely that Grant wanted to demonstrate the strength of the Army of the Potomac and challenge the morale of Lee’s army. He continued to believe that the Army of Northern Virginia was losing its offensive spirit, that Lee was psychologically beaten and thus content to act on the defensive. Moreover, the Federals could not turn either of Lee’s flanks, and they were only about nine miles from Richmond. If they could break through on June 3, Lee’s army would be in trouble. As a recent historian has put it, the attack of June 3 “made eminent sense” from Grant’s standpoint.1

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.