Cold Harbor Battlefield

A couple of days after the hike on the Virginia Capital Trail, the same group did a short 4 mile hike at the Cold Harbor Battlefield.  I've hiked there many times, and hesitated to publish another account, but decided to since it was with a group.  This hike was on October 31.

Cold Harbor was the scene of a horrific 12 day battle in June 1864.  It is a peaceable place now, and makes for a wonderful place to walk and commune with nature.  Here are a few photos from the hike.

We had a pretty good sized group, about 20 people, on the hike.  Here, a few of the group walk past an artillery piece.

At the time of the battle, most of the land was open like this.  Thousands of US soldiers attacked very well defended Confederate positions.  In one such attack, there were something like 7,000 Union casualties in about 20 minutes.

We stopped at about 10 historical markers that gave an account of the battle.  One of the group would read the placard to the rest of the group.  Here, a bridge was built to span original trench lines in an attempt to preserve them.

What was a bloody and terrible place in 1864 is now peaceful and serene, with natural beauty.  Most of the land is heavily forested.

There was a little pond along the way.  On prior walks, I saw lots of frogs here.

After the hike, I walked about a half mile to the national cemetery.  The men buried here, mostly dead soldiers killed in the battle and often unidentified, gave their lives for their country a long way from home.  It is important to remember their suffering and sacrifice.