Haunted Tales: The Cold Harbor Battlefield

The following story is not intended to speak to the truth or falsehood of ghosts or apparitions. Rather, this is a legend based on reports from some residents and visitors in the Mechanicsvile, Virginia area. This article is intended as entertainment and it should be viewed as such.

By JIM PURCELL

The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the Civil War from May 31 to June 12, 1864. The battle took place near Mechanicsville, Virginia and the heaviest fighting took place on June 3.

Some hear and/or see apparitions on and near the battlefield at Cold Harbor. 

   ColdHarbor is considered one of the bloodiest battles of the war and was the final action that was part of Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant’s framed Overland Campaign. 

   During the course of the battle, 1,845 Union soldiers were killed; 9,077 were wounded; and 1,816 were either captured or went missing. Meanwhile, the Confederate Army sustained 788 soldiers killed; 3,376 were wounded; and 1,213 were either captured or reported as missing.

The Battle of Cold Harbor was one of the bloodiest of the Civil War

   Reportedly, visitors to the battlefield have reported seeing the apparitions of soldiers (both North and South) wandering the grounds or performing battle maneuvers. In addition, orbs are frequently spotted at night. 

   On June 2, 1864, both armies constructed an elaborate series of fortifications that stretched seven miles long. At dawn on June 3, three Union corps attacked the Confederate works on the southern end of the line, which translated to heavy casualties for both sides.

   Gen, Grant would later say, “I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made…No advantage by whatever was gained compensated for the heavy loss we sustained.”

Apparitions have been reported on the battlefield. 

   Still to this day, there are residents who say they can sometimes hear the clopping of horses along Route 156 and, at times, smell gunpowder in the air.

   At the cemetery beside the Cold Harbor Battlefield Park, a little girl dressed in a white dress and bonnet is said to haunt the grounds. The legend behind it is that the girl reportedly died falling out of the window of the Gravekeeper’s house, which still stands. There are some reports that the ghostly little girl can be seen peeking through the windows of the house.

   That same Gravekeeper’s house was also the gravesite for about a hundred hastily buried soldiers.

   No one can definitively say there are ghosts or there are not ghosts, so it is up to the readers to ask themselves what they believe or do not believe.