The Battle of Gaines’ Mill - 1862
Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail
All the visible remains along the trail date from the June 1864, Battle of Cold Harbor, but this ground figured prominently in the Seven Days campaign of 1862 as well.
On June 27, 1862, General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederates advanced south through here during the final stages of the battle of Gaines’ Mill. Union artillery posted on a plateau half a mile to your right dropped shells among the Confederates every few seconds. After several hours of inconclusive fighting, Jackson’s men pushed beyond here and helped to drive the Union army across the Chickahominy River.
Another part of the Gaines’ Mill battlefield, one mile west of here, is preserved by the National Park Service.
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
