cold harbor battlefield park

This was the site of a battle in the civil war that saw to many killed in a very short time .the odd feeling you have takes you back to the battle field and gives you a feeling of what the young innocent men saw many for the last time it is their resting place lest we forget !

The visitors center itself is fairly small. I recommend using the initial display and getting a map of the driving and walking routes before leaving (You can access these off of their website prior to arriving as well). It will be helpful to read a little on the battle before you get there. The map that was handed to me at the visitors center basically covers all of the sites so each is mentioned only briefly. If you have some at least basic prior knowledge this is a moving site. Being able to see the earthworks and how close the two lines provides a visual that merely reading about the battle will not convey. The driving tour of the site takes about 20-25 minutes. Stop by the Garthright house as well. The house itself has limited information, but Hanover County has placed a walking trail beside the home that takes you through some of the Union position. Signage here is excellent, informative. The walking tour around the Garthright home takes about 40 minutes to do it justice. No fee for either site.

When I drove up to the battlefield site, I could see only a small brick building and an open field and thought that this would be another disappointing battlefield site. Fortunately, I was soon proven wrong. The brick building housed the visitor center with one person from the park staff stationed there. She proceeded to explain the center, the electric battle map, the battlefield hiking trails and the battlefield driving tour. As she was speaking, my eye caught a display on the wall which presented a slide show of a handful of participants in the battle which were of special interest for one reason or another. In another merging of history and genealogy, the display contained the names and pictures of two brothers, cousins of mine, who were killed on the same day at Cold Harbor! After leaving the visitor center, I took the driving tour which winds its way through field and woods, along and through earthworks built by the opposing sides. Despite the passage of time, the confederate entrenchments are still very much in evidence, due in large part to the considerable effort which went into their construction. The Union earthworks, by contrast, were more hurried and built in desperation as the battle turned to a slaughter house.

Nice parking , walking trails , so much history around the area. A must see for history buffs of like me who had ancestors that fought in the War. If you like to walk or run here is a nice area to do so and see the battlefield. We brought lot's of water / snacks ,had a good time with family seeing the area around Richmond , battlefields.. books , things for children explaining what happened here. Saw trenches at Cold Harbor battlefields , different locations of the battle so you might want to drive around checking those too.

This park is easy to get to off of 295. Some of the best preserved battlefield entrenchments of any NMP.

My husband and I have been walking this trail every day for the past week, and it is amazing. The scenery is so beautiful and it's always changing. I'm never bored, and I am enjoying getting some exercise on this trail. It's truly amazing.

A step back in time to the Civil War is the feeling that comes over you as you walk the hallowed grounds of Cold Harbor.A bloody battle was fought 151 years ago on the same grounds that can be walk on to visit the battlefield park.The national cemetery is very peaceful and serene.There is a visitor center which explains in details the battle that was fought at Cold Harbor with losses on both sides.Hikeing trails wind throughout the park. Worth the time to visit.

I ran the extended trail this morning, what a great time. The trail is 2.25 miles (I added an extra .05 by making a wrong turn) and makes many twists and turns through the woods. My favorite part was running through the the breastworks at one point on the trail. When I arrived at 9 am, there was no one in the park and I had the trails all to myself. By 10 am, there were 4 other people walking in the park. What a nice, quiet, and peaceful run through history. There is a small visitor center with a neat lightboard display explaining both battles that occured on the property. This park should take an hour or two to tour. I really enjoyed the park and the run.

I visited the Cold Harbor Battlefield after driving by it a few months earlier and remembered its importance during the war itself wanted to see it firsthand. It is easy to find off of I-295 in Mechanicsville, VA. The battlefield is not that large and can be seen in its entirety in no more than a day depending on how long you spend there. I'd plan on at least a half day to take everything in. There is a small visitor's center that describes not just the Cold Harbor battle but also the Battle of Gaines Mill.The visitor's center itself and the park's signage were just recently refurbished and provided accurate and detailed information. The museum portion of the center was no more than the size of a large living room. One half was dedicated to Cold Harbor and the other to Gaines Mill. It was interesting to learn about the two battles which were essentially fought on the same ground but years apart. There is an electric map that provides detailed information on the two battles. So while small, you still come out of the visitor's center with a good level of background as you walk the grounds.You have the option to walk the trails or drive along portions of the battlefield. If you have time I would definitely recommend hiking the trails. You will be able to see trenches that the Union army constructed which are still in good condition. You get a good sense on how the war had progressed from the early days of two large armies facing each other in lines, to one of trench warfare. The trails are very well marked and there are signs along the way detailing the battle. You have the option to take a shorter loop or taking the extended loop which snakes through more of the battlefield. Most of the trail is along flat ground, but there are a few steep hills to climb. There are a couple of spots where you either cross through or over a trench which gives you a good point of view.I would recommend doing the extended hike first and then take the driving loop as you depart the park. There are a few spots along the road which provide good views and more information on the battle that you don't get on the walking tour unless you walk the road separately. The road is popular with locals who are out walking or running, so make sure to drive slowly. If you are interested in history and specifically the American Civil War, the Cold Harbor Battlefield should be on the top of your list to see. While small and not as well known, it played a key role for both General Grant and General Lee leading up to the siege of Petersburg. While there are other military parks that still have the remnants of trenches, Cold Harbor had the most still remaining. The park itself is only a fraction of what it was during the war itself, but you still come away with a good understanding.

Like most national cemeteries, from what I understand, this was well-maintained, small and moving... If you've never visited a national cemetery, I recommend this one, intimate and peaceful, small scale.

This was my first Civil War battlefield that I have ever visited, and I was very impressed. The NPS has done a great job in keeping the battlefield maintained and the Rangers in the Visitor Center were very friendly and helpful. They clearly had interest in what they wanted to share. I walked the 1 mile trail that winds through the field and forest. It truly was amazing to see the earthworks and areas that saw 35000 young men die fighting.The NPS did an excellent job placing signs on the trail explaining what you saw, and the location of certain incidents. The trail is dirt and does have steep inclines and declines that would not be ideal for those who have mobility problems.After the walking trail, I drove the car route through the battlefield. It was impressive on how much could be seen from the car, but it was not as interesting as getting out and walking. This battlefield is a must if you are touring the Richmond Battlefields.

The Park Service maintains this historic battlefield and it is in near 1864 condition with trenches still visible. I did a walking tour with a Park Service employee and she was very knowledgeable and entertaining. It's a medium long walk so wear hiking shoes. I did it in street shoes and it was tough.

This is simply worth a visit. The trails are great and the landscape is the best preserved series of trenchworks visible today. Originally stretching 7 miles this 300 or so acre park has a portion of the line that winds through the park with a nice road and trails to compliment. Take a job along the routes of the units as they moved into position for one of the most tragic losses in the civil war. This is where Gen Grant on 3 June 1864 thru 3 Corps at the line and didn't gain any true advantage. As a matter of fact by most accounts 7,000 men fell in 20 minutes. Considering at best you can fire 3 rounds a minute (in ideal conditions with no one shooting at you,...) think of the numbers of firers, lead, cannon balls and cannister that must have been expended across those fields. Very poignant displays and tragic losses to families of the time. Its amazing what they did and you want the very ground. Take advantage of this excellent history and the efforts to preserve it. Do your part! Visit this place, you will not regret you did.

This battlefield with it's extensive and well preserved trench lines is one of the few where you can really understand how the battle unfolded. Yes, there's just a small museum and no movie or guides, so you have to do a little reading ahead of time to appreciate the place. I recommend you walk into the field between the trenches and imagine that you were ordered to attack the confederate position...feels even more hopeless than climbing the hill towards the high water mark at Gettysburg. When my daughter and I visited on a Tuesday afternoon we were the only people there. If you have any interest in the Civil War, this place is definitely worth an hour's stop.

We recently visited The Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House battlefields and the follow up was Cold Harbor battlefield. It is part of the Richmond National Battlefield Parks (there are 13 total) and the park information is located at http://www.nps.gov/rich/historyculture/cold-harbor.htm. The Visitor’s Center is at 5515 Anderson-Wright Drive, near Mechanicsville, VA. My GPS didn’t recognize 5515 so I programmed it to direct me to Anderson-Wright Drive, which is a loop around the Visitor’s Center. Before we went to Cold Harbor, we watched “Civil War Combat: America’s Bloodiest Battles”, which highlights four battles, one being Cold Harbor. We also watched “Ken Burns Civil War Episode 6 Valley of the Shadow of Death”. It highlights the battles in 1864 that included The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna River, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. Sometimes Netflix offers these on streaming video and some libraries have the videos for check-out. They gave very good perspective on Cold Harbor.The Visitors Center is smaller than many, is open at 0900, has a NPS attendant to answer questions, includes a small bookstore and a few displays and you can get a free map of the battlefield sites in the area and a trail map for Cold Harbor. It’s also the Visitors Center for the battle at Gaines Mill. There is no admission fee and there are clean restrooms at the Center. We walked the trail to see the battlefield. It’s actually two trails, one a mile loop and the other is an extension of the main trail, loops around and is two miles. We took the extended trail. It’s mostly flat, is narrow in the woods, still good for kids, but not ideal for bikes or anything with wheels. For the 80 degree mostly sunny day, we needed sun block and insect repellant to keep the gnats and other small bugs from swarming us. The extended trail was a great way to see many of the entrenchments and read more about the battle. The drive tour skimmed the battlefield and we wanted to walk the grounds where so many had fought, entrenched and gave their lives; the trail was ideal. It was sobering to actually walk the land, see so many trenches and read the plaques scattered throughout the trail. The experience is worth the hour walk and it starts and ends at the Visitors Center. It’s good to take a trail map on the walk because the road and the smaller trail intersects with the extended trail at several points. The trail signs at the intersections are not that good at indicating which trail is the extended trail, so looking at the map often to maintain bearing is best. Having one of those small compasses on the watchband also helps keep one going in the right direction. It’s not like a person would get lost on the trail; we just didn’t want to inadvertently loop onto the smaller trail. There may not be a lot of cannons and monuments to see at Cold Harbor, but it’s worth the trip to walk the grounds where intense fighting took place and thousands of Union and Confederate Soldiers gave their lives in such a short period of time. The trenches can still be seen, one can walk the area to see the vantage point of both sides and there is a monument dedicated to the Union troops of 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery soldiers who were pulled from guarding Washington DC to fight in the battle and lost about a fifth of their men including their commander. Cold Harbor is definitely worth the trip.