Earlier this week, we discussed the battles of Gettysburg and Cold Harbor. In the Battle of Cold Harbor, which occurred near Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate forces took the time to build fortifications, and yet the North still attacked. In fact, due to some letters we discussed in class, I know many Union soldiers were expecting to die. My question is, why did the Union commanders attack at all? If the rank and file soldiers even knew the odds of success, the leaders had to have known as well. Did the attack because they were overconfident? So sure that the South was ready to admit defeat solely because they were so close to Richmond? It seems as if, given the circumstances, the generals would have predicted this outcome, and held off from the attack. Instead, 7,000 people died in the first 50 minutes of the battle. A massacre of this magnitude must have been at least somewhat expected. If this was the case, not only would the Union forces be demoralized, but the Confederate forces would be more confident. All of the elements of the battle seemed to favor the South, including defensive positions, the fact that the attack was not a surprise, the morale, and the open field the Union had to cross. Overall, I struggle to understand why the attack occurred, leaving me to believe there were other factors, such as political ones, that influenced the decision.
-Chavez Rodriguez
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