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Writer's pictureGeorge Castrioti

May 30th, 1864 - The Battle of Bethesda Church

Conflict: American Civil War

Combatants: Confederates vs. Federals

Location: Virginia (USA)

Outcome: Inconclusive


In the prelude to Cold Harbor, Federal General Ulysses S. Grant, having found Robert E. Lee's position on the North Anna river too strong to attack, engaged in a series of probes eastward around the Confederate right flank. At Bethesda Church, Grant attempted to turn the flank in a coordinated attack along Totopotomoy Creek. The Federals were repulsed by the entrenched Confederates and suffered about 700 casualties.


Battle of Bethesda Church by Edwin Forbes

Points of Interest:

  • The next day Grant again attempted to outflank Lee's right and was again cut off by Lee.

  • Maneuver and counter-maneuver continued between Grant and Lee's armies until the the two met at Cold Harbor on June 1st.


General Robert E. Lee by Mathew Benjamin Brady
Major General Ulysses S. Grant by E. and H.T. Anthony





















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Sources:

Bowman, John S. (Ed.) (1983). The Civil War Almanac. New York: World Almanac.


Catton, Bruce (1955). This Hallowed Ground. Kingsport, Tennessee: Kingsport Press, Inc.


Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).


Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.


Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.


Hogue, James M. & McPherson, James M. (2009). Ordeal By Fire. New York: MaGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.


Long, E.B & Long, Barbara (1971). The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. New York: De Capo Press, Inc.


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