"Old Myths Die Hard at Cold Harbor" Topic

"With all the coverage of the 150th anniversary of Cold Harbor I was surprised by the persistence of two myths that refuse to give way. The first is the story of Union soldiers pinning their names to their coats so their bodies could be identified and the second relates to the casualty figures that are commonly cited. Taken together they reinforce a compelling narrative of futile bloody assaults ordered by Ulysses S. Grant – the "great butcher" of the war.

The story of names stitched into coats is included in just about every news story that I read this past week. Ron Soodalter's Disunion column states confidently that "many of them simply wrote their names and addresses on slips of paper, and pinned the notes to the inside of their blouses, so that their bodies could be identified for burial." "Cold Harbor became Gettysburg in reverse," according to Joel Achenbach. "The story goes that many pinned their names to their clothes before they charged, so that their bodies could be identified."

Lt. Col. Robert Bateman cites Horace Porter's postwar account of this unusual step by Union soldiers as does Geoffrey Norman at the Weekly Standard. It turns out that Porter's reference is the only account we have of this sad nod of what many soldiers likely anticipated…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

I don't know why I should believe this guys version of events.

Dodge, George H.
age: 19
Private, 27th Massachusetts Vol. Inf., Company B.
Shot through hip in Cold Harbor charge.
Lingered 3 days in field hospital before death.
Buried National Cemetery – Cold Harbor

He was my Great, Great Grandfathers brother.

Other brother, John, age 17 (lied about age to serve with George) POW, captured May, '64 at Drewy's Bluff, later transported to Andersonville.