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V MAY 30 The Armies CLwh at Bethe^a Churci and Matadequin Creek "Thui ujudt a repetition, of theirformer movement*)." MAY 30 DAWNED warm and pleasant. Lee rose early as usual. His illness persisted, but he felt stronger than he had in days. He was pleased with his defensive line along Totopotomoy Creek and confident he could hold it. His chief concern was that Grant might turn his flanks. Confederate cavalry— Fitzhugh Lee's division stationed at McKenzie's Corner and Gilbert Wright's brigade near Hanover Court House—had saturated the country to the north. Along with Hill's infantry, they kept the approaches from that direction well covered. The situation off the southern end of the Confederate line, however, troubled Lee. Early could fend off attacks along Shady Grove Road and Old Church Road, but the next road network south was unprotected. Four miles southeast of Early, five roads converged at a star-shaped junction called Old Cold Harbor. From Sheridan's encampment at Old Church, the Federals had an unobstructed four-mile march to the strategic crossroads. Once there, they could spread onto several routes leading to the Confederate capital. They would also be ideally situated to slip past the Confederate right and into Lee's rear. Butler's South Carolina cavalry, reinforced by a newly arrived South Carolina cavalry brigade under Brigadier General Martin W. Gary, was watching the roads south of Early. All day, Lee remained alert for signs that Grant might be shifting toward Cold Harbor or generally toward the Confederate right flank. Despite Cold Harbor's potential importance, the intersection played no significant part in Grant's thinking. The Union commander's three-pronged reconnaissance had found Lee's army at Totopotomoy Creek. Aggressive as ever, Grant intended to feel for weak spots and then to attack. Meade's order for the day called for Hancock's 2nd Corps, holding the Union center along MAY 30 BETHESDA CHURCH AND MATADEQUIN CREEK 115 Atlee Station Road, to probe Breckinridge. Wright's 6th Corps was to move down from Hanover Court House, link with Hancock's northern flank, and lap westward across the northern sector of the Confederate line, held by Hill. Warren was to bring the 5th Corps across Totopotomoy Creek at Mrs. Via's farm and advance west along Shady Grove Road, confronting Early at Hundley 's Corner. And Burnside was to slip into the gap between Hancock and Warren, facing Anderson. When these maneuvers were complete, the Army of the Potomac would form a continuous five-mile line from McKenzie's Corner to Shady Grove Road. Sheridan's cavalry was to keep watch in the army's rear near Old Church, protecting supply lines and preventing the Confederates from interfering with Baldy Smith's arrival. Hancock's morning started off well. Birney held the northern sector of the 2nd Corps's line, reaching southeast from the Overton farm at Oak Forest to a point near Atlee Station Road. Barlow had dug in on Birney's left. His right wing covered Atlee Station Road and the Shelton house, stringing through wheat fields overlooking Totopotomoy Creek. His left tracked a bend in the creek and arced almost east to anchor on Pole Green Church Road half a mile south of Polly Hundley Corner. Hancock's final division under Gibbon reached Polly Hundley Corner from Haw's Shop near daylight. Hancock directed Gibbon to attach his right to Barlow's left and reach east, facing south toward Totopotomoy Creek. Gibbon 's lead brigade, under Colonel H. Boyd McKeen, made the connection with Barlow, and the brigades of Brigadier General Joshua T. Owen and Colonel Thomas A. Smyth extended the line east along a farm road to Washington Jones's place. After sharp skirmishing, Smyth occupied the Jones farm and drove Confederate pickets across Totopotomoy Creek. The 7th West Virginia of Smyth's brigade captured a hill that provided a superb observation post above the leafy green expanse. Gibbon posted Sleeper's battery on the western edge of the Jones clearing, nailing down the 2nd Corps's left flank. Mr. Jones's pantry, it developed, contained a profusion of onions, flour, bacon, and wines made from currants and ginger, much to the satisfactionof Gibbon's men. Union skirmishers pressed to Totopotomoy Creek and found Confederates strongly posted on the south bank. Bitter firefights sparked and flared in dark thickets between snipers hiding behind trunks and logs and in hastily constructed rifle pits.1 Breckinridge's Confederates...

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