Captain John C. Patterson provided a vivid account of the fighting at Cold Harbor. 

We moved out from our position at Crump’s Creek on the evening of May 31, marching all the night in the direction of Cold Harbor, and reaching there a little past twelve o’clock on June 1^st. We were immediately formed in line, and our corps (sixth) ordered to get ready for a charge. The bugle sounded at about quarter to five o’clock P.M. and we dashed forward, my company on the right. We suffered severely, but getting through a slough we were soon upon the enemy, leaping the works, and putting him to route. I being on the right directed the movement. We pursued the rebels some sixty paces beyond their works, when I ordered a halt, finding that we were alone. When I say alone, I mean companies D, F, and a part of A. I then formed the line, and passing to the left, found that we were broken from the rest of the regiment. I then faced left, and moved off obliquely to rejoin the rest of the regiment to the left and rear. In moving along the enemy’s works, I found the cause of the break in the regiment to be a bend in the works. As we sprang on the works, just at the bend, we saw the enemy in pretty strong force just above the bend firing at the rest on my regiment. I immediately called to the men to follow me. But the noise of battle, I suppose, prevented my call being heard. I then called for volunteers, and in answer fourteen brave boys sprang over the works, led by young Rodman M. Clark. I ordered the boys to fire a volley into the rebels as they stood packed together, which they did, and the most of them threw down their arms. At this point young Clark displayed great gallantry, dashing in among the rebs and commencing to disarm them. Some of them still kept firing at us, but all the while we were disarming others. I ran up to the one I judged to be a superior officer, and placing my pistol at his head, told him if he did not have his men stop firing I would shoot him, whereupon he ordered them to cease. Before they did so, however, one scamp fired at me so closely that I felt the heat of the explosion in my face. The rebel officer proved to be a major. I ordered him to pass to the rear, and then proceeded, assisted by young Clark and the other boys, to secure as many prisoners as possible-our time being short, as we were feeling the fire of rebel reinforcements. In about ten to fifteen minutes, I secured and turned over to the Provost Marshall one hundred and sixty-six men, including one major, three captains, and three lieutenants. I had one man killed and one badly wounded. We remained at Cold Harbor, with severe skirmishing, until June 7, when we moved and crossed the James River.  

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