Battle of Bethesda Church

Here stood Bethesda Church, founded about 1830 and used by Baptists and Disciples of Christ until it burned in 1868. Late in May 1864, during the Civil War, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's V Corps formed the left flank of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Union line near here, facing Gen. Robert E. Lee's army. On 30 May, Confederate Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early's attack on Warren's position failed. Early attacked again on 2 June, but was beaten back by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's IX Corps with assistance from Warren's corps. The next day Grant assaulted several sections of Lee's seven-mile line at Cold Harbor, including just north of Bethesda Church, and was defeated with enormous losses.