African-american soldier at a burial party on battlefield of Cold Harbor, 1864 (b/w photo)

Remains of Union soldiers killed at Cold Harbor, Virginia, 1864, (April 1865). 'After the War...Field at Cold Harbor'. Albumen print of men collecting bones on the field of the Battle of Cold Harbor, by Alexander Gardener (1821-1882) from a negative by John Reekie (active 1860s). The Battle of Cold Harbor in June 1864 saw the Union Army suffer a devastating defeat. Over 7,000 soldiers were killed in under half an hour. Fought between 1860 and 1865, the American Civil War saw the Northern Union or Federal forces fighting successfully to prevent the Southern Confederacy from leaving the United States of America to form their own country. Over half a million soldiers were killed in what was America's bloodiest war. photo by John Reekie printed by Alexander Gardner