The Washington herald., 1914-06-07
THE WAR DAY BY DAY
Fifty Years Ago.
June 1884 Truce Two Hours Was Declared Bweea Gen Grant
Lee Purpose Of Searching for Wounded Buas
Dead On the Battlefield Of Cold Hubor-Horo Of tie Field
(ObpyriSht. IS4.)

Fifty years ago today a truce was de-
clared between Gen. Grant and Gen Lee
for the purpose Of searching for the
wounded and burying the dead on the
battlefield OF Cold Harbor.
For ave days-from early June 3 10
D. m. June the dead and dying had lain
between the lines of the contending arm
les. The number of wounded left upon
the field after the fighting OF June j. In
which Grant had thrown I5,ooo men
against Lees works In an unsuccessful
assault. had numbered about l.loo. Many
Of these crawled at night TO safety.
Through heroic efforts OF surgeons ana
soldiers others had been removed under
FIRE. but several hundred had remained.
The xroans Of these unfortunates, as
they lay dying in sight of their compan-
ions in the open ground between the
lines. or hidden In bushes or swamps'
had been heart-rendins.
sharpshooters had piled their 1nes
steadily on both sides. and after the hrst
two dsys the Federals had given up their
attempts to rescue the wounded. On the
third day the groans became weaker and
weaker, The unfortunates on the neld
were Joining the dead among whom they
lay.
The reasons for the delay In obeyins
the impulses Of humanity and succorins
the wounded at Cold Harbor are to be
found in a point of military etiquette.
On June Gen. Grant had sent a letter
to Gen. Lee, under flag Of truce, suggest
ing an ARRANGEMENT by which either side
could send unarmed men with stretchers
when no battle was raging for the pur-
pose of succoring the wounded and pick
ing UP the dead. The form Of his letter
was such as to suggest a mutual conven-
ience Gen. Lee rejected the proposal.
but stated that IL Gen. Grant applied for
a suspension OF hostilities in the usual
manner he would be happy to grant the
request.
Grant Forced to Ask Favor.
The correspondence between the two
generals on this matter shows how each
strove to gain over the other a moral ad-
vantage.
Gen. Grant did not wish to apply for a
truce as a favor. Lee declined to enter
on one as a mutual arrangement. Each
was weighing the effect OF the form Of
the proposition.
A request for a truce was counted an
admission of defeat. Gen Grant endeav-
ored to avoid making it. On June s he
wrote Gen. Lee that he would send out
parties under a white flag between u m.
and 3 p. m. to collect the wounded and
dead, and would instruct his officers that
Gen. Lee BE allowed TO do the same"
Gen. Lee replied that II either party
wished truce he should ask for II ''by
nag of truce in the usual way" and that
he had directed that any parties sent out
by Gen. Grant under white nags be
turned back.
Gen. Grant replied that "the knowledge
that wounded men are NOW suffering from
want Of attention. between the two
armies. compels me to ask suspension
of hostilities for sufficient time to collect
them-say. two hours" the time to be
fixed by Gen. Lee.
Gen. Lee granted the request. and fixed
the time at from 5 to 10 that evening
tJune 81. For some reason not clear. his
reply did not reach Gen. Grant until
after 10. Further correspondence resulted
in an arrangement for a time from to 8
on June T. BY that time most of the
wounded between the lines had perished.