Lincoln the Movie: Cold Harbor Reference

Justice (or Justus) Cheney
Born: May 11, 1835, Hopkinton, NY
Died: June 3, 1864, Cold Harbor, VA
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle
Brother of 2nd great grandfather, Jesse Cheney

Two weeks ago I went with my father to see Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. During the movie, there is one scene that brings the Civil War home to me, because it mentions the battle where one of my ancestors died. As you'll remember, I wrote in a previous post that Justice* Cheney died at Cold Harbor. During the very powerful scene where the President and First Lady are fighting, Mary Todd Lincoln references Cold Harbor (here is a link to the script):

MARY: The war will take our son! A sniper, or a shrapnel shell! Or typhus, same as took Willie, it takes hundreds of boys a day! He’ll die, uselessly, and how will I ever forgive you? Most men, their firstborn is their favorite, but you, you’ve always blamed Robert for being born, for trapping you in a marriage that’s only ever given you grief and caused you regret!

LINCOLN: That’s not true -

MARY: And if the slaughter of Cold Harbor is on your hands same as Grant, God help us! We’ll pay for the oceans of spilled blood you’ve sanctioned, the uncountable corpses we’ll be made to pay with our son’s dear blood -

- Lincoln rises from the window seat, angry. -

LINCOLN: Just, just this once, Mrs. Lincoln, I demand of you to try and take the liberal and not the selfish point of view! You imagine Robert will forgive us if we continue to stifle his very natural ambition?!

MARY (with a mocking smile): And if I refuse to take the high road, if I won’t take up the rough old cross, will you threaten me again with the madhouse, as you did when I couldn’t stop crying over Willie, when I showed you what heartbreak, real heartbreak looked like, and you hadn’t the courage to countenance it, to help me -

What this highlights to me (once again) is how bloody that battle was perceived to be and how much that blood was blamed on Grant. So when Mary Lincoln talks about the blood spilled, she is talking about Justice Cheney, among many others. 


*The original version of this post incorrectly had Judson's name here.