This Day in History and its Irrelevance to Today On this day in 1864 one of the bloodiest battles of the bloodiest war in American History took place at Cold Harbor, Virginia. In the space of a few minutes a union charge on fortified Confederate positions led to the death of several hundred union infantry men. Eventually, after a period of time, Ulysses Grant ordered his men withdraw and began a sprint to the city of Petersburg, which through a mistake by commanders on the ground, was not seized and led to a ten-month seige whose end, ultimately meant the end of the War. The Battle of Cold Harbor was the next to last major battle of Grant's Spring offensive from the Rapidan to the James began with the battle of the Wilderness on May 5, and from that time until June 10, when the movement to the James was commenced from Cold Harbor, the Army of the Potomac lost 54,550 men. ... Meanwhile, CNN reports that "Apprentice" runner-up Kwame Jackson was fired from being a judge at the Miss Universe Pageant. Apparently, Mr. Jackson waived back at contestants. Clearly, THIS is what all those boys in blue and boys in gray fought for.