Chapter LVIII: Section 10: And be it further enacted, That when any person (11)

"On the 25th of May General McClellan issued a general order,
which was read throughout the camps, directing the troops, as
they advanced beyond the Chickahominy, to be prepared for
battle at a moment's notice, and to be entirely unencumbered,
with the exception of ambulances; to carry three days rations
in their haversacks, leaving their knapsacks with their
wagons, which were on the eastern side of the river, carefully
parked. … The divisions from the corps of Generals Heintzelman
and Keyes were among the first to cross the Chickahominy. They
took a position on the right bank somewhat advanced therefrom.
The right wing rested near New Bridge, the centre at Seven
Pines, and the left flank on the White Oak Swamp. General
Sumner's corps remained on the east side of the river. On the
30th the Confederate General Johnston made arrangements for an
attack upon the Federal army, for the purpose of cutting off,
if possible, the corps of Generals Heintzelman and Keyes
before they could be joined by General Sumner. He selected the
divisions of Generals Longstreet, Huger, G. W. Smith, D. H.
Hill, and Whiting. His plan was that Generals Hill and
Longstreet should advance by the road to Williamsburg and make
the attack in front, and that General Huger should move on the
road to Charles City and attack in flank the troops assailed
by Generals Hill and Longstreet. General Smith was ordered to
the junction of the New Bridge Road and the Nine Mile Road,
and to be in readiness to fall on the right flank of General
Keyes and to cover the left of General Longstreet. The forces
of Generals Hill, Longstreet, and Smith were in position early
on the morning of Saturday, May 31, and waited until afternoon
for General Huger to get into position. Prince de Joinville,
who was a competent spectator, thus describes ['Campagne de l'
Armèe du Potomac, Mars-Juillet, 1862'] the scenes which
followed this attack: 'At the moment it was thus attacked the
Federal army occupied a position having the form of a V. The
base of the V is at Bottom's Bridge, where the railroad
crosses the Chickahominy. The left arm stretches toward
Richmond, with this railroad and the road from that city to
Williamsburg. There stood the left wing, composed of four
divisions echeloned, one behind the other, between Fair Oaks
and Savage stations, and encamped in the woods on both sides
of the road. The other arm of the V, the right, follows the
left bank of the river; that is the right wing. There are
these five divisions and the reserve. Should one desire to
communicate from one extremity to the other of those two
wings, going by Bottom's Bridge, the way is very long, not
less than 12 or 15 miles. In an air line the distance, on the
contrary, is very trifling, but between the two arms of the V
flows the Chickahominy. It was to connect both arms, in the
space between them, that the construction of 3 or 4 bridges
had been undertaken, only one of which was serviceable on the
31st of May. It had been built by General Sumner, nearly half
way between Bottom's Bridge and the most advanced point of the
Federal lines. It saved the army that day from a disaster.'
The other bridges were not ready. They were structures of
logs, and time was required to build them. The approaches were
always bad, and the tedious labor of corduroying long
distances was necessary. 'It was against the left wing of the
army that every effort of the enemy was directed. That wing
had its outposts at Fair Oaks station, on the York river
railroad, and at a place called Seven Pines, on the
Williamsburg road. There the Federals had thrown up a redoubt
in a clearing, where a few houses were to be seen, and
constructed abatis, to increase the field for sharpshooting of
the troops posted there. The rest of the country was
completely covered with woods. The previous day there had been
a frightful storm, with torrents of rain, and the roads were
frightful. All at once, about one o'clock in the afternoon,
the weather being dark and gloomy, a very spirited fusilade is
heard. The pickets and sentries are violently driven in; the
woods which surround Fair Oaks and Seven Pines are filled with
clouds of the enemy's sharpshooters. The troops rush to arms
and fight in desperation; but their adversaries' forces
constantly increase, and their losses do not stop them. The
redoubt of the Seven Pines is surrounded, and its defenders
die bravely. … Meanwhile Heintzelman rushes to the rescue with
his two divisions. As at Williamsburg, Kearney arrives in good
time to reëstablish the fight. Berry's brigade, of this
division, composed of Michigan regiments and an Irish
battalion, advances firm as a wall into the midst of the
disordered mass which wanders over the battle field, and does
more by its example than the most powerful reënforcements.
About a mile of ground has been lost, 15 pieces of cannon, the
camp of the division of the advance guard, that of General
Casey; but now we hold our own. A sort of line of battle is
formed across the woods, perpendicularly to the road and the
railroad, and there the repeated assaults of the enemy's
masses are resisted. The left cannot be turned, where is the
White Oak Swamp, an impassable morass; but the right may be
surrounded. At this very moment, in fact, a strong column of
Confederates has been directed against that side. If it
succeeds in interposing between Bottom's Bridge and the
Federal troops, which hold beyond Savage's Station, the entire
left wing is lost. It will have no retreat, and is doomed to
yield to numbers; but precisely at this moment—that is to say,
at 6 o'clock in the evening—new actors appear on the scene.
General Sumner, who has succeeded in passing the Chickahominy,
with Sedgwick's division, over the bridge constructed by his
troops, and who, like a brave soldier, has marched straight
through the woods to the sound of the cannon, arrived suddenly
on the left flank of the column with which the enemy is
endeavoring to cut off Heintzelman and Keyes. He plants in the
clearing a battery which he has succeeded in bringing with
him. … In vain Johnston sends against this battery his best
troops, those of South Carolina—the Hampton Legion among
others. In vain he rushes on it himself; nothing can shake the
Federals, who, at nightfall, valiantly led by General Sumner
in person, throw themselves upon the enemy at the point of the
bayonet, and drive him furiously, with frightful slaughter and
fear, back as far as Fair Oaks Station. Night put an end to
the combat. On both sides nothing was known of the result of
the battle but what each one had seen with his own eyes. …
Evidently Johnston had flattered himself, in throwing all his
forces on the four divisions of the left wing, that he could
annihilate them before any aid could come to them from the
main body of the army on the left bank of the Chickahominy.
For the moment he had recoiled before the energetic resistance
of those four divisions, and also before the furious and
unforeseen attack of Sumner's troops.
{3467}
No doubt he had counted on the terrible storm of the previous
day to have swelled the Chickahominy so as to render the
establishment of a bridge impossible, or to sweep away in its
overflowing waters those already established; but the
capricious river baffled his plans, as it did some hours later
those of his adversaries. The effect of the deluge was not
immediate; the rise in the water delayed its appearance 24
hours. Was this unhoped-for delay turned to account with all
desirable activity on the part of the Federals? That is a
question which will remain always in dispute. … It was not
until 7 o'clock in the evening that the idea of securing all
the bridges without delay, and causing the whole army to cross
at daybreak to the right bank of the Chickahominy, was
entertained. It was now too late. Four hours had been lost,
and the opportunity—that moment so fleeting, in war as in
other circumstances—had gone. The rise, on which Johnston had
vainly counted, and which had not hindered Sumner from
crossing, came on during the night. The river rose suddenly
from two feet, and continued to swell with rapidity, carrying
away the new bridges, tearing up and sweeping off the trees
which formed the planking of Sumner's bridges, and covering
the entire valley with its overflowing waters. Nothing could
cross. At the earliest dawn of day the combat was resumed with
great fury on the left bank. The enemy came on in a body, but
without order or method, and rushed upon the Federals, who,
knowing that they were inferior in numbers and without hope of
being supported, did not attempt to do more than resist and
hold their ground. They fought with fierce determination on
both sides, without any noise, without any cries, and whenever
they were too hardly pressed they made a charge with the
bayonet. … Toward midday the fire gradually diminished, then
ceased. The enemy retreated; but the Federals were not in a
position to pursue them. No one then knew what a loss the
Southerners had just suffered in the person of their
commander, General Johnston, who was severely wounded. It was
to his absence that was owing, in a great measure, the
unskilful attacks against the Federal army in the morning. …
Who can say what would have been the result if at this moment
the 35,000 fresh troops left on the other side of the
Chickahominy had appeared on the flank of this disordered mass
after having successfully crossed the bridges?'"

_W. J. Tenney,
Military and Naval History of the Rebellion,
chapter 19 (quoting and translating from
Prince de Joinville's "Campagne de l'Armée du Potomac")._

"After this battle of Seven Pines—or Fair Oaks, as the
Northern people prefer to call it—General McClellan made no
step forward, but employed his troops industriously in
intrenching themselves."

_J. E. Johnston,
Narrative of Military Operations,
page 142._

ALSO IN:
_G. W. Smith,
Two days of Battle at Seven Pines
(Battles and Leaders, volume 2, pages 220-263)._

_Official Records,
series 1, volume 11, part 1._

_W. Allan,
The Army of Northern Virginia in 1862,
chapter 7-8._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (May-June: Virginia).
Stonewall Jackson's second campaign in the Shenandoah Valley.
Winchester.
Cross Keys.
Port Republic.

"At the time the Army of the Potomac was toiling painfully up
the Peninsula towards Richmond, the remaining forces in
Northern Virginia presented the extraordinary spectacle of
three distinct armies, planted on three separate lines of
operations, under three independent commanders. The highland
region of West Virginia had been formed into the 'Mountain
Department' under command of General Fremont; the Valley of
the Shenandoah constituted the 'Department of the Shenandoah'
under General Banks; and the region covered by the direct
lines of approach to Washington had been erected into the
'Department of the Rappahannock,' and assigned to General
McDowell. … The Administration, growing more easy touching the
safety of the capital, determined, in response to General
McClellan's oft-repeated appeals for re-enforcements, to send
forward McDowell's corps,—not, indeed, as he desired, to
re-enforce him by water, but to advance overland to attack
Richmond in co-operation with the Army of the Potomac. … After
numerous delays, the time of advance of this column was at
length fixed for the 26th of May, a date closely coincident
with the arrival of the Army of the Potomac on the
Chickahominy. The head of McDowell's column had already been
pushed eight miles south of Fredericksburg; and McClellan, to
clear all opposition from his path, sent forward Porter's
corps to Hanover Junction, where he had a sharp encounter with
a force of the enemy under General Branch, whom he repulsed
with a loss of 200 killed and 700 prisoners, and established
the right of the Army of the Potomac within fifteen miles, or
one march, of McDowell's van. McDowell was eager to advance,
and McClellan was equally anxious for his arrival, when there
happened an event which frustrated this plan and all the hopes
that had been based thereon. This event was the irruption of
Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. The keen-eyed
soldier at the head of the main Confederate army, discerning
the intended junction between McDowell and McClellan, quickly
seized his opportunity, and intrusted the execution of a bold
'coup' to that vigorous lieutenant who had already made the
Valley ring with his exploits." Jackson, who had been resting
for a time in a position between the south fork of the
Shenandoah and Swift Run Gap, was joined, on the 30th of
April, by Ewell's division from Gordonsville, and by other
re-enforcements, which "raised his force to about 15,000 men.
Banks' force, reduced by the detachment of Shields' division,
sent to General McDowell, to about 5,000 men, was posted at
Harrisonburg. Fremont was at Franklin, across the mountains;
but one of his brigades, under Milroy, had burst beyond the
limits of the Mountain Department, and seemed to be moving to
make a junction with Banks, with the design, as Jackson
thought, of advancing on Staunton. Jackson determined to
attack these forces in detail. Accordingly, he posted Ewell so
as to hold Banks in check, whilst he himself moved to
Staunton. From here he threw forward five brigades, under
General Edward Johnson (May 7), to attack Milroy. The latter
retreated to his mountain fastness, and took position at a
point named McDowell, where, re-enforced by the brigade of
Schenck, he engaged Johnson, but was forced to retire on
Fremont's main body at Franklin. Having thus thrown off Milroy
eccentrically from communication with Banks, Jackson returned
(May 14) to destroy the force under that officer." Banks
retreated down the Valley, followed by Jackson, who diverged a
little to capture a garrison of 700 men at Front Royal.
{3468}
On the 24th, Banks made a stand on the heights of Winchester
and gave fight, "till, being assailed on both flanks, he
retired hastily to the north bank of the Potomac (May 25),
making a march of 53 miles in 48 hours. Jackson continued the
pursuit as far as Halltown, within two miles of Harper's
Ferry, where he remained till the 30th, when, finding heavy
forces converging on his rear, he began a retrograde movement
up the Valley. The tidings of Jackson's apparition at
Winchester on the 24th, and his subsequent advance to Harper's
Ferry, fell like a thunderbolt on the war-council at
Washington. The order for McDowell's advance from
Fredericksburg, to unite with McClellan, was instantly
countermanded; and he was directed to put 20,000 men in motion
at once for the Shenandoah Valley, by the line of the Manassas
Gap Railroad. … In vain he pointed out that it was impossible
for him either to succor Banks or co-operate with Fremont; …
that it would take him a week or ten days to reach the Valley,
and that by this time the occasion for his services would have
passed by. In vain General McClellan urged the real motive of
the raid—to prevent re-enforcements from reaching him."
McDowell moved from the east and Fremont from the west,
converging on Strasburg. "The two columns moved rapidly; they
had almost effected a junction on the 31st; but that very day
Jackson, falling back from Harper's Ferry, slipped between the
two, and made good his retreat up the Valley. … The pursuers
did their best: they pushed on, Fremont following in the path
of Jackson up the Valley of the Shenandoah; while McDowell
sent forward Shields' division by the lateral Luray Valley,
with a view to head him off when he should attempt to break
through the gaps of the Blue Ridge." On the 8th of June
Ewell's division of Jackson's army "repulsed Fremont, while
Jackson held Shields in check. Early next morning, drawing in
Ewell and concentrating his forces, Jackson threw himself
across the river, burned the bridge to prevent Fremont from
following; fell upon Shields' advance, consisting of two
brigades under General Tyler, and repulsed him, capturing his
artillery. The former of these affairs figures in history as
the battle of Cross Keys, and the latter as the battle of Port
Republic. In this exciting month's campaign, Jackson made
great captures of stores and prisoners; but this was not its
chief result. Without gaining a single tactical victory he had
yet achieved a great strategic victory; for by skilfully
manœuvring 15,000 men he succeeded in neutralizing a force of
60,000. It is perhaps not too much to say that he saved
Richmond."

_W. Swinton,
Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac,
pages 122-128._

ALSO IN:
_J. D. Imboden,
Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah
(Battles and Leaders, volume 2, page 282-301)._

_J. E. Cooke,
Stonewall Jackson: a Military Biography,
part 2, chapters 8-17._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (May-July: On the Mississippi).
The first undertakings against Vicksburg.

"New Orleans once secured and handed over to General Butler,
Farragut pushed up the Mississippi, and in the course of the
next two months the Union flag was hoisted at Baton Rouge,
Natchez, and every town of importance as high as Vicksburg.
This city, strong by its natural position on high bluffs
sloping gently landward, and already partly converted into a
fortress by intrenchments heavily armed, was now (since the
surrender of Memphis on the 6th of June) the only point of
importance held by the Confederates on the banks of the great
river. It at once, therefore, assumed an importance well
warranted by its later history. Summoned on the 18th of May to
evacuate the place, General M. L. Smith, who held it, gave a
decided refusal; and Farragut found it necessary to await once
more the arrival of Porter's flotilla, which was not brought
up and reported ready until the 27th of June. On the 28th a
general attack took place, Farragut succeeding in taking two
of his three frigates and six gun-boats above the batteries,
but producing no effect on the defences. 'The enemy leave
their guns for the moment,' says his hasty report, 'but return
to them as soon as we have passed, and rake us.' About 50 men
were killed and wounded on board, and the Brooklyn frigate,
with two gun-boats, forced to retreat below the place. The
bombardment continued at intervals, pending an application to
General Halleck at Corinth for a corps of his army to aid the
fleet, and the result of an experiment (the first of three)
made to cut a ship canal through the isthmus opposite
Vicksburg, and leave the Federal ships an independent passage.
On the 15th of July their possession of the river was suddenly
challenged by a large ram, the Arkansas, which the
Confederates had been fitting on the Yazoo, a considerable
stream entering the Mississippi just above Vicksburg. … Her
plating, however, proved to be weak, and her machinery very
defective." The career of the Arkansas was brief and harmless.
In August she was knocked to pieces by the shells of the
Essex, "whose commander had taken charge of the Lower
Mississippi on the departure of Farragut. The latter officer,
in compliance with orders from Mr. Welles, had abandoned his
contest with the Vicksburg works on the 20th of July, and made
down stream for New Orleans, whence he proceeded with his
squadron to carry on operations along the coast of Texas,
where the chief posts were (for the time) recovered to the
Union by his detachments in the course of a few weeks. 'All we
want,' he wrote on the 15th of October, 'is a few soldiers to
hold the places, and we will soon have the whole coast. It is
a more effectual blockade to have the vessels inside instead
of outside.'"

_C. C. Chesney,
Essays in Military Biography,
pages 169-171._

ALSO IN:
_L. Farragut,
Life of David G. Farragut,
chapter. 20._

_D. D. Porter,
Naval History of the Civil War,
chapter 21._

_R. B. Irwin,
History of the 19th Army Corps.
chapters 2-3._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (May-December: Louisiana).
New Orleans under General Butler.

The army which accompanied Farragut's naval expedition against
New Orleans, to assist its operations and to occupy the city
and the lower Mississippi region when taken, was placed under
the command of General Benjamin F. Butler. It consisted
nominally of 18,000 men, but is said to have actually mustered
less than 14,000. It was composed of regiments which had been
raised by Butler in New England especially for the enterprise,
his preparations having commenced as early as September, 1861.
These troops were partly gathered at Ship Island, in the Gulf,
some time before Farragut made ready his fleet; the remainder
were at the rendezvous in good time, and the whole were in
waiting, on board transports, at the passes, when Farragut
carried his fleet past Forts Jackson and St. Philip.
{3469}
"General Butler … now proceeded to execute his part of the
duty. He brought his forces into the rear of St. Philip,
Porter keeping up a bombardment. On the 27th of April the
garrison had become so demoralized as to refuse to fight any
longer. The forts were therefore surrendered on the next day.
… On the 1st of May New Orleans 'was formally occupied by
United States troops. The loss on the national side in
achieving this great victory was 40 killed and 177 wounded. …
General Butler now entered on the difficult task of governing
New Orleans. Its population, though greatly diminished to
strengthen the Confederate armies in the Border States—a cause
of bitter complaint to the inhabitants—still numbered about
140,000. Almost one half of it was of foreign birth. Perhaps
no city in the world had in its lower classes a more dangerous
and desperate population. There was a wide-spread hope that a
French force would soon come to their help. By firmness,
strict yet considerate, he controlled the municipal
authorities; by severity he put down the mob. He was a terror
to tricky tradesmen, a benefactor to the starving poor. He
cleaned the streets, enforced sanitary regulations, and kept
out yellow fever. He put an effectual stop to the operations
of Confederate agents, who were illicitly obtaining supplies
for their cause. … He arrested Mumford, the person who had
hauled down the national flag at the Mint [where it had been
raised by one of Farragut's officers before the arrival of the
troops], brought him before a military commission, convicted
and executed him." This execution of Mumford (by hanging) drew
from the Confederate President, Davis, a proclamation
denouncing Butler as "an outlaw and common enemy of mankind";
directing that, if captured, he should be immediately hung;
declaring the commissioned officers of his command "not
entitled to be considered as soldiers engaged in honorable
warfare, but as robbers and criminals"; and ordering that "no
commissioned officer of the United States taken captive shall
be released on parole before exchange until the said Butler
shall have met with due punishment for his crimes." "Some
women of New Orleans, relying on the immunity of their sex,
gratified their animosity by insulting national officers in
public places. One of them ventured so far as to spit in the
face of an officer who was quietly walking in the street.
Hereupon was issued 'General Order No. 28' [known as 'the
Woman Order,' which gave notice that] … 'hereafter, when any
female shall, by word, gesture, or movement, insult or show
contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States, she
shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of
the town plying her vocation.' … The feeling of personal
hatred to Butler grew daily more and more intense. He was
accused of improper tampering with the banks, speculating in
sequestrated property, and, through the agency of his brother,
carrying on illegal but profitable transactions in sugar and
cotton. In South Carolina a reward of $10,000 had been offered
for his assassination. Throughout the Confederacy he received
an ignominious surname, and was known as 'Butler the Beast.'
The government felt constrained to send a commission to New
Orleans to investigate his transactions. Its conclusion was
that he had evidently acted 'under a misapprehension, to be
referred to the patriotic zeal which governs him.'" In
December General Butler was recalled and General Banks was
sent to take his place.

_J. W. Draper,
History of the American Civil War,
chapter 52 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN:
_B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the Civil War,
volume 2, chapter 13._

_J. Parton,
General Butler in New Orleans,
chapters 11-32._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (June: On the Mississippi).
The capture of Memphis.
The naval fight before the city.

After the evacuation of Corinth by Beauregard, "Fort Pillow,
40 miles above Memphis, was no longer of any account, for the
Union army could take it from the rear. The Confederates,
therefore, spiked the guns, burned their barracks and what
supplies they could not take away; and the Confederate
gunboats went down the river to Memphis, where several of the
boats had been built. Commodore Montgomery commanded the
fleet. He had eight vessels. … Fort Pillow evacuated! It was
astounding news to the people of Memphis. They learned it at
noon, June 5th. The merchants closed their stores. Some of
them began to pack their goods. Some of the citizens jumped on
board the cars and fled from the city. The Confederate fleet
made its appearance. 'I shall retreat no farther,' said
Commodore Montgomery; 'I shall fight a battle in front of the
city, and to-morrow morning you will see Lincoln's gunboats
sent to the bottom.' The dawn is breaking when I step from the
Benton, the flag-ship of Commodore Davis [commanding the Union
river fleet], to the tugboat Jessie Benton. … The Union fleet
is at anchor three miles above the city. 'Drop down below the
city and see if you can discover the Confederate fleet,' is
the order to the captain of the Jessie Benton. We sweep around
the majestic bend of the river and behold the city. The first
rays of the sun are gilding the spires of the churches. A
crowd of people is upon the levee—men, women, and children—who
have come out to see the Union fleet sent to the bottom. …
Suddenly a vessel with a black cloud of smoke rolling from the
chimneys shoots into the stream. It is the Little Rebel,
Commodore Montgomery's flag-ship. One by one the other vessels
follow, forming in two lines of battle. In the front line,
nearest the city, is the Beauregard, next the Little Rebel,
then the Price and Sumter. In the second line, behind the
Beauregard, is the Lovell, then the Thompson, Bragg, and Van
Dorn. … There are five gunboats in the Union fleet. The Benton
is nearest the Tennessee shore, then the Carondelet,
Louisville, St. Louis, and Cairo. There are also two rams—the
Queen City and Monarch. The rams are river steamers, with
thick oak sides; they carry no cannon, but on each boat are
100 riflemen. 'Round to; head down stream; keep in line with
the flag-ship,' was the order which we on board the Jessie
Benton carried to each boat of the line." In the fight which
followed, and which is graphically described by the
eye-witness here quoted, the Price and the Beauregard were run
down by the rams; the Little Rebel, the Lovell, the Thompson
and the Bragg were destroyed by shot and shell; the Sumter
driven ashore, and the Van Dorn alone escaped. On the Union
side, only the ram Queen City was disabled.
{3470}
"In an hour's time the Confederate fleet was annihilated. … It
is not known how many men were lost on the Confederate side,
but probably from 80 to 100. Colonel Ellet was the only one
injured on board the Union fleet. … The victory opens the
Upper Mississippi from Cairo to Vicksburg."

_C. C. Coffin,
Drumbeat of the Nation,
chapter 10._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (June: Virginia).
The Peninsular Campaign: McClellan fortifying and Lee
preparing for a bold attack.

"When McClellan crossed the Chickahominy it was thought he
would advance immediately upon Richmond. This expectation was
disappointed, however, for instead of advancing he began to
fortify his position. The right wing rested on the
Chickahominy a little below New Bridge, and the left extended
to the White Oak Swamp, embracing a front of about four miles,
nearly parallel with that of the Confederates. The opposing
lines were separated by an interval but little exceeding a
mile, but each was obscured from the other's view by the
intervening forest. The picket-lines were often within close
musket-range of each other. … The strength of the Confederate
force was always greatly overestimated by McClellan, and his
frequent and urgent calls for reinforcements exposed his want
of confidence in his own strength. General Lee [who took
command of the Confederate army June 1, General Johnston being
disabled], knowing this uneasy, insecure feeling of his
antagonist, and McDowell's force, which had always been a
thorn in his side, being about this time withdrawn from
Fredericksburg for the support of Banks and Shields in the
Valley, prepared … to assume the offensive. He conceived the
bold plan of crossing the Chickahominy, and, attacking the
Federal right wing, to force it back and seize McClellan's
line of communication with his base of operations. This plan
being successfully executed, the Federal general would be
compelled to save his army as best he could by retreat.
Preparatory to the execution of this plan General J. E. B.
Stuart was ordered to make a reconnoissance in the rear of the
Federal position. This officer, with a force of about 1,000
cavalry, executed his instructions with great boldness and
success. He made the entire circuit of the Federal army and
gained much important information, … captured many prisoners
and destroyed Federal stores to the value of $7,000,000. … His
design being confirmed by Stuart's successful reconnoissance,
Lee proceeded to organize a force requisite for the
accomplishment of his proposed enterprise. The troops that
could be conveniently spared from North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Georgia were ordered to Richmond. … At the same
time General Jackson was ordered to withdraw secretly from the
Valley and proceed with such expedition as would enable him to
reach Hanover Junction by the afternoon of the 25th of June.
In order to mask his designs from the Federals, Lee directed
Whiting's division and Lawton's brigade to proceed to
Staunton, apparently with the view of reinforcing Jackson, but
really under orders to return immediately and join that
general on the 25th at Hanover Junction. This movement further
strengthened McClellan in his opinion of Lee's vastly superior
force, and completely blinded him in regard to the real
intentions of that general. General Lee determined to attack
the Federal right wing on the morning of the 26th of June."

_A. L. Long,
Memoirs of Robert E. Lee,
page 169._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (June-July: Virginia).
The Peninsular Campaign: The Seven Days Battle and Retreat.
Mechanicsville.
Gaines' Mill.
Savage Station.
Glendale.'
Malvern Hill.

"Since the battle of Fair Oaks the Second Corps (Sumner) had
remained on the right bank of the Chickahominy, where it had
been followed in the month of June by the Sixth Corps
(Franklin). So that only the Fifth Corps (Porter) remained on
the left bank, recently reënforced by McCall's division. All
the efforts of the enemy were made there, and there the great
seven days' contest commenced. On the 26th of June, A. P.
Hill, preceding Jackson by twenty-four hours, endeavored to
force the passage of Beaver Dam Creek, defended by the
Pennsylvanians under McCall. He was repulsed with considerable
loss on the Mechanicsville road. But, during the night, Porter
was compelled to fall back to a position more tenable against
a force become much superior to his own, Jackson and
Longstreet having united against his lines. On the 27th, then,
the Fifth Corps, with about 25,000 men, was assailed by 70,000
Confederates on Gaines' Mill Heights, and defended itself
there obstinately, until our own cavalry came fatally to the
enemy's aid. Unskilfully handled and roughly repulsed, it fell
back in disorder on our lines, where it put everything into
confusion, artillery and infantry. The Confederates, coming on
at the charge, finished the overthrow, and the Fifth Corps
would have been destroyed if the coming of the night had not
enabled our decimated troops to cross to the right bank of the
Chickahominy, destroying the bridges behind them. [This
battle, called Gaines' Mill by the Federals, was named Cold
Harbor, or Chickahominy, by the Rebels.] … As soon as Porter
had crossed safely on the 28th, the general retreat commenced.
Keyes crossed White Oak swamp first, and took position to
protect the passage of the immense army trains and the great
herds of cattle. Then, on the 29th, after having repulsed a
cavalry attack, he continued his way towards the James, where
he arrived on the 30th, at the same time that Porter reached
Haxall's Landing. Much less favored, the three other corps
suspended their march only to fight and ceased to fight only
to march. But all this was done without any general system, in
the absence of superior supervision, and of orders in
accordance with circumstances. On the 29th the enemy crossed
the Chickahominy to unite all his force on the right bank;
Franklin advised Sumner, and the two, acting together, fell
back on Savage Station, where they took up position, with the
intention, aided by Heintzelman, of repelling the dangerous
attack which menaced them. But Heintzelman, adhering to his
general instructions, after destroying the material of the
railroad, the provisions, munitions of war, arms and baggage
that there was neither time nor means of carrying away,
hastened to cross White Oak swamp, uncovering Sumner's left.
The latter learned of the retreat of the Third Corps only from
a furious attack by the enemy on the very side which he
believed protected by Heintzelman. He did not the less sustain
the shock with an unshakable solidity, and fought all the
afternoon with four divisions without being broken at any
point.
{3471}
The enemy, worn out by the useless attacks, retired at
nightfall. Then only did he receive any news from McClellan;
under the form of an order to Sumner to fall back, along with
Franklin, to the other side of White Oak swamp, abandoning our
general hospitals at Savage Station, and the 2,500 sick and
wounded in them. On the Morning of the 30th, Jackson presented
himself, to cross the swamp after us. He found the bridge
destroyed, and endeavored to force a passage at several
points. He was everywhere repulsed and kept in check the whole
day by the obstinate resistance of Franklin, while farther on,
towards the James, Longstreet was held by Heintzelman and
McCall, who prevented him from cutting our army in two at
Glendale. This was not done without hard fighting. The
Confederates, arriving by the New Market road at a right angle
to the Quaker road, which was our line of march, struck, in
the first place, the Pennsylvania reserves, broke their line,
outflanking it on the right and on the left, captured a
battery of artillery, and pushed resolutely on through that
dangerous breach. They then struck Hooker's division, which
threw them obliquely on Sumner's Corps. Soon afterward,
Kearney occupied the vacant space, and, as on the evening
before, the sun set with the rebels unsuccessful. [This day's
battle is variously named after Glendale, New Market,
Frazier's Farm, and Nelson's Farm.] But, the same evening,
Franklin, left without orders, and seeing his position was
becoming more and more dangerous, abandoned White Oak swamp
and fell back towards the James. At that news, which was
promptly sent to him from several directions, Heintzelman sent
in vain to headquarters to ask for instructions. Left to his
own devices, he concluded that the wisest course was to follow
the retrograde movement, and retreated with his corps. Sumner
still remained, and, seeing himself left alone and without
support, he decided, in his turn, to do as the others had
done. On the morning of the 31st, he arrived on the Malvern
Heights, where the three corps, the Second, Third, and Sixth,
found themselves united, not, as has been benevolently said,
by the wise combinations of General McClellan, but by the
fortunate inspiration of the commanders, who had received no
orders to that effect. 'At daylight,' said General Sumner, in
his testimony before the Congressional committee, 'I called on
General McClellan, on the banks of the James. He told me that
he had intended that the army should hold the position it had
the night before, and that no order for retreat had been sent;
but that, since the rest of the army had fallen back, he was
glad that I had done the same.' It was found that the plateau
of Malvern Hill was admirably formed for a defensive position.
General Humphreys, of the corps of topographical engineers,
was ordered to examine the position, and he traced a
formidable line with the left resting at Haxall's Landing on
the James, where it was protected by the gun-boats, while the
right was thrown back on some fields covered with thick woods,
and cut up by marshy streams. The summits and slopes of the
plateau were bristling with cannon, sweeping the plain over
the heads of our infantry deployed in front of them. In that
position, the army awaited a last attack. The enemy played
there his last card, and lost the game. … He tried his fortune
and gave battle July 1. On every point his columns were thrown
back in disorder, crushed in every attack by the double fire
of artillery and infantry. Dash was not enough now. On this
occasion, the enemy was compelled to acknowledge himself
beaten and incapable of pursuing us any further. But our men
were slow to believe in success. On receiving the order, a few
hours later, after night had put an end to the contest, to
retire to Harrison's Landing, they naturally concluded that we
were not strong enough to hold out long against the enemy. …
Worn out by fatigue and fighting, exhausted by privations and
by vigils, discouraged, and suspecting that it was not fortune
alone that had betrayed them, they dragged themselves along
without order … during that last night march, which had all
the character of a rout."

_R. de Trobriand,
Four Years with the Army of the Potomac,
chapter 13._

"If McClellan deserves sharp criticism for not having sooner
made up his mind, and still more for his failure to discover
and use the absence of the Confederates in his front, where
his advance in mass, according to General Magruder's
officially expressed opinion, 'would have insured his success,
and the occupation of the works about Richmond, and
consequently the city,' his character as a commander never
shone so brightly as in the hour of disaster and danger, when
Porter's wing was driven in upon his centre. The ill-success
of his campaign as a whole has caused his conduct at this
crisis to be done scant justice to. But there is no military
reputation in the world which would not be increased by the
manner in which that retreat to the James was conducted from
the moment it began."

_C. C. Chesney,
Essays in Military Biog.,
page 114._

ALSO IN:
_W. Allan,
The Army of Northern Virginia in 1862,
chapters 12-17._

_A. S. Webb,
Campaigns of the Civil War,
volume 3: The Peninsula, chapter 9._

_F. J. Porter, W. B. Franklin, D. H. Hill, and others,
The Seven Days' Fighting
(Battles and Leaders, volume 2)._

_G. B. McClellan,
Complete Report,
part 2._

_Official Records,
series 1, volume 11, parts. 1-2._

_Report of Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
(Senate Reports, 37th Congress,
3d session, volume 2, part 1)._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862
(June-October: Tennessee-Kentucky).
Ineffective dispersion of Western armies.
Failure to secure Chattanooga and Vicksburg.
Bragg's invasion of Kentucky.
The race for Louisville.
Battle of Perryville.
End of Buell's campaign.

"We left the Federals in possession of Corinth and Memphis,
the army of Beauregard disappearing in the depths of
semi-tropical forests where the Tombigbee takes its source,
and Montgomery's ships lying at the bottom of the Mississippi.

See, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862
(APRIL-MAY: TENNESSEE-MISSISSIPPI)
and (JUNE: ON THE MISSISSIPPI).

The part to be played by the Federal fleets was fully laid
out; Farragut, by ascending the river, and Davis, by
descending it, were to endeavor to join hands and destroy all
the obstacles which still obstructed its course. What, in the
mean time, was the large army encamped at Corinth going to do?
It had allowed Beauregard to escape at the very moment when it
felt sure of crushing him; but it could yet strike some
decisive blows either to eastward or westward, the
Confederates being nowhere sufficiently numerous to make any
strong opposition.
{3472}
Eastward, Mitchell had forced open the way to Chattanooga and
approached the gap which opens south-east of that town, before
which, at a subsequent period, so much blood was shed at the
battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. He was master of
the passes of the Tennessee, and the Federals, stationed at
Corinth, could reach Chattanooga much more speedily than their
adversary encamped at Tupelo. They might probably conquer by
the same stroke the whole upper course of the river which
waters this town. Westward, the Federals could sweep both
sides of the Mississippi, cause all the Confederate works
which defended them to fall, and perhaps prevent the enemy
from erecting the formidable citadels of Vicksburg and Port
Hudson, the capture of which, at a later period, cost so dear.
… Everything … was in favor of prompt and vigorous action. But
Halleck divided his army, and, notwithstanding the resources
he had at his disposal, allowed his adversaries to forestall
him everywhere. … The army of the Ohio left Corinth on the
10th of June, and Buell was ordered to proceed with it in the
direction of Chattanooga, where Mitchell was beginning to be
sorely pressed; but this movement was slowly executed.
Sherman, at the head of his own division and that of Hurlbut,
proceeded toward Memphis, dropping detachments of troops as
far as Holly Springs to cover his left flank. The rebuilding
of the Mobile Railway, which had been completely destroyed by
the enemy, was a considerable undertaking. Begun on the 9th of
June, it was only finished on the 26th. The Confederates had
profited by this delay. The new general-in-chief, Braxton
Bragg [who had superseded Beauregard], had boldly divided his
army and abandoned the position of Tupelo, which Halleck still
believed him to occupy. He had determined to cover at once the
two points we have already indicated as being of the greatest
importance for the future of the war, Chattanooga and
Vicksburg. He proceeded toward the first with all the old army
of Johnston, consisting of the corps of Hardee and Polk, as
rapidly as the difficulties of communication in that portion
of the Southern States allowed. He had the merit and good
fortune to reach Chattanooga before Buell. It was not too
soon, for a few days previous, the 7th of June, the Federal
General Negley, with his single brigade and some cannon, had
nearly taken possession of this city by surprise. Bragg found
it of great advantage to transfer the war to the vicinity of
Chattanooga. Master of this position, indeed, he could menace
either Tennessee or Kentucky, Nashville or Louisville and
wrest from the Federals all the conquests they had achieved
during the last few months by taking them in rear. He was also
drawing near Virginia."

_Comte de Paris,
History of the Civil War in America,
volume 2, book 2, chapter 3._

"Halleck soon leaves for Washington to assume supreme control
of the Union forces from the War Department. Grant is left in
command of the Army of the Tennessee, Buell of the Army of the
Ohio, Pope of the Army of the Mississippi. Everyone is without
definite instructions; there is no one head; and the Western
armies are practically put upon the defensive. Rosecrans
succeeds Pope, who is transferred to Virginia, and to Grant's
lot now fall the armies of the Mississippi and Tennessee,
42,000 effectives, with which to keep open his communications
with Buell and guard the railroad from Memphis to Decatur.
While Grant and Sherman devote their energies to the line of
the Mississippi, Buell is ordered to regain East Tennessee,
where the loyal population is in extreme suffering. Mitchell's
[General O. M. Mitchell] capture of Huntsville [in Alabama,
which he surprised, by a remarkable forced march, from
Nashville, in April], and some hundred miles of the Memphis
and Charleston Railroad, which he had held, together with all
territory north of the Tennessee river, had been full of
possibilities. Had he but received the authority, he might
readily have anticipated Bragg in taking possession of
Chattanooga, and have saved much subsequent blood and
treasure. For this town is the key to that entire strategic
field. … Buell supposed that Bragg would attempt to turn his
right in order to obtain possession of Nashville. He therefore
concentrated the bulk of his force at Murfreesboro. Thomas,
then commanding a wing of the Army of the Ohio, whose military
intuitions were as keen as his judgment was reliable, … was
shrewd enough to recognize Bragg's crossing of the Tennessee
river as a threat to invade Kentucky. Not so Buell, to his
sorrow. By a sudden movement, Bragg steals a march around
Buell's left, through the Sequatchie Valley [August 28], and
marches straight toward Louisville, while Kirby Smith turns
Cumberland Gap, defeats Nelson at Richmond, and makes for
Cincinnati. … Thoroughly alarmed, as is also the country,
Buell at once swings his left in pursuit of Bragg, while he
endeavors to retain his grasp on Nashville with his right.
Bragg has the shorter line and the start. But he is delayed a
day or two [September 16-17] by the capture of Mumfordsville,
and by scattering his forces instead of pushing home. This is
a serious fault on Bragg's part. He fairly holds success in
his hand, but forfeits it by this delay. After some rapid
marching and manœuvring, Buell enters Louisville just ahead of
his opponent. The authorities in Washington have lost all
confidence in Buell. He is summarily relieved from command and
Thomas appointed to succeed him. But this magnanimous soldier,
though far from always agreeing with the methods of his chief,
declines the proffered honor, and, at his earnest
solicitation, Buell is reinstated. The Army of the Ohio
marches out to meet Bragg, with Thomas second in command.
Bragg expects to defend the line of the Kentucky and Duck
rivers, but divides his forces, leaving Kirby Smith near
Frankfort. Buell makes a demonstration upon Bragg's
communications. After some cautious feeling, Buell comes upon
Hardee with only 15,000 men, at Perryville, where, had he at
once attacked, he could have punished Bragg severely for this
division. But, owing to lack of water, one-half of Buell's
army is distant from the field, and he in turn pays the
penalty of lack of concentration. Polk joins Hardee, and the
latter [October 8] falls heavily upon McCook, who holds
Buell's left, and bears him back. But he cannot break the
Union centre; and after a stubborn conflict Bragg retires,
leaving to our forces the field. Our left has not been
engaged. The loss is nearly 5,000 men on either side, a
quarter of the numbers actually engaged. On being followed up,
Bragg retreats through Cumberland Gap, and leaves Kentucky and
Tennessee once more in our possession. His retreat ends only
at Chattanooga.
{3473}
What Bragg expected to obtain in Kentucky was a vast accession
of recruits and horses, as did Lee in Maryland. Both fell
short of their calculations, though Bragg carried off a goodly
train of supplies. Forgetful of what he had really done, the
South was bitter in its criticism of Bragg's failure to hold
Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. … Halleck now insists that
Buell shall undertake a campaign in East Tennessee, still
occupied by the enemy. But Buell alleges the utter
impossibility of subsisting his troops so far from the
railroad; and again concentrates at Nashville. Here he is
relieved [October 30] and General Rosecrans is appointed to
the command."

_T. A. Dodge,
Bird's-Eye View of Our Civil War,
chapter 15._

ALSO IN:
_D. C. Buell, J. Wheeler, and others,
The Perryville Campaign
(Battles and Leaders, volume 3)._

_T. B. Van Horne,
History of the Army of the Cumberland,
chapters 12-15 (volume 1)._

_J. B. Fry,
Operations of the Army under Buell._

_Official Records,
series 1, volume 16._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (July).
Three hundred thousand more.

On the 2d of July, 1862, the President issued his proclamation
calling for 300,000 volunteers.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (July).
Land-grant for agricultural and mechanical Colleges.

See EDUCATION, MODERN: AMERICA: A. D. 1862.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (July).
Prescription of the Ironclad Oath.
See IRONCLAD OATH.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (July).
The fitting out of the Rebel cruiser, Alabama, at Liverpool.

See ALABAMA CLAIMS: A. D. 1862-1864.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (July).
Confiscation of the property of rebels,
giving freedom to their slaves.