Thomas Vineyard - Battles of the Civil War

No sooner had these positions been taken than they began to entrench themselves and throw out their picket lines, for the advance division of the Confederates could plainly be seen through the timber lines.

On May 30th Johnston gave orders for his army to be ready to advance at daybreak, but during the night a very heavy rain fell and delayed operations until late in the morning of May 31st. About nine o'clock, however, the forces of Longstreet and Hill were ready to move, and advanced rapidly through the woods on the outlying division of the Federals, who made a stubborn defense, driving back the Confederates time after time at the point of the bayonet, and the last time pressing them back to the woods. Here they were met by a furious musketry fire by fresh men from Longstreet's division or infantry. They quickly gave way, and retreated in confusion back to their entrenchments near Fair Oaks farm. Here the Federals took a stubborn stand, but were presently dislodged with great slaughter by an enfilading fire from the brigades of Rains and Rhodes, who had come up on each side.

The Federals fell back to Seven Pines, where Couch's division was stationed. Their situation was growing critical, although they were making a determined stand and had been reënforced by Heintzelman's division. In the meantime Hill had been reënforced by a brigade of Longstreet's division and was making a fierce attack on the Federals. The Confederates were further reënforced by the division of General G. W. Smith. The battle raged furiously until late in the evening, when the Federals fell back a distance of about two miles within their entrenchments along the river.

While this battle was being fought, another at Fair Oaks Station, only a short distance away, was also being fought, in which General Joseph E. Johnston was seriously wounded by a bursting shell, and was carried from the field. He was succeeded in command by General Robert E. Lee, who was afterwards made the commander in chief of all the Southern forces, although the immediate command fell upon G. W. Smith.

Early Sunday morning, June 1st, the battle was renewed and the attack was again made by the Confederates, led by General Smith, supported by Longstreet, but they were pushed back with great slaughter. The Union lines were also broken and a brief lull ensued. Both sides were gathering themselves for another onslaught. Presently the Federals were reënforced by the division of General Hooker. They marched upon the field in double quick time, and were met by a withering artillery fire. Both attacking divisions were ordered forward with fixed bayonets. The Confederates finally gave way and fell back toward Richmond, and the Federals again withdrew to their entrenchment along the river.

It is thought by many that McClellan's failure to follow up the Confederates proved to be the final failure of his Peninsula campaign, for it gave the Confederates time to readjust their army under their new commander.

The forest paths were strewn with the dead and dying. Many of the wounded were compelled to lie in the hot sun for hours before help could reach them. Many of the Federal wounded were placed upon cars and taken across the Chickahominy. The Confederate wounded were carried to Richmond, which was only seven miles away. And many of the Confederate dead at Seven Pines were buried in the Holly Wood cemetery at Richmond, where there are 16,000 Confederate dead. At Oak Wood cemetery, which is near by, there is another 16,000, which makes 32,000 buried at Richmond.

At this time the defense of Washington was giving McClellan, as well as other Federal authorities, considerable concern, for Jackson with his army had previously taken possession of Winchester and was advancing down the valley. The Federals opposed to Jackson were commanded by Generals Shields and Banks. Jackson made an attack on Shields' army at Kernstown and drove the Federals back, but presently fell back to wait reënforcements under Ewell. The Federals were reënforced by General Fremont. Jackson's activity in the valley caused the president to fear that his goal was Washington. The two armies fought a series of battles in the valley, namely: Front Royal, Strausburg, Newtown and Port Republic, the last-named being the far more important and destructive to life. These were a series of victories for Jackson, for he drove the Federals from place to place, and 3,000 of Banks' men fell into his hands as prisoners. Banks retreated across the Potomac and Jackson joined Lee before Richmond.

Jackson's activity and strategy in the movement of his army surprised both the North and the South. Banks reported to the government at Washington that "Jackson aimed at nothing less than the capture of our entire force."

Early in the summer of 1862, General Lee proceeded to increase his fighting force so as to make it more nearly equal in number to that of McClellan, and to that end every man that could be spared from other sections in the South was called to Richmond. Numerous intrenchments were thrown up along the roads and in the fields about Richmond, thus giving it the appearance of a fortified camp. General Lee, in an address to his troops, said that the army had made its last retreat.

Each army at this time numbered in the neighborhood of 100,000 men.

Meanwhile, McClellan's army was acclimating itself to a Virginia summer, and now that the sweltering heat of June was coming on, the swamps about their camps were fountains of disease, which began to tell on the health of the men. The hospitals were crowded, and the death rate was appalling.

McClellan proceeded to transfer all his men to the south side of the Chickahominy River, excepting the corps of Franklin and Porter, which were left on the north side of the river to await reënforcements under General McCall, which arrived about the middle of June.

General Lee sent a division of his cavalry, under the command of J. E. B. Stuart, to encircle the army of McClellan. Stuart started in the direction of Fredericksburg June 12th, as if to reënforce Jackson, and the first night bivouacked in the pine woods of Hanover county. Then, turning to the east, he soon came upon a Union force, drawn up in columns of four, ready to dispute the passage of the road, and which fell back in confusion as the Confederates advanced. Stuart pushed on and fell upon a company of Federal infantry at Tunstall's Station, which surrendered at once. The Confederates quickly turned about, crossed the Chickahominy River and joined Lee's army before Richmond, thus giving Lee the desired information of the position of McClellan's army.

Meanwhile, General "Stonewall" Jackson with his army was making haste to join Lee's army, and on June 25th reached Ashland, in striking distance of the Army of the Potomac.

McClellan was pushing his men forward to begin the siege of Richmond. His advance guard was within four miles of the Confederate capital, and his fond hope was that within a few days at most his artillery would be belching forth its sheets of fire and lead into the beleaguered city.

In front of the Union camp was a strip of pine woodland, full of ponds and marshes. The Union soldiers pressed through this thicket, met the Confederate pickets among the trees and drove them back. Upon emerging into the open the Federal troops found it filled with rifle pits, earth works, and redoubts. At once they were met with a steady and incessant fire, which continued nearly all day, and at times almost reached the magnitude of a battle. This is sometimes called the second battle of Fair Oaks, and was the prelude of the Seven Days' battles.

The extreme right of the Union line, under command of General Porter, lay near Mechanicsville, on the Upper Chickahominy. It was strongly entrenched and was almost impregnable to an attack from the front. Before sunrise, June 26th, the Confederates were at the Chickahominy bridge awaiting the arrival of Jackson, but for once Jackson was behind time. The morning hours came and went. Noon came and Jackson had not arrived. About the middle of the afternoon, General A. P. Hill, growing impatient, crossed the river at Meadow bridge, and at Mechanicsville was joined by the divisions of Longstreet and D. H. Hill. Driving the Union outpost to cover, the Confederates swept across the low approach to Beaver Dam Creek through a murderous fire from the batteries on the cliff, but were finally repulsed with severe loss. Later in the afternoon relief was sent Hill, who again attempted to force the Union position at Ellerson's Mill. From across the open fields, and in full view of the defenders of the cliff, the Confederates moved down the slope in full range of the Federal batteries, but the fire was reserved by the Federals. As the approaching columns reached the stream the shells came screaming through the air from every waiting field-piece. Volley after volley of musketry was poured into the ranks of the Southerners. The hillside was soon covered by the victims of the gallant charge. As darkness hovered over them there were no signs of the cessation of the combat. It was nine o'clock when Hill finally drew back his shattered forces to await the coming of the morning. The Forty-fourth Georgia regiment suffered the loss of all of its officers, and thereby was unable to re-form its broken ranks. Both armies now prepared for another day of conflict.