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SECOND PERIOD.

PART I.

THE MOVEMENT TO THE PENINSULA.

THE Council, composed of four corps commanders, organized by the President of the United States, at its meeting on the 13th March, adopted Fort Monroe as the base of operations for the movement of the army of the Potomac upon Richmond.

For the prompt and successful execution of the projected operation, it was regarded by all as necessary that the whole of the four corps should be employed, with at least the addition of ten thousand men drawn from the forces in the vicinity of Fortress Monroe: that position and its dependencies being regarded as amply protected by the naval force in its neighborhood, and the advance of the main army up the Peninsula, so that it could be safely left with a small garrison.

In addition to the land forces, the cooperation of the navy was desired in the projected attack upon the batteries at Yorktown and Gloucester, as well as in controlling the York and James Rivers for the protection of our flanks, and the use of transports, bringing supplies to the army. With these expectations, and for reasons stated elsewhere in this report, my original plan of moving by Urbana and West Point was abandoned, and the line with Fort Monroe as a base adopted. In the arrangements for the transportation of the army to the Peninsula by water, the vessels were originally ordered to rendezvous mainly at Annapolis, but upon the evacuation of Manassas and the batteries of the lower Potomac by the enemy, it became more convenient to embark the troops and

material at Alexandria, and orders to that effect were at once given.

In making the preliminary arrangements for the movement, it was determined that the 1st Corps (Gen. McDowell's) should move as a unit, first, and effect a landing either at the SandBox, some four miles south of Yorktown, in order to turn all the enemy's defenses at Ship Point, Howard's Bridge, Big Bethel, etc., or else, should existing circumstances render it preferable, land on the Gloucester side of York River, and move on West Point.

The transports, however, arrived slowly and few at a time. In order, therefore, to expedite matters, I decided to embark the army by divisions as transports arrived, keeping army corps together as much as possible, and to collect the troops at Fort Monroe. In determining the order of embarkation, convenience and expedition were especially consulted, except that the 1st Corps was to be embarked last, as I intended to move it in mass to its point of disembarkation, and to land it on either bank of the York, as might then be determined.

On the 17th of March, Hamilton's division of the 3d corps embarked at Alexandria, and proceeded to Fort Monroe, with the following orders:

GEN. C. S. HAMILTON,
Comd'g Division,-

WASHINGTON, D. C., March 17, 1862.

You will, on your arrival at Fort Monroe, report to Gen. Wool, and request him to assign you ground for encamping your division. You will remain at Fort Monroe until further orders from Gen. McClellan. Should Gen. Wool require the services of your division in repelling an attack, you will please obey his orders, and use every effort to carry out his views. R. B. MARCY, Chief-of-Staff.

On the 22d of March, as soon as transportation was ready, Gen. Fitz John Porter's division of the same corps embarked. Gen. Heintzelman was ordered to accompany it, under the following instructions:

HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
SEMINARY, March 22, 1862.

BRIG.-GEN. S. P. HEINTZELMAN,

Comd'g 3d Corps,

GENERAL,-Upon the disembarkation of Porter's division at Fort Monroe, I have to request that you will move your two divisions (Porter's and Hamilton's) some three or four miles out from the fort, to find good camping places where wood and water can be readily obtained, and where your position will be good in a defensive point of view. You may find it advisable to place one division on or near the road leading to Yorktown from Newport News, the other upon that leading to Yorktown direct from Fort Monroe.

If you find that the nature of the country will permit easy communication and mutual support between the two divisions, it will be best to place one on each road. It will be best to remain pretty near the fort for the present, in order to give the impression that our object is to attack Norfolk rather than Yorktown. You will do well, however, to push strong reconnoissances well to the front, to ascertain the position of the enemy and his pickets. I will, as soon as possible, reinforce you by the 3d division of your corps, and it is probable that a part or the whole of the 4th Corps will also move from Fort Monroe: this will probably be determined before your disembarkation is completed, and you will be informed accordingly.

My desire would be to make no important move in advance until you are fully prepared to follow it up, and give the enemy no time to recover.

The quarter-masters of your corps will receive detailed instructions, in regard to land transportation, from General Van Vliet.

It will be advisable to mobilize your corps with the least possible delay, and have it prepared for an advance. I have directed extra clothing, ammunition, etc., to be sent to Fort Monroe, so that all deficiencies may be supplied without delay.

Please report to me frequently and fully the condition of things on the new field of operations, and whatever intelligence you gain as to the enemy.

Engage guides in sufficient numbers at once, and endeavor to send out spies.

I am very truly yours,

GEO. B. MCCLELLAN,

Maj.-Gen. Comd'g.

The remaining divisions embarked as rapidly as transports could be supplied.

On the 1st of April I embarked, with the head-quarters on the steamer Commodore, and reached Fort Monroe on the afternoon of the 2d.

In consequence of the delay in the arrival of the horse transports at Alexandria, but a small portion of the cavalry had arrived, and the artillery reserve had not yet completed its disembarkation.

I found there the 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry, and the 5th Regular Cavalry; the 2d Regular Cavalry and a portion of the 1st had arrived, but not disembarked: so few wagons had arrived that it was not possible to move Casey's division at all for several days, while the other divisions were obliged to move with scant supplies.

As to the force and position of the enemy, the information then in our possession was vague and untrustworthy. Much of it was obtained from the staff-officers of General Wool, and was simply to the effect that Yorktown was surrounded by a continuous line of earth-works, with strong water batteries on the York River, and garrisoned by not less than 15,000 troops, under the command of General J. B. Magruder. Maps which had been prepared by the Topographical Engineers under General Wool's command were furnished me, in which, the Warwick River was represented as flowing parallel to, but not crossing the road from Newport News to Williamsburg, making the so-called Mulberry Island a real island; and we had no information as to the true course of the Warwick across the Peninsula, nor of the formidable line of works which it covered.*

* The dotted line on the accompanying map shows the line of the Warwick River, as laid down on the maps referred to.

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