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FIGHT NEAR MECHANICSVILLE.

MARTINDALE

UNION
REBEL

153

corps, summoned from the Val- | McClellan, and had never till now ley, to not far from 70,000 men. In been in action, were strongly posted order to mask this concentration, on advantageous ground, supported Whiting's division, consisting of by Morell's division and Sykes's Hood's Texas brigade and his own, regulars, the whole forming Fitz-John had been sent off from Richmond to Porter's corps of about 27,000 men. Jackson; to whom also the brigade of Lawton had been ordered up from the South. When all things were ripe, Jackson moved, by order, rapidly and secretly from the Valley to Ashland, facing our extreme right, whence he was directed to advance" so as to flank our right, holding Mechanicsville. Moving on at 3 next morning," he was directed to connect with Gen. Branch, immediately south of the Chickahominy, who was to cross that stream and advance on Mechanicsville; while Gen. A. P. Hill, lower down, was to cross near Meadow Bridge so soon as Branch's movement was discovered, and move directly upon Mechanicsville, where

on the Rebel batteries on the south-
ern bluffs of the Chickahominy were to
open; Longstreet's division following
in
support of Hill, while D. H. Hill's in
like manner supported Jackson; thus
only Huger's and Magruder's divisions
were left in front of our left and cen-
ter, immediately before Richmond.

Jackson was unable to reach Ashland quite so soon as had been anticipated; so that A. P. Hill did not cross the stream to attack us till 3 P. M." His advance had been discovered three hours before; so that our pickets were called in before it, and the regiment and battery holding Mechanicsville fell back, fighting, on a strong position across Beaver Dam creek. Here Gen. McCall's Pennsylvania Reserves, which had recently been sent down to reenforce

22 June 25.

MECHANICSVILLE

ELLISON'S

REYNOLDS

MILL

CATLIN

CHICKAHOMI

BEAVER DAM

SEYMOUR

MILES

MECHANICSVILLE

CRIFFIN

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HUDSON

MEADE

Advancing rapidly and resolutely, in the face of a destructive fire, which they could not effectively return, the leading brigades of A. P. Hill's, and ultimately of D. H. Hill's and Longstreet's divisions, attacked our position and attempted to turn our left, but were repulsed with fearful carnage. Jackson being vainly expected to arrive and assail our right, it was not turned; and night fell on a decided and animating success of our mainly green soldiers, though the fighting did not cease till after dark, and the Rebels remained in force not far from our front. Our total loss in

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this affair had been less than 400; | must have done under the correct while that of the Rebels must have impression that they were about to been many times larger; and when, be overwhelmingly assailed in front near the close of the battle, fresh by the Hills and Longstreet, and in troops came up to relieve the exult- flank by the yet fresh division of ing Reserves, they refused to give Jackson. In other words, it was place, but, replenishing their ammu- now plain that the Rebel chiefs had nition, lay down on their arms to resolved to precipitate the bulk of await the encounter of the morrow. their force on our right wing, crushing it back on our center by the sheer momentum of their columns.

Before daylight," however, an order from Gen. McClellan (who had learned, meantime, that Jackson was approaching) directed the evacuation of their strong position, and a retreat to GAINES'S MILL-an order easy of execution had it arrived three or four hours earlier, but very difficult now, as the Rebel attack was renewed a few minutes afterward. The Rebels were repulsed, however, though our men were retiring at the time; Meade's, Griffin's, Reynolds's, and Morell's commands moving steadily off the field as if on parade; our dead all buried, our wounded and arms brought away, with the loss of no caisson, hardly of a musket, by a little after 7 A. M.; leaving the Rebels unaware for the moment that there was no longer an enemy before them. Before noon, each regiment and battery had taken up the new position assigned it, at Gaines's Mill, and was ready to receive the now eagerly advancing Rebels. Meantime, our trains and siege-guns had, by order, been sent off across the Chickahominy during the night.

Gen. McClellan had been" with Fitz-John Porter, behind the Mechanicsville defenses, at 10 P. M.-an hour after the triumphant and sanguinary repulse of their assailants. Four hours later, he sent orders for their prompt evacuation. This he

25 June 27.

This striking a great army on one end, and rolling it up on itself in inextricable confusion, carnage, and rout, is no novelty in warfare. The Allied Emperors tried it on Napoleon at Austerlitz; our strategists attempted it on the Rebels at first Bull Run. It is a critical manœuver; but likely to succeed, provided your antagonist passively awaits its consummation. ("Hunting the tiger, gentlemen," explained the returned East Indian to his associates at the United Service Club, "is capital sport-capitalunless the tiger turns to hunt you; when it becomes rather too exciting.")

Gen. McClellan, as usual, believed the Rebels were assailing or threatening him with twice as many men as they had, supposing them to have 175,000 to 200,000 troops in his front; when they never, from the beginning to the end of the war, had so many as 100,000 effectives concentrated in a single army, or within a day's march. Even had he been outnumbered, as he supposed, by a Rebel force on either flank nearly or quite equal to his whole army, he should have quietly and rapidly concentrated, and struck one of those assailants before it could be supported by the other. Had he chosen thus to rush upon Richmond, on the morning

26 June 26.

BATTLE OF GAINES'S MILL.

155

of the 26th, directing Porter to make | had been ordered to make a feint on our left, had perceived the necessity of converting that feint into a determined attack; but, before his dispositions had been completed, Jackson arrived and formed his division on Longstreet's left; while D. H. Hill, on the extreme Rebel left, had forced his way through a swamp and some abatis, driving out our skirmishers; and now Ewell came into action on Jackson's right, and two of Jackson's brigades were sent to the relief of A. P. Hill, who was being worsted. Lee's whole force being thus brought into action, a general advance from left to right was ordered and made, under a terrific fire of cannon and musketry from both sides.

as imposing a demonstration and detain the enemy as long as he could, then to withdraw across the Chickahominy with the least possible loss, burn the bridges, and defend the passage till night-fall, he might have gone right over the 25,000 Rebels between him and Richmond, taken that city, and then turned in overwhelming force on the 50,000 Rebels in his rear, pressing Porter. But, deceived and faint-hearted, he stood perplexed and hesitating between the real and overwhelming attack on his right and the imposing but hollow succession of feints and alarms on his left, letting two-thirds of Lee's entire force crush one third of his own, while 60,000 good men and true stood idle between the Chickahominy and Richmond, watching and guarding against 25,000 Rebels. Only Slocum's division of Sumner's corps was seasonably sent to the aid of Porter, raising his total force to barely 35,000 men, who were to resist the desperate efforts of 50,000 Rebels, directed by Lee, and led on to assault our position by Longstreet, the Hills, Stonewall Jackson, and Ewell.

Though the Rebels had quickly discerned and sharply pursued our withdrawal from the Mechanicsville defenses, arriving in front of our new position soon after noon," it was 2 P. M. before A. P. Hill, who had been awaiting Jackson's arrival, advanced and opened the battle. The Rebels were received with heroic bravery by Sykes's regulars, who confronted them, by whose fire they were staggered and temporarily repulsed. Meantime, Longstreet, who

Porter had a strong position, on ground rising gradually from the ravine of an inconsiderable stream, screened in part by trees and underbrush, with Morell's and Sykes's divisions in front, and McCall's forming a second line behind them; and his cavalry, under P. St. George Cooke, in the valley of the Chickahominy, watching for a Rebel advance in that quarter. The siegeguns of Porter's corps, which had been withdrawn across the Chickahominy during the night, were planted in battery on the right bank of that stream, so as to check the advance of the Rebel right, and prevent their turning our left. Porter was unaccountably in want of axes, wherewith to cover his front and right with abatis; his request for them to Gen. Barnard not reaching McClellan till too late. When he next called, they were furnished, but without helves; and, while these were being supplied, the opportunity for using axes was

27 June 27.

lost. His first call on McClellan for | pressed front. So urgent and instant rëenforcements likewise miscarried. was the pressure, that Slocum's diviHis next was made at 2 P. M.; when sion had to be divided and sent by Slocum's division, of the 6th corps, brigades, and even regiments, to the was ordered to his support, arriving points where the need of aid seemed on the field at 3:30, after our position greatest; Bartlett's brigade going to had been assailed in force at every the help of Sykes on our right, while point, and after McCall's division had a portion of Newton's was sent in been ordered up to support our sorely between Morell and Sykes.

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PORTER DEFEATED AT GAINES'S MILL.

lost little ground, telegraphed again to McClellan that his position was critical, when French's and Meagher's brigades of the 21 corps were ordered to cross to his support. They moved promptly and rapidly; but, before they could reach the field, the Rebels, rallying all their forces, just at sunset, for a last desperate effort, had stormed our intrenchments both on the left and on the right, and driven back their defenders with mutual carnage, capturing several of

our guns.

Porter, seeing his infantry beaten, now called into action all his reserved and remaining artillery, and thus bringing at once about 80 guns into action, was covering the retreat of his infantry and dealing fearful retribution on their assailants, whose advance was suddenly checked; when Gen. Cooke, without orders, undertook to charge, with a battalion of cavalry, the right flank of the Rebels advancing on our left, and still covered in good part by woods. This charge being met by a withering fire of musketry, amidst the roar of a hundred belching cannon, resulted in instant rout: the frightened horses, whether with or without the consent of their riders, wheeling abruptly and crashing through our batteries; leading our gunners to suppose, for

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157

to the front. Rallying behind these two fresh brigades, our wearied, decimated regiments advanced up the hill down which they had recently been driven, ready to meet a fresh attack, had one been attempted. But the enemy, perceiving that they were confronted by fresh combatants, and not knowing our force, halted for the night on the field they had so hardly won.

During that night, our forces were by order withdrawn, unmolested, across the Chickahominy, losing three guns, that were run off a bridge into the stream, in addition to 19 that they had left on the battle-field.

Our loss in this action, though not specifically reported, probably exceeded 6,000 killed and wounded: among the former were Cols. Samuel W. Black, 62d Pa., McLean, of the 83d, Gove, of the 22d Mass., Maj. N. B. Rossell, 3d regular infantry, and many other brave and valuable officers. The 11th Pennsylvania Reserves, Col. Gallagher, and 4th N. J., Col. Simpson, while enveloped in the smoke of battle, having too long maintained their position in the farthest front, found themselves at last completely enveloped by overwhelming forces of the enemy, and compelled to surrender; and Gen. John F. Reynolds, of the 1st brigade of Reserves, with his Adjutant, Capt. Charles Kingsbury, were taken prisoners just at dark, riding into a Rebel regiment, which they supposed to be one of their own. Altogether, our losses in this desperate action were hardly less than 8,000 men; those of the Rebels being probably about two-thirds as many."

wounded, and 24 missing: total, 3,284. The other division and corps commanders make no

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