"A musket or another gun which General Porter in line of battle near Gaines's Mill. Then at the could bring into the field. And now the rebel pas de charge, with loud cheers, while a smotherreserves, nearly twenty thousand strong, freshing storm of balls and shells were poured upon and unbroken, are moving up upon our flank them, they rushed upon the exultant rebels. and rear. It is an awful moment. Our troops Both the rebel infantry and artillery were driven are worn out, their ammunition nearly exhaust- back before them. The reinforcements having ed, and the multitudinous foe are about to sur- gained the crests of the hill made a stand, and round them, cutting off all possibility of retreat. the retreating troops rallied in their rear. There is a little disorder on the left wing. Some Federal brigade,” writes a rebel General, “comregiments break and retreat. The disorder manded by Meagher, and consisting chiefly of spreads toward the centre. There is no panic, Irishmen, offered the most heroic resistance. no wild, tumultuous flight. But the intelligent | After a severe struggle our men gave way, and Northern soldiers perceive the hopelessness of retired in great disorder. At this critical mocontinuing the struggle where they are, against ment, foaming at his mouth with rage, and withsuch vast inequality of numbers, and they per- out his hat, General Cobb hastened up sword in ceive also the folly of allowing themselves to be hand, with his legion and renewed the attack. surrounded. Shouldering their muskets, and But the efforts of these troops were in vain. The disdaining to run, they sullenly retire. The brave Irishmen held their ground with a determFrench Princes-the Comte de Paris and the ination which excited the admiration even of Duc de Chartres-who had nobly drawn their our own officers."* swords to aid us in maintaining that republican liberty which France assisted us in establishing, threw themselves into the thickest of the peril to prevent the retreat from being converted into The rebels were advancing, assured of perfect victory, and in majestic strength. a rout. "Then," writes the Prince de Joinville, "came the order for the cavalry to charge. I happened at this moment to be near its position. I saw the troopers draw their swords with the sudden and electrical impulse of determination and devotion. As they got into motion I asked a young officer the name of his regiment. The Fifth Cavalry,' he replied, brandishing his sabre with a soldier's pride in his regiment. Unfortunate young man! I saw the same regiment the next day. From the charge of that evening but two officers had returned. He was not one of them." The patriot charge failed, and the broken squadrons, leaving the ground covered with their slain, were driven back in disorder. There were two batteries alone now left to check the onward sweep of this great billow of war. The gunners continued to load and fire with the utmost rapidity at point-blank range, opening immense gaps at every discharge in the rebel lines. But the foe advanced with courage which even the patriot troops were compelled to respect, notwithstanding the infamy of the rebel cause. The Union artillery horses had all been shot down; the guns were surrounded with the wounded and the dead. The surviving gunners, in the fading twilight, abandoned their pieces and fled. All these guns, twenty-two in number, were lost. About 5 o'clock General M'Clellan had directed General Sumner, whose corps was at Fair Oaks, to send two brigades to the aid of General Porter, then so sorely pressed. French's and Meagher's were instantly put on the march for the battle-field about five miles distant. They moved at the double-quick. General French, in virtue of seniority, commanded. They met the troops of Porter sternly retiring before the foe. Forcing their way through the dense and broken mass, they ascended a hill and deployed The rebels, like ocean billows, in incessant thundering surges, dashed vainly against the patriots. Eight o'clock came. The gloom of night was now at hand. The rebels had been effectually repulsed at every point along the line except the extreme left. Here the battle was still raging with the utmost desperation. French's and Meagher's brigades had effectually stemmed the rush of the foe, and now with but six thousand men firmly held the front, while the patriot troops, who were utterly exhausted by the long battle, threw themselves upon the ground to rest, a mile in the rear of their heroic guardians. A rebel 'colonel thus describes the close of this eventful day: "It is due to our opponents to admit that they sustained the shock of our incessant attacks with undaunted bravery. Although some of their brigades had been fighting from 4 o'clock, A.M.," to 8 o'clock, P.M., they had continued to stand firm, and it was only when they found, at the last-named hour, Jackson was about to attack them in the rear, that they abandoned their positions. Although their loss must have been severe, they retired in good order, with drums beating and colors flying,, taking their slightly wounded and their baggage along with them. When hotly pressed in pursuit by Davis's and Wickham's cavalry regiments, they faced round and repulsed them."t It was now night-a night of awful gloom. The second day's battle-the battle of Gaines's Mill-had ended, and silence succeeded the thunders of war which all the day had shaken the hills. Even the darkness could not conceal the harrowing spectacle of death's ravages. The dead lay upon the field in extended windrows. The wounded were to be counted by thousands. Their heart-rending cries and groans were audible on all sides. "In by-gone days," writes Colonel Estvan, "I had been on many a battle-field in Italy and Hungary; but I confess that I never witnessed so * War Pictures, by B. Estvån, Colonel of Cavalry in the Confederate Army, p. 315. War Pictures, by B. Estvan, p. 315. Through all the hours of this dreadful night hurry, confusion, and consternation seemed to pitiable a picture of human slaughter and horri-| ble suffering."* It is impossible to ascertain exactly the num-reign every where. At Fair Oaks and Savage Station every house and barn and shed were. filled with the wounded, and even the open fields were covered with them, as they were continually brought in, in numbers which seemed to have. no end. bers lost in this severe conflict, owing to the series of battles which followed in such swift succession. During the battle General M‘Clellan had his head-quarters at Savage's Station, on the railroad, south of the Chickahominy about five miles from the scene of conflict. It was The night after the battle General M'Clellan known that night that Jackson was in our rear, telegraphed the Secretary of War that he did not and, sweeping down the Pamunky, would in a consider himself responsible for the result, as few hours cut us off from our base of supplies at the Government had not furnished him with the White House. All the night long broken squad-reinforcements he had so repeatedly demanded. rons of troops, dusty and wounded officers, and To this the President replied: ambulances, laden with the torn and the dying, were arriving at the station, adding to the gloom and the consternation there. All could see that a fearful disaster had befallen the army, that the troops were on a rapid midnight retreat. And yet none but the leading officers knew any thing of the plans proposed to meet the dire exigency. Groups were collected with anxious faces discussing our probable doom. There seemed to be no hope for the salvation of the It seems that even at this late hour Generarmy. We were cut off from our supplies. The al M‘Clellan had not fully decided upon what enemy, exultant, were everywhere. We were in course to pursue. General Heintzelman testified rapid and disordered retreat, in no condition to before the Congressional Committee that the do any thing but simply to attempt to ward off night after the battle he was sent for by General the blows which were falling thickly and heavi- M'Clellan. He found every thing packed ready ly upon us. To add to the appalling prospect, to leave. General M'Clellan said that there we were encumbered with many thousands of were two things to be done. One was, to consick and wounded men, whom it would be im-centrate his forces and risk all on a battle. The possible thus hastily to remove. "On the 27th, the battle of Gaines's Mill was fought, principally by the troops under General Porter. Our forces there engaged were from 27,000 to 30,000; the force of the enemy being from two to three times that number. The enemy were in such superior force that, although our troops fought with exceeding bravery, they were driven back with a loss of about 9000 men in killed, wounded, and missing. "General M'Clellan was questioned as to the policy of leaving the right wing, consisting of only about 30,000 men to meet the attack of the superior force of the enemy, instead of withdrawing it to the right bank of the Chickahominy, before the battle of Gaines's Mill. His testimony on that point is as follows: "Question. Whatever might have been the intentions of the enemy, as the attack was to have been made by him, would it not have been better to have placed both wings of our army on the same side of the Chickahominy prior to "If you have had a drawn battle, or a repulse, it is the price we pay for the enemy not being in Washington. We protected Washington and the enemy concentrated on you. Had we stripped Washington, he would have been upon us before the troops could have got to you. Save your army at all events. Will send reinforcements as fast as we can. Of course they can not reach you to-day, to-morrow or next day." other was, to withdraw to the James River. He stated at the same time the obvious fact, that should he risk a battle where he then was, and should he be beaten, his army would be utterly destroyed. General Heintzelman urged, that, under such circumstances, a battle should not be risked; that if that army were lost the cause would be lost; and that it were better to retire to the James River, and there wait for reinforcements. General M Clellan replied, that those views were in accordance with his own, and an energetic retreat was immediately decided upon. At midnight General Porter communicated to General French the order that his whole division was immediately to cross the Chickahominy on its march to the James River, and that General French was to remain behind to hold the enemy at bay until every man had passed the bridge. General French, with his gallant rear-guard, was then to cross over and destroy the bridges behind him.. At the dead hour of night the weary soldiers were roused from their "Question. What advantage was gained by leaving the slumbers for a march of twenty miles, while purright wing of our army to be attacked by a greatly supe-sued and cannonaded by a triumphant foe. Ev the battle of Gaines's Mill? "Answer. I do not think that they ought to have been brought to the same side of the river before they actually were. rior force? "Answer. It prevented the enemy from getting on our flank and rear, and in my opinion, enabled us to withdraw the army and its material. "Question. Will you explain what was done by the right wing of our army, at or about the time the left was engaged, which saved our flank from attack, and enabled the army and its material to be withdrawn? "Answer. By desperate fighting they inflicted so great a loss upon the enemy as to check his movement on the left bank of the river, and gave us time to get our material out of the way." †The Peninsula Campaign. Rev. J. J. Marks, D.D. cry one was in immediate motion. The bridges were crowded hour after hour by the vast mass of men, horses, and wagons of the retreating army. By daylight the next morning all had crossed, and the bridges were destroyed. The dead and many of the wounded were left behind. The rebel soldiers wandered over the gory field rifling the pockets of the slain. One rebel boasted that he thus obtained one hundred and fifty dollars in gold. Another collected in bank bills five hundred, and another one thousand dollars. Twenty-two guns, as we have above mentioned, a large number of small-arms, and a considerable amount of clothing were also abandoned in the retreat. The rebels, with their usual exaggeration, claimed the capture of fifteen thousand stand of arms. The retreat, during Friday night, was pushed with the utmost vigor. The train of five thousand wagons, the ponderous siege guns, a herd of twenty-five thousand cattle, and the long, dense lines of the majestic army, pressed forward to seek the protection of the gun-boats on the James River, in an indescribable scene of haste, tumult, and confusion. At length the sun of Saturday morning, June 28, rose over this scene of disaster and ruin. Not the report of a gun was to be heard. The rebels were looking for the retreat of our army toward the Pamunky, and not toward the James River. General Stoneman, with his cavalry, was sent to delude them into this belief, which he accomplished admirably. The bridges across the Chickahominy were destroyed, and it required some time for the rebels to rebuild them. Thus twelve hours were obtained for marching FAIR OAK STATION. toward our new base, almost without molesta- | the sufferers. The draft upon the nervous systion. About ten o'clock all communications tem of the surgeon performing a constant series with White House were cut off, the rebels having obtained possession of the line. More than two thousand of the sick and wounded, in an awful state of suffering, were at Savage's Station and its immediate vicinity, terror-stricken in view of the prospect of being abandoned to the foe, whose barbaric treatment they dreaded more than death. Their cries for water, for food, for blankets, for the dressing of their wounds were piteous. The number of surgeons was entirely inadequate to the wants of of capital operations, in the midst of such scenes of misery, is so great that ere long he sinks under prostration which paralyzes every vital power and even endangers life. The most humane man, blest with the strongest nerves, after for a time breathing the poisoned atmosphere of festering wounds, gazing upon the most ghastly sights, and hearing shrieks from the sufferers which pierce the heart, is absolutely compelled to shut his eyes to the misery, and to turn a deaf ear to the most imploring cries for aid. advising the nurses, and speaking words of cheer to the wounded and the dying." The scene of misery and death in the rebel | a night of quiet sleep. And while others becamp must even have surpassed that in our own. came impatient, and had to escape from those As the rebels marched up to our intrenchments scenes to seek repose, he, operating for hours at the slaughter which swept their ranks was awful. a time, found relaxation and refreshment in The battle was fought within six miles of Rich-going from tent to tent, counseling the surgeons, mond. The rebel Colonel Estvan took into the city sixty vehicles containing two hundred of the most severely wounded men. Every hospital was then found crowded, and either from inefficiency or despair no suitable provision could be found for these poor sufferers. At last they were turned into an old shed which had been used for storing tobacco. Colonel Estvan indignantly writes: "A sad hole it was for such a purpose; an open warehouse, unprovided with doors or windows, and with merely a few planks to serve for beds for the dying soldiers. On this memorable day our brave fellows had to endure every thing -hunger, thirst, and heat, besides facing death in its most fearful forms. And now, wounded at the very threshold of the dwellings of their own friends, whose rights and property they had been fighting for, we beheld them left to die uncared for in an open shed. And yet this city numbered as many as 40,000 inhabitants. It contained, moreover, many churches, admirably adapted for hospitals on such emergencies, and was well provided with clergy. Yet no church door was opened; no minister of religion came forward to soothe the last moments. of the dying soldier. With mixed feelings of sadness and indignation I gave the order to place the wounded men inside the wretched building, and having bestowed a parting look on the ill-caredfor sufferers, I mounted my horse and hastened back to rejoin my regiment." General M'Clellan kept his purposes unrevealed except to his prominent officers. Thus the great mass of the sub-officers and privates, spread, as we have said, along a line twenty miles in extent, could see all around them the indications of disaster and confusion, yet they knew not what it all meant, and could only guess respecting the movements which were now on foot. At Savage's Station there was a small cluster of houses, all of which were filled with the wounded. There were also pitched there three hundred hospital tents. Each of these tents contained about twenty men. One nurse was assigned to three tents. The tents were arranged in streets. Each surgeon had his ward, which contained about one hundred and fifty patients. The following testimony is rendered to the services of Dr. John Swinburne, of Albany, by Rev. J. J. Marks: "Of this man I can not speak in terms of too high praise. He was thoughtless of himself, forgetful even of the wants of nature, untiring in his labors, uniting to the highest courage of man the tenderness of a woman and the gentleness of a child. In that terrible hour, when other surgeons were worn-out and exhausted, no labor appeared to diminish his vigor. After days of toil and nights of sleeplessness, he was as fresh and earnest as though he had stepped forth from To some of the sufferers death was coming every hour. They were immediately wrapped in their blankets, placed upon stretchers, and borne away to a little distance, when they were let down gently into a shallow grave, and their over-coats were spread upon them. If a chaplain could be present a short prayer was offered, and then a few shovelfulls of sand were thrown over them, and dust was left to return to dust. All the day of Saturday the regiments of the right wing of the National army were marching rapidly by Savage's Station, taking the Williamsburg road toward the James River. Frequent scouts were sent out to give warning of any approach of the enemy. The road led through a region of impenetrable swamps and forests, where it would be very easy to entrap an army into ambuscades. The negroes, always our fast friends, lent us invaluable aid in these emergencies. They were our only guides. The country had not been explored by our cavalry, and our retreating troops struggled through these entangling mazes led only by the ignorant but faithful contrabands. The most vigorous preparations had been made at White House to save as much of the property there as possible, by placing it on board transports and floating it down the stream to Fortress Monroe. The contrabands were in great terror lest they should be abandoned to their merciless masters. They were all taken, with their wives and children, in canal boats out into the stream. Every thing which could not be removed was committed to the flames. About seven o'clock Saturday evening the rebels arrived at White House, and found the post deserted, and nothing left but smouldering ruins. "We had scarcely passed the White House," says Colonel Estvan, "when our attention was attracted by a dense column of smoke, apparently rising from the forest. Approaching cautiously in that direction, we discovered a huge burning pyramid. The Federal general had ordered every thing that could not be taken away to be piled up and burned. Property to the amount of millions of dollars was thus consigned to the flames that it might not fall into the hands of the victors. Our men rushed to the burning pile in order to save all they could from the flames. Hundreds of casks of preserved meats, coffee, sugar, rice, wine, including even Champagne and similar delicacies, with which the Federal army was amply provided, and of which we Southerners scarcely knew the names, were here piled up for destruction. But the enemy had done their work so skillfully that our poor fellows managed to get but little out of the fire. Fortunately, however, the whole place was strewed with serviceable cloth cloaks, which proved most useful to our ill-clad troops." |