CHAPTER XVII. CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN VIRGINIA. THE weather during the first weeks of the siege of Yorktown had been cold and wet, and the Federal army, although well fed and clothed and, owing to their numbers, not hardly worked, suffered from its inclemency. General M'Clellan, when the three corps d'armée which still remained under his command had arrived in the lines before Yorktown, had in the field a force of nearly 90,000 infantry, 55 batteries of artillery (making a total of 330 field-guns), and about 10,000 cavalry, besides a siege-train of 103 guns.* The troops were bivouacked in the forests which covered the country between the James and York Rivers, and quickly constructed for themselves huts out of the timber. engineer depôts were established in two deserted Confederate forts near Cheeseman's Creek, on the York River, and the siege-train was landed near the same point, about a mile and a half from what was to become the first parallel. The few remaining inhabitants of this quiet and usually almost-deserted part of Virginia saw with dismay and amazement the arrival of this great force. Their fences were pulled down to serve as corduroy for the roads, and their oyster-beds, The * This force does not include the garrison of Fortress Monroe, of about 10,000 men. from which in peaceful times they supplied the markets of Baltimore and New York, became a source of sustenance and amusement for the Federal troops. The ablebodied men were serving in the Confederate army, and only the old and the women remained. These were unmolested by the soldiers, who were well-behaved and orderly. The vast number of steamers and sailingvessels requisite for the supply of so large an army were moved up from Fortress Monroe to Shipping Point, in order as far as might be possible to shorten the distance of land transport, which was greater even than would be required for an European army, as the Federal volunteers were accustomed to and expected better rations and greater comforts than are usually supplied to regular troops. Their opponents, if in some ways they benefited by the wet weather, inasmuch as it delayed the siege operations, yet suffered from the hardships that it entailed. Few in numbers, the duty of guarding the trenches and furnishing the outpickets fell heavily on them. They were continually harassed by the fire of the enemy's artillery, and for rations had neither coffee, sugar, nor hard bread, but subsisted on flour and salt-meat. Animated by the hope of relief from the Confederate army of the Potomac, they held their lines, and no murmurs were heard on account of the hardships they endured.* The Federal army, whilst it felt the whole line of the enemy's works, prepared for an attack on their lefti.e. on the town, or rather village, of Yorktown. In front of Yorktown General Heintzelman's corps were encamped, of which the advanced division had at first pitched their tents within easy range of the enemy's General Magruder's report. batteries, but were subsequently forced to retire by their fire. Next to General Heintzelman was General Sumner's corps, and on the left that of General Keyes. Between the several corps and divisions good roads were constructed and lines of telegraphic wire laid down. The head-quarters camp was pitched at the distance of about a mile and three-quarters from the enemy's works, in front of a large grove of trees, and very near a farmhouse, said to mark the site of General Lafayette's head-quarters during the former siege of Yorktown when it was held by the English. The Confederates, either unaware of the vicinity of the head-quarters or unwilling to expend ammunition, refrained from shelling the camp, although it was within easy range of their batteries. After carefully reconnoitring General Magruder's position, General M'Clellan decided that Dam No. 1 on Lee's Mills was the weakest point in the line, and on April 16 ordered General Smith to force a passage across the stream (Warwick Creek) at that point. On the side. of the stream occupied by the Federal pickets a cleared space of ground, extending from the woods to the bank, sloped gradually down to the water. On the Confederate side the ground was lower, and covered almost to the water's edge by thick forest. The action commenced by a fire of artillery, the Federals bringing eighteen pieces of artillery to play on the slight earthworks, or rather trenches, which the Confederate pickets had raised to obtain cover. On their side only three guns were in position; two only were employed in the action, as the nature of the ground precluded the use of the other gun. About 3.30 P.M. a Vermont regiment was ordered to advance and cross the stream. This they did with great gallantry. The water was deeper than had been anticipated, and the pouches of the men became wet. However, they continued to advance, and succeeded in obtaining possession of a line of riflepits usually occupied by the 15th North Carolina Regiment. That regiment, aided by the 16th Georgia, attacked them, and endeavoured to drive them back; but Colonel M'Kinney of the 15th North Carolinas fell, and the two regiments were forced to retire. The supports, under Colonel Anderson and General Cobb, were brought up and gallantly led forward, General Cobb especially distinguishing himself; whilst the whole of the second division, under General M'Laws, acting by express orders from General Magruder, were hastened forward. General Magruder felt the importance of holding the position, as, should his line have been broken at that point, the wings of the army would have been separated, and he would probably have been forced to give up his system of defence. The supports, advancing rapidly through the woods, sprang into the riflepits, and drove back the Vermont regiments,* which had been left almost unsupported to sustain the attack; they retired, and many were killed and wounded in recrossing the stream. General M'Clellan in person witnessed the last incidents of the action. The loss was greater on the side of the Federals than on that of the Confederates, as the latter were covered by the forest, and also, when they had regained them, by the riflepits. The Vermont regiments behaved well, but it appears strange that no arrangements had been made for reinforcing them after their passage across the stream. General Smith, after the engagement, en * Other Vermont regiments or companies had been sent across to sustain the first regiment that attacked, but it does not appear that these regiments were properly supported. trenched himself in a position immediately overlooking the dam and the enemy's works, in order, to use General M'Clellan's own words, 'to keep them under control, and prevent the enemy using the dam as a means of crossing the Warwick to annoy us.' This was but a poor result of an aggressive movement on the part of an army far superior in numbers to their opponents. About this time reinforcements were constantly arriving for General Magruder's army, and all idea of breaking the Confederate lines otherwise than by the operations of a regular siege was abandoned. In the meanwhile, about the end of April, General Franklin's division, which had formed part of General M'Dowell's corps, arrived at Shipping Point: it consisted of about 10,000 men, and was one of the best organised and disciplined divisions of the army, having been formed more especially under the eye of General M'Clellan. It was at one time supposed that this division would be sent to Gloucester Point, in order to do the work that had been assigned to General M'Dowell's corps; but General M'Clellan, yielding to caution, and fearing lest one division should be numerically too weak for the task, retained it on board the transports near Shipping Point. The siege was now vigorously prosecuted, and the first parallel was constructed, at about the distance of a mile from the batteries of Yorktown. Advantage was taken of the broken character of the ground, and the approaches were, with much engineering skill, conducted along the creeks and ravines which flow into and adjoin the York River. The weather was fine and clear, the spring foliage had just commenced, and the well-made roads shaded by tulip-trees, the white oak, and the ilex, interspersed with flowers such as grow in English shrubberies, seemed more adapted for approaches to a country house than to batteries and |