[Illustration: PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION]
PICTORIAL HISTORY
OF THE
WAR FOR THE UNION.
A COMPLETE AND RELIABLE
=History of the War=
FROM ITS
COMMENCEMENT TO ITS CLOSE:
GIVING A GRAPHIC PICTURE OF ITS ENCOUNTERS, THRILLING INCIDENTS,
FRIGHTFUL SCENES, HAIR BREADTH ESCAPES, INDIVIDUAL DARING, DESPERATE
CHARGES, PERSONAL ANECDOTES, ETC., GLEANED FROM EYE-WITNESSES OF, AND
PARTICIPANTS IN, THE TERRIBLE SCENES DESCRIBED—A TRUTHFUL LIVING REFLEX
OF ALL MATTERS OF INTEREST CONNECTED WITH THIS THE MOST GIGANTIC OF
HUMAN STRUGGLES.
TOGETHER WITH A COMPLETE CHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WAR.
BY MRS. ANN S. STEPHENS.
EMBELLISHED WITH OVER TWO HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.
TWO VOLUMES.
VOL II.
NEW YORK:
BENJAMIN W. HITCHCOCK, No. 14 CHAMBERS STREET,
PUBLISHER Of SUBSCRIPTION BOOKS.
1867.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866,
BY BENJAMIN W. HITCHCOCK,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New York.
TO
MAJOR-GENERAL
WILLIAM T. SHERMAN,
ONE OF THE BEST MEN AND BRAVEST PATRIOTS THAT EVER FOUGHT FOR A GRATEFUL
COUNTRY,
THESE VOLUMES ARE
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
ANN S. STEPHENS.
NEW YORK, _January, 1886_.
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Position of the Contending Forces in May, 1862 15
The March of the Army of the Potomac to White House, Va. 16
General McClellan and the Government 17
Stonewall Jackson’s Raid in the Shenandoah: Retreat of Gen. Banks 19
The Investment and Occupation of Corinth, Miss., May, 1862 21
Occupation of Norfolk, Va., by General Wool’s troops 27
Destruction of the rebel iron-clad Merrimac 28
Battle of Hanover Court House, Va., May 28, 1862 29
„ Fair Oaks, Va., May 31 and June 1, 1862 33
„ Seven Pines, Va., June 1, 1862 36
„ Cross-Keys, Va., June 8, 1862 38
The Seven Days’ Battles—Battle of Oak Grove, Va. 40
Battle of Gaines’ Mill, Va., June 26, 1862 41
Change of Base of the Army of the Potomac 45
Battles of Allen’s Farm and Savage’s Station, Va. 46
Battle of Nelson’s Farm, Va., June 30, 1862 48
„ Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862 49
Evacuation of Pensacola, May 9, 1862 52
Capture of Forts Pillow and Randolph—Occupation of Memphis, June
4–6, 1862 55
New Combinations—Battle of Cedar Mountain, Va. 58
Battle of Manassas, or Bull Run 61
„ Chantilly 63
Movements of McClellan 64
Battle of South Mountain, Md., Sept. 14, 1862 65
Surrender of Harper’s Ferry, Sept. 15, 1862 69
Battle of Antietam, Sept, 17, 1862 70
McClellan’s Army on the Potomac, October, 1862 82
Operations in Kentucky, June to September, 1862 87
Battle of Richmond, Ky., Aug. 30, 1862 90
Bragg’s Invasion—Battle of Munfordsville, Ky., Sept. 14–16, 1862 93
Battle of Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862 94
„ Iuka, Miss., Sept. 19, 1862 96
„ Corinth, Miss., Oct. 3–4, 1862 99
Gen. Burnside takes command of the Army of the Potomac, Nov. 10,
1862 104
Advance of the Army of the Potomac, Nov. 20, 1862 106
Burnside’s Army before Fredericksburg 107
Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862 109
Operations in Tennessee—Battle of Murfreesboro’, Dec. 31, 1862 111
North Carolina at the close of 1862 119
Battle of Pocotaligo Bridge, S. C., Oct. 22, 1862 122
Battle of Baton Rouge, La., Aug. 6, 1862 123
Operations in Missouri in 1862 123
Naval Operations in 1862 126
Battle of Drury’s Bluff, Va., May 15, 1862 126
Naval Operations on the Mississippi, May to December, 1862 127
Hooker’s Campaign in Virginia, Jan. 26, 1863 130
General Stoneman’s Cavalry Raid, May 1, 1863 131
Hooker’s Advance to Kelly’s Ford, on the Rapidan 134
Battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 1–4, 1863 136
The Second Day’s Fight, May 2 139
The Third Day’s Fight, Sunday, May 3 144
Sketch of the Life of Stonewall Jackson 146
The Rebel Invasion in Maryland and Pennsylvania 149
Capture of General Milroy’s Army at Winchester, Va., June 14, 1863 152
Capture of Martinsburg, Va., June 14, 1863 153
Attack on Carlisle, Pa., July 1, 1863 154
Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1–3, 1863 156
The Vicksburg Campaign, December, 1862-July, 1863 166
Repulse of General Sherman’s Army, Jan. 3, 1863 171
Capture of Fort Hindman, Ark., Jan. 10–11, 1863 173
Sketch of the Life of Rear-Admiral D. D. Porter 176
Sketch of the Life of Major-General John A. McClernand 179
Expedition of the ram “Queen of the West” 181
The Vicksburg Canal 182
Expedition down the Coldwater, April 2, 1863 184
Passing the Vicksburg Batteries, April 16–22, 1863 186
Capture of Grand Gulf, Miss., April 29-May 3 187
Bombardment of Haines’ Bluff, April 29, 1863 189
Capture of Fort Gibson, Miss., May 1, 1863 190
Grierson’s Raid from Mississippi to Louisiana, April 17-May 2,
1863 192
Battle of Raymond, Miss., May 12, 1863 196
Capture of Jackson, Miss., May 14, 1863 199
Battle of Baker’s Creek, or Champion Hill, Miss. 202
Battle of Big Black Bridge, Miss., May 17, 1863 205
Capture of Haines’ Bluff, May 18, 1863 207
Bombardment and Assault of Vicksburg, May 19–23, 1863 209
Capture of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863 221
Battle at Helena, Ark., July 4, 1863 222
Morgan’s Raid in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, July 3–26, 1863 226
The Draft Riots in New York City, July 13–15, 1863 232
Operations in Tennessee in 1863 249
Battle of Fort Donelson, Tenn., Feb. 3, 1863 249
Battle near Franklin, Tenn., March 5, 1863 251
Colonel Streight’s Expedition into Georgia, May 3, 1863 254
Capture of Hoover’s Gap by Colonel Wilder’s Brigade 255
Colonel Wilder’s Expedition from Manchester to Anderson, Tenn. 258
Advance of General Rosecrans against Chattanooga 260
The Battle of Chickamauga, Tenn., Sept. 19, 1863 261
Sketch of Major-General George H. Thomas 267
Operations in North Carolina in 1863 268
Expedition against Rocky Mount, N. C., July 24, 1863 271
Operations in South Carolina in 1863 272
Attack on Fort Sumter, April 7, 1863 273
Capture of the rebel iron-clad Atlanta, June 17, 1863 276
Siege of Charleston, S. C., commenced July 3, 1863 277
Attack on Morris Island, S. C., July 10, 1863 278
Assault on Fort Wagner, S. C., July 11, 1863 279
Bombardment of Fort Sumter, S. C., August 17–23, 1863 280
The “Swamp Angel” 281
Operations in Arkansas—Capture of Little Rock, July 1, 1863 286
Operations in Southern Virginia in 1863 290
The Siege of Suffolk, April 11-May 3, 1863 290
The Siege of Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 17-Dec. 6, 1863 294
Operations in Tennessee, Sept. 20-Dec. 31, 1863 297
Battle of Lookout Mountain, Nov. 24, 1863 301
Sherman’s Advance against Mission Ridge, Nov. 24, 1863 303
Battle of Missionary Ridge. Nov. 25, 1863 305
Battle of Ringgold, Ga, Nov. 28, 1863 309
Department of the Gulf in 1863 310
Operations on the Teche and Atchafalaya rivers, Fla. 315
Battle of Irish Bend, La., Apr. 13, 1863 315
Attack on Port Hudson, La., May 27, 1863 319
Assault of Port Hudson, La., June 14, 1863 321
Surrender of Port Hudson, July 9, 1863 327
Miscellaneous Naval Operations in 1863 329
The Field of Operations in January, 1864 331
Sherman’s Expedition against Meridian, Miss. 332
General Smith’s Expedition from Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 11, 1864 333
The Red River Expedition, March 10-May 16, 1864 334
Battle of Sabine Cross-Roads, April 8, 1864 337
Battle of Pleasant Hill, La., April 9, 1864 340
Operations in Georgia: Battle of Tunnel Hill, Feb. 22, 1864 348
Reconnoissance and Battle at Rocky Face Ridge, Feb. 25, 1864 350
Capture of Union City. Tenn., March 25, 1864 350
Attack on Paducah, Ky., March 26, 1864 351
Capture of Fort Pillow, Tenn., April 12, 1864 353
Operations in Florida in 1864 355
Battle of Olustee. Feb. 20, 1864 357
Battle at Bachelor’s Creek, N. C., Feb. 1, 1864 359
Capture of Plymouth, N. C., Apr. 19, 1864 359
Destruction of the rebel iron-clad Albemarle 362
Capture of Fort Fisher and Wilmington, N. C. 363
Kilpatrick’s Cavalry Raid toward Richmond, Feb. 28-March 5, 1864 374
Operations in Arkansas in 1864 377
Invasion of Missouri, September, 1864 379
Operations in Georgia: General Sherman’s March to Atlanta 381
Capture of Rome, Ga., May 19, 1864 384
Battle of Kenesaw Mountain June 14, 1864 389
Battle of Little Kenesaw, June 24, 1864 392
Battle before Atlanta, July 22, 1864 394
Stoneman’s Cavalry Expeditions in July, 1864 396
The Siege of Atlanta, and its Capture 398
Hood’s Campaign in Alabama and Tennessee 404
Battle of Allatoona, Ga., October 5, 1864 407
Preparations for Sherman’s Grand March 408
The Burning of Rome, Ga., November 11, 1864 408
The Destruction of Atlanta, November, 1864 409
The Battle of Franklin, Tenn., November 30, 1864 411
The Battle of Nashville, Tenn., December 15–17, 1864 413
Continuation of the Siege of Charleston in 1864 418
Operations in Middle and Western Virginia in 1864 419
Battle of Piedmont, Va., June 5, 1864 421
Battle of Opequan Creek, Va., Sept. 19, 1864 428
Battle of Fisher’s Hill, Va., Sept. 21, 1864 430
Battle of Cedar Creek, Va., Oct 19, 1864 431
Sketch of the Life of Major-General Sheridan 432
Battle of Morristown, Tenn., Nov. 13, 1864 434
Stoneman’s Raid into Western Virginia, Dec. 12–20, 1864 434
Expeditions at the close of 1864 440
Rebel Privateers—the Alabama, the Florida, and the Shenandoah 442
The St. Albans Raid, Oct. 19, 1864 446
Advance of the Army of the Potomac, May 3, 1864 449
Battle of the Wilderness, Va., May 5–7, 1864 451
Battle of Spottsylvania, May 8–12, 1864 456
Sketch of the Life of General Sedgwick 457
Battle of Coal Harbor, Va., June 1–3, 1864 464
General Grant’s Change of Base, June 12–15, 1864 468
Operations on James River, Va., May 4–10, 1864 469
Battle of Fort Darling, Va., May 12–16, 1864 473
Assaults on the Intrenchments at Petersburg, Va., June 8–18, 1864 475
Engagement on the Weldon Railroad, near Petersburg, Va. 478
Engagements at Reams’s Station, Stony Creek, etc., June 22–29,
1864 479
Sherman’s March from Atlanta to Savannah, Nov. 16—Dec. 22, 1864 480
Capture of Fort McAllister, Ga., Dec. 13, 1864 488
Capture of Savannah, Ga., Dec. 21, 1864 489
Grand Naval Combat in Mobile Bay—Capture of Forts Morgan, Powell
and Gaines 490
Sherman’s March from Savannah to Goldsboro’, N. C., Jan.-March,
1865 493
Battle of Averasboro’, March 15–16, 1865 494
Battle of Bentonsville, March 20, 1865 495
Capture of Charleston, S. C., Feb. 18, 1865 496
Gen. Schofield’s March to Goldsboro’: Battles at Kingston, N. C.,
Mch. 7–10, 1865 499
The Siege of Petersburg, Va., June 15, 1864 501
Explosion of Pleasants’ Mine, and Battle before Petersburg, July
29, 1864 503
The “Dutch Gap Canal” projected by General Butler 504
The War Summer of 1865 505
Battles on the Weldon Railroad, Va., August, 1864 505
Battle of Reams’s Station, Va., Aug. 28, 1864 506
Battle of Chapin’s Bluff, Va., Sept. 28, 1864 509
Army of the James: Battle before Richmond, Oct. 7, 1864 511
Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Oct. 27, 1864 512
Close of the Campaign: Battle of Five Forks, Va., April 1–3, 1865 517
Sheridan’s Expedition in the Shenandoah Valley, Feb. 27-March 19,
1865 519
Expedition against St. Mark’s, Fla., March 4–12, 1865 521
Stoneman’s Expedition in North Carolina, March 20-Apr. 13, 1865 523
General Wilson’s Expedition in Alabama, March 22-Apr. 20, 1865 525
Capture of Mobile and the Rebel Fleet, April 12-May 4, 1865 526
Evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg, April 3, 1865 532
Surrender of General Lee and his Army, April 9, 1865 534
Sketch of the rebel General Lee 538
Assassination of President Lincoln, April 14, 1865 541
Sketch of the Life of Abraham Lincoln 547
The Attempt to Assassinate Secretary Seward, April 14, 1865 548
The Inauguration of President Johnson, Apr. 15, 1865 549
The Close of Sherman’s Campaign. Surrender of General Johnston 552
Farewell Address of General Sherman to his Army 554
History of the Birkenhead Rams, built for the Pacha of Egypt 556
The Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, Jan. 1, 1863 558
Proclamation of Secretary Seward announcing the Adoption of the
Constitutional Amendment Abolishing Slavery 560
List of Vessels captured by the Confederate Navy during the War 561
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME II.
PAGE
ILLUSTRATED TITLE, 1
UNION HEROES, 53
UNION HEROES, 77
BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO’, 117
CAPTURE OF A BATTERY BY GENERAL ROUSSEAU, 117
HOUSE USED FOR CONFINEMENT OF REBEL SYMPATHIZERS AT ST. LOUIS, 177
UNION HEROES, 197
UNION HEROES, 219
ANDREWS LEADING THE RIOTERS, 235
PROVOST GUARD ATTACKING THE RIOTERS, 269
CONFEDERATE GENERALS, 287
BATTLE OF MISSIONARY RIDGE, 307
PURSUIT TO RINGGOLD, GA., 307
CAMP SCENE.—ASSORTING THE MAIL, 325
CAMP SCENE.—THE NEWS DEPOT, 325
CONFEDERATE GENERALS, 345
VIEW OF PARROTT GUN BURST ON BOARD THE SUSQUEHANNA AT THE ATTACK
ON FORT FISHER, 367
CONFEDERATE GENERALS, 385
GENERAL HOSPITAL AT SAVANNAH, GA., 405
CONFEDERATE GENERALS, 425
CONFEDERATE GENERALS, 447
BATTLE OF COAL HARBOR, VA., 465
HOOD’S HEADQUARTERS AT ATLANTA, 485
SHERMAN’S HEADQUARTERS AT ATLANTA, 485
CHARGING A BATTERY ON THE WELDON RAILROAD, 507
CAPTURE OF A RAILROAD TRAIN, 507
CONFEDERATE PORTRAITS, 527
PORTRAITS.
UNION.
PAGE
ANDREWS, GEO. L., Brig.-Gen., 219
AUGUR, C. C., Maj.-Gen., 197
GRANT, U. S., Lieut.-Gen., 13
GRAHAM, LAWRENCE P., Brig.-Gen. 77
GILLMORE, Q. A., Maj.-Gen., 53
HARNEY, W. S., Brig.-Gen., 197
JOHNSON, ANDREW, President U. S., 550
KEITH, Brig.-Gen., 77
MARCY, R. B., Inspector-Gen., 197
MEADE, GEO. G., Maj.-Gen., 53
MEAGHER, T. F., Brig.-Gen., 77
MEIGS, M. C., Maj.-Gen., 219
MILROY, ROBT. H., Maj.-Gen., 197
MITCHELL, O. M., Maj.-Gen., 197
RICKETTS, JAMES B., Brig.-Gen., 77
ROUSSEAU, L. N., Maj.-Gen., 53
SHERMAN, W. T., Maj.-Gen., 43
SHERIDAN, PHILIP H., Maj.-Gen., 433
SHEPLEY, GEO. F., Brig.-Gen., 219
SLOCUM, H. W., Maj.-Gen., 53
STONE, CHAS. P., Brig.-Gen., 219
STONEMAN, GEO., Maj.-Gen., 53
THOMAS, GEO. H., Maj.-Gen., 267
WARD, J. H. H., Brig.-Gen., 77
WHITE, JULIUS, Brig.-Gen., 219
CONFEDERATE.
BEAUREGARD, P. G. T., Maj.-Gen., 345
BRAGG, BRAXTON, Maj.-Gen., 287
BOWEN, Maj.-Gen., 425
BRANCH, L. O’B., Brig.-Gen., 385
BUCKNER, SIMON B., Maj.-Gen., 447
BORHAM, L., Brig.-Gen., 527
CHEATHAM, B. F., Maj.-Gen., 447
COLQUET, Brig.-Gen., 385
CRITTENDEN, G. B., Brig.-Gen., 385
COOPER, SAMUEL, Brig.-Gen., 527
DAVIS, JEFFERSON, 97
EWELL, RICHARD S., Lieut.-Gen., 287
FLOYD, JOHN B., Maj.-Gen., 385
GARNETT, RICH. B., Brig.-Gen., 287
HARDEE, WM. J., Lieut.-Gen., 447
HOOD, Maj.-Gen., 447
HAMPTON, WADE, Maj.-Gen., 425
HANSOM, ROGER, Brig.-Gen., 425
HILL, A. P., Maj.-Gen., 287
JOHNSON, B. T., Brig.-Gen., 385
JOHNSTON, JOS. E., Lieut.-Gen., 287
JACKSON, “STONEWALL,” Lt.-Gen., 137
JOHNSTON, A. S., Maj.-Gen., 447
LEE, FITZHUGH, Maj.-Gen., 287
LONGSTREET, JAMES, Lieut.-Gen., 287
LEE, ROBERT E., General, 539
LOVELL, MANSFIELD, Maj.-Gen., 385
MAFFITT, J. N., Capt., 527
MAGRUDER, J. B., Maj.-Gen., 287
MARSHALL, H., Maj.-Gen., 425
MASON, JAMES M., 527
MORGAN, JOHN H., Maj.-Gen., 345
MCCULLOCH, BENJ., Maj.-Gen., 345
POLK, L. K., Maj.-Gen., 345
PILLOW, G. J., Maj.-Gen., 425
PRICE, STERLING, Maj.-Gen., 345
RAINS, G. J., Brig.-Gen., 385
RHETT, THOS. S., Brig.-Gen., 385
STEPHENS, ALEXANDER H., 157
STUART, J. E. B., Maj.-Gen., 345
STEWART, GEORGE, Gen., 425
SMITH, G. W., Maj.-Gen., 425
SEMMES, RAPHAEL, Capt., 527
SLIDELL, JOHN, 527
SMITH, E. KIRBY, Lieut.-Gen., 345
TOOMBS, ROBERT, Maj.-Gen., 447
TWIGGS, DAVID E., Maj.-Gen., 447
VAN DORN, EARL, Maj.-Gen., 425
ZOLLICOFFER, F. K., Maj.-Gen., 345
[Illustration: LIEUTENANT-GENERAL U.S. GRANT.]
THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
The month of May, 1862, found the great armies of the Union threatening
the forces of the rebellion at all points. A firm determination filled
every northern bosom. Many a glorious battle field had taught the
soldiers on both sides how to fight and how to endure. Unbounded heroism
filled the whole nation. Never on this earth had so broad and glorious a
country groaned under a harvest of iron. The defeat of Bull Run, instead
of disheartening the people, fired them with new courage and that
unconquerable resolution, which is the best part of National heroism.
New Orleans had been captured by the invincible Farragut, by a series of
brilliant naval victories. He was then a commodore, but has since been
raised by these really wonderful exploits to the highest rank in the
navy.
The sea coast had been blockaded from Fortress Monroe to the Rio Grande.
Generals Butler and Burnside had carried their fleets in safety to
Hatteras Inlet, and had set up the old flag upon the shores of the
Carolinas. General Hunter had established himself in Florida. The Army
of the West, moving southward along the banks of the Mississippi, aided
by the gunboat flotilla of Commodore Foote, had captured Island Number
Ten, fought and won the great battle of Pittsburg Landing, and led by
General Halleck, had invested Corinth. In the East, General McClellan,
at the head of the Army of the Potomac, was moving up the Peninsula, in
the advance upon Richmond. The whole nation watched his movements with
anxious hopefulness, inspired by his successes in the West, backed by
General Scott’s high recommendation. This history has already recorded
the siege and capture of Yorktown, and the victory of Williamsburg, and
has touched upon the engagement of West Point. The latter took place on
the 7th of May, and was but one of the many lesser battles, which formed
a stormy prelude to the terrible Seven Days’ Fights, among the swamps
before the city of Richmond. Its purpose was the establishment of the
Union arms at West Point, which would necessarily force the Rebels to
abandon all their works on the Peninsula, between Yorktown and that
place. Its success crowned the triumph that had meanwhile been achieved
at Williamsburgh. It lasted from about ten o’clock in the morning, till
about three o’clock in the afternoon, and ended in the repulse of the
Rebels, who were thus, at all points, retiring before the gallant
soldiers of the Union. The losses at the battle of West Point, as
reported by General Franklin, were forty-nine killed, one hundred and
four wounded, and forty-one missing.
THE MARCH TO WHITE HOUSE.
The narrative, terminating at the close of the first volume of this
history, with the battle of West Point, now concerns itself with the
onward march of the Army of the Potomac. On the 9th of May, General
McClellan effected a junction with the forces under the command of
General Franklin, at West Point; and hence, partly by land and partly by
water, the whole army moved up the Pamunkey river towards a place called
White House, twelve miles distant. The roads at this time were in a bad
condition for travel, owing to heavy rains; and therefore the advance
was made but slowly. It was not until the 16th inst., that General
McClellan established his headquarters at White House, where he
organized a permanent depot for supplies. These coming up the York river
by water, could be landed at West Point and brought hence by railroad.
From White House the march continued toward the Chickahominy river. No
material opposition was anywhere encountered. The rebels were massing
their forces beyond the Chickahominy, in front of Richmond, and
preparing for the desperate, decisive struggle.
On the 20th of May the left wing of the Union Army reached the
Chickahominy, at a point called Bottom’s Bridge. The bridge had been
destroyed by the enemy, but the stream was immediately forded by General
Casey’s troops, and the bridge was rebuilt. In the mean while the centre
and the right wing were advanced to the river above, driving the rebels
out of the village of Mechanicsville. The lines now extended from
Mechanicsville, on the right, to Seven Pines, on the left, the latter
being a strong position on the Bottom’s Bridge road, on the further side
of the Chickahominy.
GENERAL M’CLELLAN AND THE GOVERNMENT.
Here the advance was stayed. As early as the 10th of May, General
McClellan, well assured of the strength of his foe, and of the nature
and place of the opposition that would be made by the rebels, had
represented to the War Department the comparative numerical weakness of
his army, and the necessity for its reinforcement. Much correspondence
now ensued, between him and the President, on this subject. It was
General McClellan’s desire to rest his army on the James river, to
receive his reinforcements by that channel, and to move on Richmond from
that quarter. On the other hand, it was the opinion of the President,
and the Secretary-of-War, that his army ought to rest upon the Pamunkey,
receive reinforcements by land, if at all, and move on Richmond by means
of bridges across the Chickahominy. General McDowell, at the head of
between 35,000 and 40,000 men, was, at this time, in the neighborhood of
Fredericksburg. The proper disposition of this force was also a point in
controversy between General McClellan and the authorities at the
capital. The former requested that McDowell’s troops might be sent to
him, and sent by water. The latter dreaded to send them, lest, by so
doing, they might uncover the City of Washington, and expose it to a
rebel raid. On the part of General McClellan it was urged that no such
apprehension need be entertained; that the bulk of the enemy’s forces
were massed for the defence of Richmond; that to conquer the rebels
there, would be the surest method of securing the safety of Washington;
that the presence of McDowell’s corps would so strengthen his hands as
to make victory certain; that, should the rebels attempt a raid on
Washington, their route would be by way of Gordonsville and Manassas, on
which they could readily be checked; and, finally, that the coming of
McDowell’s troops by land would render their timely arrival less certain
than it would be in the event of their coming by water, while it would
equally render them unavailable for the defense of Washington. The
opinion of the Government, however, prevailed; and, in the end, the plan
of General McClellan’s campaign was materially changed. He had designed
to approach Richmond by the east and south. Resting on the Pamunkey, his
purpose was now to approach it by the north. This change in the plan of
the campaign necessitated the division of his army by the Chickahominy
river, and the bridging of that river in many places. On the 18th of May
the Secretary-of-War notified him that General McDowell’s corps would be
sent forward by land from Fredericksburg, to form a junction with the
right wing of the Array of the Potomac. Awaiting this reinforcement,
General McClellan employed himself in strengthening his position, and in
building the necessary bridges across the Chickahominy. On the 24th of
May he was notified that the critical position of General Banks’ troops,
consequent upon a sudden raid, by Stonewall Jackson, up the Valley of
the Shenandoah river, had occasioned the recall of General McDowell, and
that the Army of the Potomac must proceed without reinforcements.
General McClellan has been bitterly censured for his alleged
slothfulness and hesitation, at this juncture; nor can it be denied that
his advance towards Richmond was made slowly and with extreme caution.
It must be remembered, however, that to march through sloughs of mire,
in the face of a powerful and well intrenched foe, is far less easy than
to advance on paper, and conquer enemies with printers’ ink. This is not
a partisan history—its design is simply to record facts and to do
justice. Subsequent events have shed much light upon General McClellan’s
Peninsular Campaign. That he had not over-estimated the power of the
rebel forces, was conclusively shown in the bloody and terrible seven
days’ battles. That he was obliged to deviate from his own chosen plan
is evident, and is not denied: yet that plan was the same which was
ultimately adopted by General Grant, in the final campaign of the war.
Richmond when finally taken, was approached from the east and south, and
not from the north. General McClellan may have been overcautious; but
his tactics were wise, and his patriotism stainless.
The following is the language of General McClellan’s Report, as to
several essential points: “The land movement obliged me to expose my
right in order to secure the junction; and as the order for General
McDowell’s march was soon countermanded, I incurred great risk, of which
the enemy finally took advantage, and frustrated the plan of my
campaign. Had General McDowell joined me by water, I could have
approached Richmond by the James, and thus avoided the delays and losses
incurred in bridging the Chickahominy, and would have had the army
massed in one body, instead of being necessarily divided by that
stream....
“In view of the peculiar character of the Chickahominy, and the
liability of its bottom land to sudden inundations, it became necessary
to construct between Bottom’s Bridge and Mechanicsville, eleven new
bridges, all new and difficult, with extensive by-way approaches.
“The entire army could, probably, have been thrown across the
Chickahominy immediately after our arrival, but this would have left no
force on the left bank to guard our communications or to protect our
right and rear. If the communication with our supply depot had been cut
by the enemy, with our army concentrated upon the right bank of the
Chickahominy, and the stage of water as it was for many days after our
arrival, the bridges carried away, and our means of transportation not
furnishing a single day’s supplies in advance, the troops must have gone
without rations, and the animals without forage, and the army would have
been paralyzed.
“It is true I might have abandoned my communications and pushed forward
toward Richmond, trusting to the speedy defeat of the enemy and the
consequent fall of the city, for a renewal of supplies; but the
approaches were fortified, and the town itself was surrounded with a
strong line of intrenchments, requiring a greater length of time to
reduce than our troops could have dispensed with rations.
“Under these circumstances, I decided to retain a portion of the army on
the left bank of the river until our bridges were completed.”
STONEWALL JACKSON’S RAID: RETREAT OF GEN. BANKS.
While the Army of the Potomac was thus occupied in bridging the
Chickahominy, and while General McClellan and the President were in
correspondence, the rebels did not remain idle. On the 23rd of May
commenced the well-remembered raid, up the valley of the Shenandoah,
which was the occasion of a serious panic at Washington, and even
further north than New York; which prevented the junction of McDowell’s
and McClellan’s forces; and which involved the splendid retreat of
General Banks from Strasburgh to Winchester, and thence to Williamsport
on the Potomac river. The distance is fifty-three miles, and the retreat
was accomplished in forty-eight hours. The Army of the Shenandoah,
commanded by General Banks, consisted of about six thousand men, while
the forces of the rebel raiders numbered upwards of twenty thousand, and
were led by the brilliant and dashing Stonewall Jackson. The advance of
the rebels was made up the valley, to the westward of the Blue Ridge,
and the first point attacked was Front Royal. Here the enemy encountered
the First Maryland Regiment, Col. Kenly, which was attacked with great
fury, and driven back towards Strasburgh. Col. Kenly fought with
wonderful valor, and was heartily sustained by his men. The fighting,
indeed, was of almost unexampled severity, but the regiment was soon
overpowered by numbers. Colonel Kenly, when asked to surrender, shot the
rebel who thus summoned him to yield: and finally, when overpowered,
broke his sword in halves, to avoid surrendering it. He was shot, but
only wounded, and was placed in an ambulance. In that ambulance he was
subjected to much suffering, for want of surgical aid.
As soon as General Banks received news of this disaster at Front Royal,
and knew that General Jackson was advancing in force, he perceived his
danger and ordered a retreat. And now commenced a race between the two
armies, for the town of Winchester. Had Jackson reached that point
first, he would have intercepted the little band of Union soldiers, cut
off their supplies, and forced their surrender. But the celerity and
courage of General Banks’s forces proved their salvation. They retired,
indeed, in the face of superior numbers; but they retired fighting. At
Newtown, at Kernstown, and at Winchester they were closely pushed by the
pursuing foe; but, at every point of attack, the enemy was checked and
held at bay. The severest encounter took place at Winchester. General
Gordon’s brigade was here engaged, and gained great honor by its
gallantry and coolness. The regiments constituting it were the Second
Massachusetts, Lieut-Col. Andrews; the Third Wisconsin, Col. Ruger; the
Twenty-seventh Indiana, Col. Colgrove; and the Twenty-ninth
Pennsylvania, Col. Murphy. The stability with which this brigade opposed
itself to overwhelming numbers undoubtedly saved General Banks’ Army.
General Gordon thus describes its final retreat:
“I fell back slowly, but generally in good order. The Second
Massachusetts in column of companies moving by flank, the Third
Wisconsin in line of battle moving to the rear. On every side above the
surrounding crest surged the rebel forces. A sharp and withering fire of
musketry was opened by the enemy from the crest upon our centre, left
and right. The yells of a victorious and merciless foe were heard above
the din of battle, but my command was not dismayed. The Second
Massachusetts halted in a street of the town to reform its line, then
pushed on with the column, which, with its long train of baggage-wagons,
division, brigade, and regimental, was making its way in good order
towards Martinsburgh.
“My retreating column suffered serious loss in the streets of
Winchester: males and females vied with each other in increasing the
number of their victims by firing from the houses, throwing
hand-grenades, hot water, and missiles of every description. The hellish
spirit of murder was carried on by the enemy’s cavalry, who followed to
butcher, and who struck down with sabre and pistol the helpless soldier
sinking from fatigue, unheeding his cries for mercy, indifferent to his
claims as a prisoner of war.
“This record of infamy is preserved for the females of Winchester. But
this is not all: our wounded in hospital, necessarily left to the
mercies of our enemies, I am credibly informed were bayoneted by the
rebel infantry. In the same town, in the same apartments, where we, when
victors on the field of Winchester, so tenderly nursed the rebel
wounded, we were even so more than barbarously rewarded.”
THE INVESTMENT AND OCCUPATION OF CORINTH.
MAY 12–30, 1862.
The decisive battle of Pittsburgh, on Monday, April 7th, terminated in
the retreat of the vast army of rebels, which fell back to Corinth.
During the latter part of the same week, Gen. Halleck arrived on the
field to assume the chief command of the Federal Army. The success of
Gen. Pope’s division at New Madrid, and at Island No. 10, placed his
superb army of about twenty thousand strong, at Halleck’s disposal;
and they were now ordered to join the grand army under the
commander-in-chief. They were assigned position at Hamburgh, four
miles above Pittsburgh Landing, fronting on the extreme left of the
Federal lines. Several changes were now made in the organization of
the Federal army. The divisions of Sherman and Crittenden were added
to Grant’s _corps d’armée_. This gave Grant eight divisions. The
reserve of Grant’s forces were composed of the divisions of Gen. Lew.
Wallace, Crittenden, and McClernand; the former command of the latter
being conferred upon Brig.-Gen. John A. Logan. While McClernand was
placed in command of this reserve, Gen. Thomas was placed in chief
command of the remaining divisions of Grant’s forces.
In the field position, Grant’s forces constituted the right, Buell’s the
centre, and Pope’s the left.
The first advance was ordered on April 29, the entire army moving toward
the common centre, Corinth. Wallace held the extreme right. McClernand
moved along the lower Corinth road, to a point one and a half miles west
of Monterey. Sherman moved directly for a hill commanding Monterey, and
occupied it on the morning of the 30th of April.
Every thing on the route indicated the haste with which the enemy had
retreated, after his defeat. Gun carriages, caissons, wheels, tents, and
all the apparatus of war, broken or burned, strewed the whole line of
march.
On the same day Gen. Wallace dispatched a force to cut the Ohio and
Mobile railroad at Bethel, south of Purdy, in order to sever the rebel
communication to the northward. Three battalions of cavalry, and one of
infantry, under command of Col. Morgan L. Smith, executed this
commission. They found the rebels in position near Purdy, in a piece of
woods. While the infantry and a detachment of cavalry engaged the enemy,
Colonel Dickey, with two battalions of cavalry moved to the railroad.
They destroyed a bridge a hundred and twenty feet in length, and the
conductor, engineer, and four others were taken prisoners.
Buell struck direct from Pittsburgh Landing toward Corinth, while Pope’s
division pushed forward from Hamburgh towards the lower point.
On the 3d of May, a reconnoissance in force toward Farmington was
ordered. The country is uneven and difficult to penetrate, and both time
and caution were necessary. Generals Paine and Palmer of Pope’s command,
were detailed for this important duty. The regiments selected were the
Tenth, Sixteenth, Twenty-second, Twenty-seventh, Forty-second and
Fifty-first Illinois Volunteers, Tenth and Sixteenth Michigan
Volunteers, Yates’ Illinois Sharpshooters, Houghtaling’s and Hercock’s
batteries, and the Second Michigan cavalry. The column proceeded about
five miles on the Farmington road, where they encountered the enemy’s
cavalry pickets. A skirmish ensued, in which the rebels lost eight
killed, and the same number of their wounded, were made prisoners. The
enemy was compelled to fall back, after a second skirmish, and at 3
o’clock, p. m., the vanguard came up from a swamp they had crossed, and
the fight commenced in earnest. The enemy was strongly posted on an
elevated piece of ground which was flanked by a part of the force, and
the rebels were obliged to fall back half a mile, yielding their former
position to the Federals, who pressed them closely. The two regiments of
infantry having secured a position commanding the left flank of the
rebels, poured upon them such a destructive fire, that their infantry
abandoned their artillerists. The latter, finding themselves forsaken,
hastily withdrew their guns to a new position, from which they were soon
dislodged, and fled with all speed to Corinth. General Pope’s advance
was thus put in possession of Farmington.
This successful movement of General Pope’s advance was a cause of great
annoyance to the rebels, and on the 9th of May they came out in
overwhelming force to drive him back. The enemy numbered about
thirty-five thousand, under command of Bragg, Price, Van Dorn, and
Ruggles. General Pope had been specially directed not to engage the
enemy in force. Under these circumstances he was obliged to encounter
the shock of this large body, with only a single brigade, which,
however, was advantageously posted. The enemy threw forward five or six
regiments, with artillery, to engage this brigade, holding their immense
reserve in readiness to attack the Federal reinforcements, which they
supposed would be brought on the field. After five hours of desperate
resistance, General Pope withdrew his advance, with a loss of forty
killed, and about one hundred and twenty wounded. The rebels, surprised
by the obstinate resistance of this small force, and their sudden
retreat, made no pursuit, but fell back to their own intrenchments,
after having suffered a much greater loss.
Three different “parallels” were constructed along the Federal lines,
from the time of the first investment to the occupation of Corinth. The
construction of these works compelled the rebels to fall back further
upon their centre, until the last was completed.
On the 17th of May a brilliant engagement took place, under the command
of General W. T. Sherman which resulted in the capture of a position
known as Russell’s house, the place being owned and occupied by a
gentleman of that name. The possession of this ground being important to
the Federal advance, General Sherman directed General Hurlbut to take
two regiments and a battery of artillery up the road to Russell’s house.
General Denver with an equal force, composed of the Seventieth and
Seventy-second Ohio, and Barrett’s battery, took a different road, so as
to arrive on the enemy’s left, while his front was engaged. General
Morgan L. Smith, with his brigade, and Bouton’s battery, were directed
to follow the main road, and drive back a brigade of the enemy that held
the position at Russell’s. General Smith conducted his advance in a very
handsome manner, the chief work as well as the loss falling upon his two
leading regiments, the Eighth Missouri and the Fifty-fifth Illinois. The
firing was very brisk, but the enemy’s pickets were driven steadily back
till they reached their main position at Russell’s, where they made an
obstinate resistance. At first the Union artillery worked to a
disadvantage, owing to the nature of the ground, but then finally
succeeded in gaining an elevation whence they shelled the house, when
the enemy immediately retired in confusion, leaving the field in
possession of the victors. The Federal loss was ten killed, and
thirty-one wounded. The enemy left twelve dead on the ground.
Preparations were constantly progressing for the final assault, which
was appointed for the 28th of May. Occasional skirmishes took place in
which the rebels always lost ground, as the great body of the Federal
forces slowly but surely closed around them. On the morning of the 28th,
General Pope sent Colonel Elliott to cut the line of the Mobile and Ohio
Railroad. This was accomplished with great skill. On the same day the
whole army slowly advanced to the point of attack. On the left, the
division under General Pope approached so near the rebel lines as to
discover that the retreat of the enemy had begun.
It was nine o’clock on the morning of Wednesday the 28th, before Pope
opened on the left and began the reconnoissance, which soon became
general, as was evinced by rapid firing in McKeon’s division, and
further to the right in Sherman’s. The right and center had encountered
no enemy until they had reached the swamp and pushed through it toward
the creek. Pope, on the contrary, met a determined resistance, and at
night his line was but little further advanced than the third parallel
of the center and right. Operating in an open space of some miles in
extent he had not been able to advance his lines with the rapidity of
Buell and Thomas. But the engagement began when the right and center
reached the swamp, and while yet the left was striving to obtain the
same position. There was no distinguishing anything. Along the whole
line where the fight was raging, sharp reports, shouts, commands, and
cheers, were heard, but nothing could be seen, save occasionally the
white smoke rising from the leveled weapons which had just been
discharged. The ambulances were slowly filled. The wounded soldiers were
brought from the swamps, and the surgeons gathered around them. Cries of
pain, curses, and groans, mingling with the wilder shouts of the excited
combatants, who were hidden by the woods, arose distinctly. This style
of skirmishing was kept up during the whole day. The combatants on the
right and center maintained their original position, and Thomas and
Buell bivouacked where they had fought—in the damp, miry swamps. The
night was spent in preparations for an advance in the morning.
The resistance of the rebels to Pope’s advance was more stubborn, and
the conflict during the day was more determined, more exciting, and
resulted in greater loss than in both the other corps. He was opposed
both by infantry and artillery. The crossing at the creek was defended
by a battery of rifled guns, which Pope had found exceedingly effective,
and he was content, when night came, to rest in the plain, and make his
preparations for reducing the battery at early dawn. The troops of the
three divisions bivouacked on the field, where they had stood mostly
inactive the whole day, Hamilton’s left resting on the Farmington road.
The position obtained at Russell’s House on the 17th, had been strongly
intrenched as a base for the operations of W. T. Sherman’s division on
the 28th. On that day he was ordered to advance and secure a log-house
standing on a ridge, giving a near and commanding position. The place
was then held by the enemy—supposed to be in strong force.
The house was a double log-building standing on a high ridge on the
southern end of the large field to which the Union pickets had advanced.
The enemy had taken out the chinks and removed the roof, making it an
excellent block house, from which he could annoy the Union pickets, in
security. The large field was perfectly overlooked by this house, and by
the ridge along its southern line of fence, which was covered by a dense
grove of heavy oaks and underbrush. The main Corinth road runs along the
eastern fence, while the field itself, three hundred yards wide, by five
hundred long, extended far to the right into the low land of Phillip’s
creek, densely wooded and impassable to troops or artillery. On the
eastern side of the field, the woods were more open. The enemy could be
seen at all times, in and about the house and the ridge beyond, but the
Federal pickets could not appear on that side of the field without
attracting a shot.
General J. W. Denver, with his brigade and the Morton battery of four
guns, was ordered to march from the Union lines at eight A. M., keeping
well under cover as he approached the field; General Morgan L. Smith’s
brigade, with Barrett’s and Waterhouse’s batteries, was ordered by
Sherman to move along the main road, keeping his force well masked in
the woods to the left; Brigadier-General Veatch’s brigade moved from
General Hurlbut’s lines through the woods on the left of and connecting
with General Morgan L. Smith’s, and General John A. Logan’s brigade
moved down to Bowie Hill Cut of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and thence
forward and to the left, connecting with General Denver’s brigade on the
extreme right.
Two twenty-pound rifled guns of Silfversparre’s battery, under the
immediate supervision of Major Taylor, chief of artillery, were moved
silently through the forest to a point behind a hill, from the top of
which could be seen the house and ground to be contested. The guns were
unlimbered, loaded with shell and moved by hand to the crest. The house
was soon demolished by Major Taylor’s battery, when the troops dashed
forward in splendid style, crossed the field, drove the enemy from the
ridge and field beyond, into another dense and seemingly impenetrable
forest. When the enemy reached the ridge, he opened with a two-gun
battery on the right, and another from the front and left, killing three
of General Veatch’s men. The Union artillery soon silenced his, and by
ten A. M. the Federals were masters of the position. Generals Grant and
Thomas were present during the affair and witnessed the movement, which
was admirably executed both by the officers and men.
The enemy, evidently annoyed at this unexpected repulse, sallied out in
some force to regain the lost position, but they were repulsed after a
brisk fire of musketry and artillery. The new position won was near
Corinth, and the work of intrenching went on during the night of the
28th. On the morning of the 29th, a line of defences was constructed,
which gave the Federals a powerful foothold within thirteen hundred
yards of the enemy’s main works.
The whole division of Sherman lay in a slightly curved line, facing
south; his right resting on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, near a deep
cut known as Bowie Hill Cut, and his left resting on the main Corinth
road, at the crest of the ridge, there connecting with General Hurlbut,
who, in turn, on his left, connected with General Davies, and so on down
the whole line to its extremity. So near was the enemy, that the sound
of his drums and sometimes of voices in command could be heard, while
the rumble of the railroad cars, coming and going to and from Corinth
was easily distinguished. For some days and nights, cars had been
arriving and departing frequently. On the night of the 29th, they had
been more active than usual, and Sherman’s suspicions were aroused.
Before daybreak on the 30th, he instructed the brigade commanders and
the field officer of the day, to feel forward as far as possible, but
all reported the enemy’s pickets still in force in the dense woods to
his front. About six A. M., a curious explosion, sounding like a volley
of large siege pieces, followed by others singly, and in twos and
threes, arrested attention. Soon after a dense smoke arose from the
direction of Corinth. Sherman immediately put in motion two regiments of
each brigade by different roads, and soon after followed with the whole
division, infantry, artillery and cavalry. To his surprise, the enemy’s
chief redoubt was found within thirteen hundred yards of the inner line
of intrenchments, but completely masked by the dense forest and
undergrowth. Instead of a continuous line of intrenchments encircling
Corinth, his defenses consisted of separate redoubts, connected in part
by a parapet and ditch, and in part by shallow rifle-pits; the trees
being felled to afford a good field of fire to and beyond the main road.
General Morgan L. Smith’s brigade moved rapidly down the main road,
entering the first redoubt of the enemy at seven A. M., May 30th. It was
completely evacuated, and he pushed on into Corinth and beyond, to
College Hill, there awaiting Thomas’ orders and arrival. General Denver
entered the enemy’s lines at the same time, seven A. M., at a point
midway between the wagon and railroads, and proceeded on to Corinth,
about three miles from his camp; and Colonel McDowell kept further to
the right, near the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. By eight A. M., all
Sherman’s division was at and beyond Corinth.
On the whole ridge extending from Sherman’s into Corinth, and to the
right and left could be seen the abandoned camps of the enemy; flour and
provisions were scattered about, everything indicating a speedy and
confused retreat. In the town itself, many houses were still burning,
and the ruins of warehouses and buildings containing commissary and
other stores were yet smouldering; but there still remained piles of
cannon balls, shells and shot, sugar, molasses, beans, rice, and other
property, which the enemy had failed to carry off or destroy.
The enemy had for some days been removing their sick, and their valuable
stores, and had sent away on railroad cars a part of their effective
force on the night of the 28th. But, of course, even the vast amount of
their rolling stock could not carry away an army of a hundred thousand
men.
The rebels were, therefore, compelled to evacuate the place, and began
the march by ten o’clock on the night of the 29th—the columns filling
the roads leading south and west all night; the rear-guard firing the
train which led to the explosion and conflagration, that gave the first
intimation that Corinth was evacuated.
OCCUPATION OF NORFOLK, VA.
While these events were happening, before Richmond and in the valley of
the Shenandoah, the rebels were not idle elsewhere.
On the evening of the 10th of May, General Wool verified his opinion as
to the easy capture of Norfolk, by landing his troops at Ocean View,
under the direction of Captain Cram, and commenced his march upon the
city.