Preparations for Active Field Service.
Dress Parade and Speeches of General Kemper and Colonel Patton.
Battles Around Richmond.
Gaines' Mill or Cold Harbor.
Frazier's Farm and Malvern Hill.
Testing a Man's Courage.
Casualties.
In Pursuit of the Enemy.
In Camp Near the Chickahominy.
Sickness and Death.
Threatening Attitude of the Enemy in Northern Virginia.
Concentration of the Confederate Army on the Rappahannock.
Pope's Bravado.
Lieutenant Hugh M. Patton Succeeds Stark as Adjutant, and Sergeant
Parke Appointed Sergeant-Major, Succeeding George S. Tansill.
Following the Battle of Seven Pines, and the period preceding the
opening of the battles around Richmond, at Mechanicsville on June 26,
all were engaged in drilling and gathering in absentees. Muskets were
put in order, cartridge boxes, bayonets and gun straps were issued.
Inspection of arms and accouterments, and dress parades were frequent,
and the word went from lip to lip that something was up, that all this
preparation meant business, and that right early.
Rations were cooked and distributed on Wednesday, June 25, and
everything put in shape to move on short notice. Being on parade on
the evening of the day last referred to, General Kemper and Colonel
Patton made soul-stirring speeches, telling us that the great battle
of the revolution was now to be fought, and if we were successful the
Confederacy would be a free country, and we would all go home together;
if beaten, the war must be prolonged for years.
Leaving camp in the early morning of the 26th, we marched in the
direction of Mechanicsville bridge, on the Chickahominy, halting a
short distance from the bridge under cover of timber on the roadside,
from which we could, late in the afternoon, hear the roar of the battle
at Mechanicsville beyond the river, then being fought by the
Confederate division of General A. P. Hill and the Federal corps of
Porter. As the darkness came on the flash of their guns could be seen
distinctly, the battle continuing until nearly 9 o'clock. At dawn the
firing across the river was renewed, continuing for a time. The
movement of our force was then made across the bridge, following the
track of the retreating foe, whose course was marked by the destruction
of commissary stores. Reaching the vicinity of Gaines' Mill at noon, a
line of battle was formed behind and near the crest of a low range of
hills, hiding us from the view of the enemy. In our immediate front
were the brigades of Pickett, Wilcox and Pryor, who were to lead the
assault on our part of the line, with our brigade in support. Near the
middle of the afternoon the battle opened with fury, raging with
varying fortune until nearly dark, when our troops broke over the Union
lines, forcing their men from the field: a victory dearly bought.
Kemper's brigade was not called into action, though lying under fearful
shelling, but fortunately we were just near enough the crest of the
ridge to avoid the shells, which passed in most part over us. We
suffered but little if any loss.
The Federals engaged in this battle numbered about 35,000; their loss
in killed, wounded and missing, 7,000, besides twenty-two pieces of
artillery which fell into our hands. The Confederates no doubt had the
larger number engaged, and their casualties were, therefore, greater,
but seem not to have been reported.
Next morning we marched over the field on which the Confederate
brigades of Wilcox, Pickett and Pryor, with others, had made heroic
fight, and it is almost incredible that a single line of Confederates
should have forced their way in the face of the murderous fire they
met, over such a position, which was to all appearances impregnable,
and certainly was, except as against men fighting for homes, firesides,
and principles which they regarded as dearer than life.
We occupied the field Saturday, in a position to make or to receive an
attack, but the enemy was in no plight--in fact, in no mood, to attack
us, but on the contrary was making for the James River, though we did
not then know it. Our officers did not seem to know with certainty what
direction the enemy was taking, as his movement was well masked. It
seems to have been discovered late on the evening of Saturday, the
28th, or early on Sunday morning, the 29th, that General McClellan,
with his army, was making for the shelter of the Union naval fleet on
the James, and such being the understanding, Longstreet's and A. P.
Hill's divisions at an early hour on Sunday morning were pushed across
the Chickahominy via New Bridge, and to the Darbytown road, to
intercept the retreat. The day was warm, the roads dusty, and the march
fatiguing, especially as it was rapid for fifteen or eighteen miles.
Pushing ahead early the next day, Monday, June 30, the enemy was
encountered about noon. The skirmishers were soon engaged, but the
advance of our troops did not begin until about 4 o'clock P.M., and
after we had suffered for two or more hours from a severe shelling.
While under this severe fire and in line in the woods, in a swamp
amidst brambles and vines, a shell from one of the enemy's guns burst
immediately in our front and only a few feet away, scattering the
fragments and shrapnel in our midst, one of which struck a man close by
me, burying itself in a testament in his breast pocket, which thus
saved his life.
[Illustration: Lieut. Elisha M. Stone]
The point where the encounter took place was known locally as Frazier's
farm. The only Confederate troops engaged were the two divisions above
mentioned, which had been sorely reduced by the casualties at Seven
Pines, Mechanicsville and Gaines' Mill, as well as by sickness, the
exhaustion of a rapid march, and by straggling, to about 12,000 men.
These were pitted against the main body of the Union army.
From the firing we had every reason to believe that the enemy was close
at hand in large numbers, seemingly not distant more than half a mile.
The advance of our forces was through a dense wood, tangled underbrush
filled with brambles, and partly covered by water, with no possibility
of keeping the men up to their places, the stronger ones pushing
through over the obstacles, while many of the weaker, unable to keep
pace, were left behind. Kemper's brigade was leading and his advance
soon became a charge, the enemy being posted on the farther side of an
open field. Some of the line officers implored the regimental commander
to halt long enough to get the men in order and close the ranks, but
the officer cried out: "Forward! Forward!" and on rushed the men, every
man his own general, which they usually were in making such a charge.
In a fierce battle a man's courage is severely tested. Here our
regiment is in battle line on the edge of a wood; less than a quarter
of a mile in front is another wood, sheltering the enemy; between the
opposing forces is an open field; the regiment is advancing and the
lines move out into the clear sunlight. Men will hurriedly reason with
themselves: "The enemy is posted in that timber across the field;
before we move many yards he will open on us with shot and shell; this
is perhaps my last day on earth." So each man reasons, but every face
is sternly set to the front and not a man falters. The shell and shot
blow dozens to gory fragments, but the line does not halt, the living
saying to themselves: "The fire will presently change to cannister,
then I shall certainly be struck." The prediction is being verified,
gaps are opened through the ranks, only to be closed again; the
regiment has lost its adhesion and marching step, its lines are no
longer perfect, but the movement is still onward. From knowledge of
methods in battle, our men suppose the infantry is in support of the
battery. We have escaped shell and cannister, but when we meet the
musketry fire we shall be killed. There is no hanging back, no thought
but to push ahead. The leaden hail now comes and the lines are further
disordered; the left wing has lost its front by quite a distance, but
the push is forward, men grip their guns, their eyes flash, and with a
yell, on to the battery they rush, bayonetting the cannoneers at their
posts. The Federal infantry supports give way precipitately--then
follows that famous bone-searching rebel yell of triumph.
The brigade, led by the brave General Kemper, met a shower of shot,
shell, cannister and storm of leaden bullets; it never faltered, rushed
upon the Union battery--Randol's Pennsylvania--routing its infantry
supports. Here Ensign Mays planted the colors of the 7th regiment on
the Union guns. They were ours, won, however, at fearful cost. The
failure promptly to support our brigade--the enemy flanking us on both
wings--caused General Kemper to order the retirement of the brigade,
now suffering severe loss from the fire of these flanking columns,
which in turn were themselves flanked and defeated by the troops coming
to our support. Such is the fearful game of war with men of the same
valor and blood.
The brigade casualties were 414, of which 44 were killed, 205 wounded
and 165 missing. Regimental loss in the 7th Virginia, 111, of which 14
were killed, 66 wounded and 31 missing. Adjutant E. B. Starke was
killed and Sergeant-Major Tansill severely wounded, disabled for
further service. Sergeant-Major Tansill had been a soldier in our war
with Mexico, and was one of the most efficient, the bravest and best of
our soldiers. The gallant Lieutenant, afterwards Captain James G.
Tansill, of Company E, of the 7th regiment, was the son of
Sergeant-Major Tansill.
The loss in my company was 16. Killed, Captain Joel Blackard; mortally
wounded, Ballard P. Meadows, Lee E. Vass and Joseph Eggleston; the
other wounded were: J. C. Shannon, Daniel Bish, Jesse B. Young, David
C. Akers, H. J. Wilburn, Tim P. Darr, Francis M. Gordon, George A.
Minnich, T. P. Mays, John W. Sarver and Joseph Suthern. Captured, Allen
M. Bane. Ballard P. Meadows was made a prisoner and died in the hands
of the enemy. Upon the fall of the brave and lamented Captain Blackard,
the command of the company devolved upon First Lieutenant Robert H.
Bane, a gallant soldier, and a worthy successor to Captain Blackard.
Second Lieutenant Mullins became first lieutenant; E. M. Stone, second
lieutenant, and Sergeant E. R. Walker was elected second junior
lieutenant.
During that night our troops rested on the field without disturbance
from the enemy, who continued his flank movement, a masterly retreat,
to a position at Malvern Hill, on the banks of the James: a position of
great natural strength, where the entire Union army was concentrated,
supported by the gunboats in the river. The Battle of Malvern Hill did
not begin until the afternoon, but its tide swept to and fro until far
into the night. The divisions of Longstreet and A. P. Hill were held in
reserve, close up, but not called into action, near enough, however, to
be in range of the enemy's artillery and heavy projectiles thrown from
the gunboats, inspiring fear and terror among our men not justified by
their execution. The repeated charges of our troops against the enemy's
stronghold failed to dislodge him. Our men were repulsed; they had
bearded the lion in his den; he refused to yield; he could not afford
to, for if he did he had but one place to go and that was into the
river, or the alternative, of surrendering. In the Battle of Frazier's
Farm the Federals largely outnumbered the Confederates. They lost ten
guns captured by the Confederates, who, when the battle closed, held
the greater part of the field. The Federal General McCall was captured
by the 47th Virginia regiment.
At the opening of the campaign, the Union army numbered 105,000, the
Confederate 80,762--tremendous armies, when we come to think of it. The
losses on each side, up to the Battle of Malvern Hill, in killed and
wounded, were thought to be equal, but in that battle it is stated upon
authority that the Confederate loss was about 5,000 men, the Union loss
about one-third that number. During the Battle of Malvern Hill, Mr.
Davis, President of the Confederate States, was with us in the morning
and under the fire of the gunboats.
It being ascertained that the enemy had retreated during the previous
night, we hastened in pursuit, amidst a heavy rainstorm, and after a
fatiguing, disagreeable, all-day march, found the enemy in a strong
position at Westover, on the James. As he showed no disposition to come
out from his cover, our army, about July 8, reached its camps in the
vicinity of Richmond. It had been a wonderful series of battles.
General McClellan had made a most masterly retreat, escaping from
woeful disaster. It was within the range of probability, in fact,
almost a certainty, that if the Confederate army had been under as good
discipline as it was two years later, the Union army would have been
destroyed or made prisoners. As it was, the Federal loss was nearly
16,000 men and 54 pieces of artillery, while the Confederate loss was
reckoned at about 19,000 men. Richmond had been saved, the enemy driven
far away, General McClellan proving himself better at a retreat than
going the other way.
After the enemy had taken shelter under the protection of his gunboats
at Westover, the Confederate commissariat attempted to reach the large
amount of supplies held by the farmers along the James River. Numerous
wagons were sent under escort to secure these supplies. Our Company D,
going on one of these trips, was attacked by Union gunboats, into which
we fired quite a number of volleys of musketry at close range, being
sheltered by the river bank, and in return received a severe shelling.
A few men were wounded, and I received a shot on the side of the foot,
but not much of a hurt.
From July 8 to August 13, a period of inactivity ensued, and as usual
in that swampy country, with bad water, there was much sickness among
the men. Lewis R. Skeens, of Company D, died in camp and was buried
near by. Charles W. Peck, George W. Akers, William C. Fortner, James B.
Henderson, John R. Crawford, and the writer were taken sick and sent to
hospital at Richmond, where Peck and Akers died. Fortner, Henderson,
Crawford and the writer improved rapidly, and were ready to return to
our command by the middle of August.
General McClellan's Union army was shut up at Westover, and being
depleted by the ravages of sickness and death. This fact, together with
the threatening attitude of a new Federal army in Northern Virginia,
induced General Lee, who now had apparently nothing to fear from
McClellan, to concentrate his army on the Rappahannock, and to that end
about the middle of July had transferred General Jackson and his
command to the Rapidan--which, by the early days of August, was in the
vicinity of the enemy--and closed with him at Cedar Mountain on August
9, forcing the enemy to retire on Culpeper court house.
Longstreet's division left Richmond Wednesday, August 13, for
Gordonsville and the Rapidan, our brigade moving by rail. Learning that
our division was moving, Fortner, Henderson, Crawford and the writer,
the sick bunch above alluded to, applied for discharge from the
hospital, and procured transportation via Lynchburg. Reaching Orange
court house on the 18th, we left the railway, taking the track of the
advancing army. The first day's tramp finished up Fortner and
Henderson, both of whom were still feeble; and it also finished up my
shoes, leaving me barefoot; in fact, had none I could wear until after
our return from Maryland a month later. Leaving Fortner and Henderson
on the road, Crawford and I pushed on, rejoining our command on the
Rappahannock. Fortner overtook us in a few days, and in time to go into
the battle of the 30th, when he received a severe wound. Poor Fortner!
Misfortune seemed now to be his lot, going and coming.
By August 20 the greater part of General Lee's army was on the
Rappahannock, confronting the Union army under General John Pope, on
the opposite bank. Pope, who, it is stated, had said a few days before
in an address to his troops that "his headquarters were in the saddle,
and that he never turned his back upon an enemy nor looked for lines of
retreat"--which statement he later denied--had already run, and was in
a position to have to run again, or at least to get to the rear to look
after his line of retreat.
Longstreet's division on August 21 moved forward to Kelley's ford,
which we left on the 22d, taking position near Beverly's, relieving
some of General Jackson's command, which moved up the Rappahannock.
For three or four days there was considerable skirmishing, with
occasional artillery duels across the river. Again moving on the 24th
to the assistance of Jackson's troops, engaged with the enemy at some
of the upper fords of the Rappahannock, our march was retarded by the
swollen condition of Hazel river and other small tributaries of the
Rappahannock; reaching Jeffersonton that afternoon, during the progress
of a lively cannonade. A halt was made by our division and Jackson's
men moved up the river. Lieut. Hugh M. Patton had been appointed
Adjutant of the seventh regiment, succeeding Adjutant Starke, and
---- Park had been appointed Sergeant Major to succeed George S.
Tansill, disabled and discharged.