CHAPTER 5: SEVEN PINES OR FAIR OAKS

— THE SITUATION. — ATTACK planned. — Johnston’s plan changed. — Johnston’s problem. — battle of Seven Pines or fair Oaks. — a misunderstanding. — Longstreet’s mistake. — Huger delayed. — Huger unjustly blamed. — signal given. — Hill’s battle in brief. — losses. — Reenforcements. — reports. — Wilcox’s report. — Couch’s position. — Johnston’s battle. — Whiting’s advance. — a second attack. — Johnston wounded. — G. W. Smith in command. — Smith’s battle, June. — the Confederates withdraw. — Lee placed in command. — Resume. — staff and organization. — artillery service. — Davis and Johnston.

Meanwhile, Norfolk had now been evacuated by our forces, which were withdrawn at first to Petersburg and then to Richmond. Our ironclad, the Virginia (the old Merrimac), drawing too much water to ascend the James, had been blown up. This river was now open to the Federal fleet, except for some hurriedly built batteries at Drury’s Bluff, about six miles below Richmond, covering obstructions made of a row of piles and some sunken schooners.

On May 15 the fleet, which included three ironclads, the Monitor, Galena, and Naugatuck, attacked the batteries, but was repulsed with 25 killed and wounded, and considerable injury to some of the vessels. Until that time Johnston had contemplated fighting on the north of the Chickahominy, but he now decided to concentrate his army nearer Richmond, and on May 17 it was all encamped within three or four miles to the east of the city.

The situation had grown very threatening; for McDowell’s army, still at Fredericksburg with 31,000 men, had again been assigned to McClellan. He only awaited the arrival of Shields, marching to join him with 11,000 more, before advancing.

If it was now in Johnston’s power to do anything to save Richmond, it must be done before McDowell arrived. It was [72] not likely that McClellan would himself seek battle when such a large reenforcement was near. Johnston’s only chance, therefore, lay in taking the offensive. He had no such works to rely upon as the Federals had around Washington. There were, indeed, a few small enclosed forts, erected during the first year of the war, each armed with a few of the smooth-bore guns of that day, but they were located too near the city limits to have any value.

The lines in which we afterward fought were but light infantry trenches with occasional barbette batteries, usually thrown up by the troops under emergency.

The enemy soon followed us up and established a line of battle, upon which at different points earthworks began to appear.

His right flank, on the north bank of the Chickahominy, rested upon Beaver Dam Creek, a strong position which Johnston’s engineers had selected for our own left flank, before we left Yorktown, when Johnston contemplated fighting on that bank. Thence, the Federal line extended southeast along the [73] Chickahominy some three miles to New Bridge. Then, crossing this stream, it bent south and ran to White Oak Swamp, where the left rested, giving about four miles on the south side in a line convex toward Richmond, and scarcely six miles away at its nearest point.

In observation of McDowell at Fredericksburg was Gen. J. R. Anderson at Hanover Junction with about 9000 men; and near Hanover C. H. was Branch’s brigade, about 4500. Johnston directed that these forces should be drawn behind the Chickahominy, on our left, and united into a new division under A. P. Hill. Before this could be accomplished, however, Branch was attacked by Morell’s division and Warren’s brigade of Porter’s corps, and was forced back with a loss of about 300 killed and wounded, and 700 prisoners, the enemy reporting 62 killed, 223 wounded, and 70 missing, total 355.

At Fredericksburg, McDowell’s column was at last joined by Shields, who had been detached from Banks in the Valley, and on May 26 McDowell was put in motion. In the forenoon of the 27th notice of his advance reached Johnston, who at once recognized that he must now attack before McDowell could unite with McClellan.

The latter had moved so cautiously as to offer no favorable opportunity until his last move which had put his army astride of the Chickahominy. That presented as fair a chance as Johnston could now expect. So he immediately determined to attack on the 29th. As McDowell was approaching behind the enemy’s right, his strongest effort would be made to crush that flank. On the 28th Johnston got his troops into position to attack at dawn on the 29th. Three of his seven divisions (Whiting’s, A. P. Hill’s, and D. R. Jones’s) were to attack Porter’s corps at Beaver Dam. The other four divisions on the south side of the Chickahominy (McLaws’s, Longstreet’s, D. H. Hill’s, and Huger’s) would be held in observation, ready to cross when Porter’s corps was driven back. Everything was in readiness by sundown on the 28th, when further news was received. McDowell had suddenly stopped his advance, and his troops seemed to be falling back toward Manassas. What had happened was that Jackson had again broken loose in the Valley and [74] defeated Banks at Strasburg on May 23, and at Winchester on May 25, and was moving on the Potomac, as will be told more fully in a later chapter.

This had created a panic at Washington, for rumor had magnified Jackson’s forces greatly, and McDowell, just in the nick of time for us, had been turned back for the defence of the capital.

Johnston was glad of a respite, and an opportunity to consider as an alternative an attack upon McClellan’s left. The strength of the position at Beaver Dam Creek made any direct attack very dangerous, and to turn it would consume time. To attack the enemy’s left was certainly a safer proposition. On the south side his force was smaller and was much more easily gotten at. And while it was already partially fortified by abattis and trenches, quickly constructed in flat and wooded country, yet they had had time to do but little. Longstreet urged going on with the attack for which the troops were already in position, but Johnston decided to withdraw the troops north of the Chickahominy during the night of the 28th, and to have reconnoissances made to discover the location and strength of the enemy’s position on the south side. Accordingly, on the 29th, and again on the 30th, one or two regiments were advanced and drove in the enemy’s pickets on our extreme right flank, developing his presence and that he was fortifying. This being reported to Johnston by D. H. Hill soon after noon on the 30th, Hill was informed in reply that ‘he would lead an attack upon the enemy next morning.’

There was nothing to gain by further delay; for, by the arrival at Richmond of Huger’s division from Norfolk on the 29th, Johnston now had all the force possible to get. His problem was to defeat four divisions of the enemy, 12 brigades fortified, and crush them before assistance could cross the Chickahominy to their relief. If he could do this quickly his chance was good to involve in the defeat also some of the reenforcements the enemy would be sending across the bridges. He had seven divisions, 27 brigades, numbering about 60,000 infantry and artillery. The four divisions to be attacked numbered about 37,000. Considering the morale of our men, which will appear more fully after a description of the battle, the proposition was an easy one, [75] if only we could succeed in bringing our fighting strength to bear in the right places and at the right times. But just there lay our greatest difficulty and weakness. Our army was not yet organized into corps, our divisions were often too large, and our staff service, by which information and orders were disseminated, was insufficient in amount and deficient in technical training and experience. Johnston was endeavoring to remedy some of these evils by assigning his ranking officers, G. W. Smith, Longstreet, and Magruder, to command two or more divisions each, which he called wings and centre, but such temporary arrangements are always more apt to mar than to promote unity of action. And our general himself was impatient and unmindful of small detail. Let us now have the story of what happened.

To use the slang expression, it was ‘up to’ Johnston to play, and in a conference with Longstreet during the afternoon of May 30, the battle for the next day was planned in accordance with the intimation given D. H. Hill about noon.

The conference was prolonged by the coming up of a violent rain-storm, scarcely second to any in violence, according to my recollection, that I saw during the war. Over three inches of rain must have fallen in the first two hours, and it kept up, more or less, until late at night. It was hoped that this rain would make our task easier by rendering the Chickahominy impassable for reenforcements to the enemy. Indeed, it did have this effect, but not until the night of the day after the rain. The immediate effect was only to make all of our marchings and manoeuvres slower and more difficult, and the flat, swampy country of much of the battle-field was entirely inundated.

During this afternoon — prolonged by the rain-storm — Johnston gave verbal instructions to Longstreet as to the battle of the next day, and it is...