small brigade of Early's division of Ewell's corps, which had been in North
Carolina with Hoke, and two small brigades, with a battalion of artillery
under Breckinridge, The force under Breckinridge, which Grant esti-
mated at fifteen thousand, did not exceed two thousand muskets. When
he fell back to the lines immediately about Richmond, Gen. Lee was joined
there by Hoke's division from Petersburg ; but at the same time Breckin-
ridge's force had to be sent back into the Shenandoah Valley, and Ewell's
corps, with two battalions of artillery, had to be detached under Gen,
Early's command to meet the demonstrations of Hunter upon Lynchburg.
This counterbalanced all reinforcements. The foregoing statement shows,
indeed, that the disparity of forces between the two armies in the begin-
ning of the campaign was never lessened after they reached the vicinity
of Richmond and Petersburg, but, on the contrary, was largely increased.
It has well been asked, by a commentator on these remarkable facts
" What would have, heen the result, if the resources in men and munitions
of war of the two commanders had heen reversed f "

The fact was that Grant, notwithstanding his immense preponderance
of men and material, had, after losses almost equalling Lee's numbers,
utterly failed in his design of defeating the heroic Army of JSTorthern Vir-
ginia away from its base, and pushing the fragments before him down to
Richmond, and had been forced to cover up his failure by adopting the
derided Peninsular scheme of McClellan. The Northern public, however,
professed to find occasion of exultation in the reflection that he was
within a few miles from Richmond, without considering that Lee's army
was as much a protection there as a hundred miles away, and that Grant
had only by a monstrous circuit, reached a point, where, ascending the
waters of Virginia, he might have landed at the very beginning of the
campaign without loss or opposition. It was a remarkable exhibition of
the gaseous nonsense of New York that a mob of twenty-five thousand
persons should have assembled in that city " to render the thanks of the
nation to Gen Grant " for a feat which was, simply and at once, absurd,
disastrous, shocking, and contemptible.



CHAPTER XXXIl.

POSITION OF THE AE1IIE3 AROUND EICHMOND, JUNE 1, 1864. — MANCEUVEE3 FOE POSITION. —
BATTLE OF COLD HAEBOUE. — EASY REPULSE OF THE ENEMY. — GRANT DECIDES TO CE083
THE EIVEB, AND ATTEMPT THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND. — WHY GEN. LEE DID NOT AT-
TEMPT TO ATTACK HIM IN THE MOVEMENT. — BATTLES OF PETEESBURG. — TWO ATTACKS OF
THE ENEMY REPULSED. — BUTLER ADVANCES HIS POSITION, AND IS DRIVEN BACK. — GRANT
TURNS HIS ATTENTION FROM THE FORTIFICATIONS TO THE RAILROADS. — DEMONSTRATIONS
ON THE WELDON AND DANVILLE ROADS. — DEFEAT OF SHERIDAN's EXPEDITION ON THE
RAILROADS NORTH OF RICHMOND. — OPERATIONS WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. — HUNTER'S
MOVEMENT. — HE CAPTURES STAUNTON. — HE ADVANCES UPON LYNCHBURG. — HE IS DE-
FEATED, AND DRIVEN INTO WESTERN VIRGINIA. — GEN. JOHN MOEGAn's EXPEDITION INTO
KENTUCKY. — ITS DISASTEOUS CONCLUSION. — PARTICULARS OF THE MURDER OF GEN. MOR-
GAN IN EAST TENNESSEE. — EARLy's INVASION OP MARYLAND. — DARING OF GEN. LEE. —
WHAT HE PROPOSED BY SENDING EARLy's COLUMN INTO THE NORTH. — GEANt's PREPARA-
tions against this movement. — battle of monocacy bridge. — defeat of " lew "
Wallace's command. — eaelt advances upon Washington. — skirmish in feont of
fort stevens. — early declines to attack the federal capital and retreats. —

QUESTIONS AS TO THE STRENGTH OF WASHINGTON. — RESULTS OF EAELY's EXPEDITION. — ITS
EFFECT ON THE ARMIES OPEEATING ABOUND RICHMOND. — THE MINE FIASCO AT PETERS-
BURG. — THREE ELEMENTS IN THE PLAN OF ATTACK. — DESCRIPTION OF THE MINE. — THE
EXPLOSION AND A " FEU d'eNFER." — THE ASSAULTING COLUMN PAUSES IN THE CRATER. —

TERRIBLE SCENES OF CARNAGE. — THE MISERABLE FAILURE. COMMENTARY OF THE NEW

YORK " TIMES."

The first of June, 1864, found the position of the two armies around
Richmond as follows : Grant was between the Chickahominy and the Pa-
inunkej, with his left thrown forward to Mechanicsville, his right with-
drawn to White House, and his reserve massed in rear of liis left, and Rich-
mond somewhat behind his left flank. Lee was posted from Atlee's Station,
extending on his left to Gaines' Mill, with outposts as far as Coal Harbour.
His position conformed to that of 1862 ; and, indeed, the whole Confederate
line of battle was on ground occupied by both the armies at that time.

On falling back to Richmond it had been the fij'st concern of Gen. Lee
to secure positions he knew, from the battles of 1862, to be good ones.



BATTLE OF COLD HAKBOUK. 527

He, accordingly, sent forward to the right Kershaw's and Hoke's divisions
of Anderson's corps, with orders to occupy the eminences around Gaines'
Mill and Cold Harbour. This position had been previously carried by some
Federal cavalry. But on arrival of Hoke's division, shortly afterwards
reinforced by McLaws', the Confederates obtained possession of the desired
posts. At the same time Breckinridge and JMahone, of Hill's corps, were
equally successful in gaining certain advanced positions.

On the 2d June, as Grant continued to develop his left flank, the Con-
federates were put in motion on a parallel line, while Early, commanding
Ewell's corps, swung round, late in the afternoon, and took the enemy in
flank, drove him from two lines of entrenchments, and inflicted great loss.
Meanwhile Breckinridge, supported by Wilcox, proceeded, under orders
from Lee, to attack the advanced Federals, now on the extreme right at
Turkey Hill, and there succeeded in driving them away. Thus another
important position was obtained by Lee ; this hill commanding the ap-
proaches from the north and east to the line of the Chickahominy. Mean-
while Grant was getting his troops into position for a decisive action.
Early in the morning of June the 3d, his army, now extending from Tolo-
patomy Creek, across the road from Cold Harbour to the Chickahominv,
advanced in full line of battle, upon the Confederates.



BATTLE OF COLD HARBOUK.

The Federal line of battle ran in the following order, from right to left :
Burnside, Warren, Smith, Wright, and Hancock. The latter was oj^posed
by Breckinridge's command on Lee's extreme right ; Ewell's corps held
the extreme left opposite Burnside ; and Hill's corps was in reserve. The
attack was led by Hancock, who momentarily carried the position held by
Breckinridge's troops, but was severely repulsed, as this part of the line
was reinforced by Milligan's Florida brigade, and the Maryland battalion.
This was the only corps of the enemy that came in contact with the Con-
federate works. The two corps on the right of Hancock were repulsed ;
and Warren and Burnside staggered on the line of the rifle-pits. The fact
was that Grant, in testing the question, whether Lee's army had or had
not been demoralized by its experience from the Kapidan to the James,
found his own army so incapable, that he was compelled to withdraw it in
sheer despair. He " mounted his horse and rode along the lines to ascer-
tain from the different commanders the actual state of things in their im-
mediate front. He returned leisurely, absorbed in thought, and it was
evident that the attempt would not be renewed." Of the results of the
day, he wrote : " Our loss was heavy, while that of the enemy, I have rea-
son to believe, was comparatively light." The fact was that the report of



528 THE LOST CAUSE.

the adjutant-general at Washington showed a loss of seven thousand five
hundred men in three days' operations on the Chickahominy, the greater
portion of which occurred, of course, in the general action of the 3d of
June.

For several days after the battle of Cold Harbour there was compara-
tive quiet, and some unimportant skirmishes. During the night of the Sth
Grant withdrew his right wing about two miles, and placed it behind a
swamp, which protected both the flank and front of that portion of his
army. The severe experience of the 3d satisfied him that Richmond could
not be carried by a cou^ de main, and could no longer be approached with
advantage from the north. On this side lay a difficult river and five miles
of earthworks, stretched to the Confederate capital. Here, too, the enemy
had to hold the Fredericksburg railroad, a long, vulnerable line, which
would exhaust much of his strength to guard, and which would have to be
protected to supply his army — a situation which would have left open to
the Confederates all their lines of communication on the south side of the
James. A full survey of all the ground satisfied Grant that he could not
operate with advantage north and east of Richmond ; he determined to
make another movement by Lee's left flank, throw his army over James
River, and seize Petersburg, hoping thus to cut ofi" all the Confederate sup-
plies, except by the canal ; while his cavalry could be sent to Charlottes-
ville and Gordons ville, to break up the railroad connection between Rich-
mond and the Shenandoah Yalley and Lynchburg.

On the 12th June, Grant completed his preparations to abandon the
late field of operations about the Chickahominy, cross the James River,
and occupy the south side towards Petersburg. To do this he had to make
another movement round Lee's right, extending as far as Bottom's Bridge,
and march down the Chickahominy as far as the next crossings at Long's
and Jones' bridges. The movement was efi'ected with skill. On June 13,
the advance had reached Wilcox's landing on the James, near Charles'
City Court-house, and the next day Grant's whole army was safely trans-
ferred to the opposite shore.

Gen. Lee did not attack Grant on his movement to the James. He
was probably unable to do so. Richmond and Petersburg had both to be
guarded, not only against the Army of the Potomac, but also that of But-
ler, who had come up the river in heavy force to co-operate with Grant ;
while an important detachment of Confederate force, as we shall see, had
to be ready to move towards Lynchburg to meet the advance of a third
ai-my in that direction. It had been the expectation of Grant to make an
easy capture of Petersburg, which Butler had previously failed to take,
laying the blame of defeat on his subordinate, Gillmore. But he found
that Lee had anticipated him in this new plan of operations ; that Peters-
burg was well able to withstand a siege ; that additional fortifications had



BATTLES OF rETEESBCKG. 529

been promptly erected around it and on the banks of tlie Appomattox,
while Drewry's Blufi', also, afforded a good and strong point of defence.



BATTLES OF PETEESBUKG.

Grant found it now necessary to " hammer " at Petersburg, which,
properly regarded, was then a mere outpost of the Confederate capital, for
even if he took tlie first, or rather the line of works that commanded it,
similar works, around Richmond, twenty miles off, confronted him.
Smith's corps, of Butler's command, having disembarked at Bermuda
Hundred on the 14th June, moved rapidly upon Petersburg, and made an
assault on the batteries covering the approaches to the town on the north-
east. He got possession of this line of works, but was too timid to push
his advantage, and waited the coming up of the Second Corps, under Han-
cock, two divisions of which arrived during the night, and relieved a part
of Smith's line in the captured works. An attack was ordered in the even-
ing of the next day, Burnside's corps having also come up and gone into
position on the left. Three assaults were made Avitli disastrous result ; the
Confederates assuming the aggressive, driving the enemy from his breast-
works at Howlett's House, and ojDcning upon him an enfilading fire, in
which a large portion of a brigade that had sought shelter in a ravine was
»aptured by a Georgia regiment.

The next day the Fifth Corps was got up, and a third attack was made
by the enemy four corps strong. It was repulsed at all parts of the line :
and, again assuming the offensive, the Confederates made an attack on
Burnside's line of advanced rifle-pits, drove the enemy back upon his sup-
ports, and remained in possession until day-light, when they retired to
their own works.

Meanwhile Butler, taking advantage of the Confederates in his front
having been withdrawn to Petersburg, sallied from behind his entrench-
ments and advanced towards the i-ailroad, intending to tear it up. Lee
promptly prepared for him. The lines necessarily vacated by Beaure-
gard, when he had to fiill back and defend Petersburg, had already been
taken possession of by the Federals ; but directly Butler made his attempt,
Anderson was despatched with his corps from Richmond to repulse him.
This was done most effectively — Pickett's division, the heroes of Gettys-
burg, again making here an impetuous charge, capturing the breastworks of
the enemy. AVe may imagine how unfortunate Butler was in his ofiicial
announcement of great victories, for on the very day that he despatched
that he had destroyed the communication with Richmond, Gen. Lee was
sending, by the railroad, troops from the capital for the defence of Peters-
burg. ^
34



530 THE LOST CAUSE.

The result of all these engagements, -wliicli had cost Grant, by an
official calculation, 9,G65 men, was that the Confederates were still in firm
possession of their works covering Petersburg, and that Grant was left no
other resource than to proceed to envelop the town as far as possible with-
out attacking fortifications.

The immediate operations of his army appear now to have degenerateil
to an attempt upon the railroads. On the 22d an attempt was made by
two divisions of cavalry to get possession of the Weldon railroad ; but when
a portion of the command had reached the Jerusalem plank-road, A.
P. Hill's corps and Anderson's successfully encountered them, and
drove them back with severe loss. Gen. "Wilson, however, succeeded in
reaching the railroad at Ream's station, below where the combatants were
engaged, and tore up some of the track. Wilson, joined by Kautz, then
struck across to the Southside railroad, doing some damage, and finally
came upon the Danville track, having had a sharp engagement with a
small Confederate force near Nottoway Court-house. Continuing along
the Danville railroad to the southwest, they arrived at the covered bridge
over the Staunton river, in tlie evening of the 24th. Here a body of Yir-
ffinia and North Carolina militia met them, and after a brisk encounter
Wilson and Kautz had to retire. This was the limit of their raid. They
returned as rapidly as they could, but at Peam's station one thousand pris-
oners and all the enemy's artillery and trains were captured by a Confed-
erate force under Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee. Kautz's knowledge of the
country enabled him to escape. He, with his shattered command, reached
camp on the oOtli June, while Wilson, with his men in wretched condition,
did not arrive till next day.

North of Pichmond, Grant's designs on the railroads were no more suc-
cessful, and the expedition of Sheridan already noticed as sent out to de-
stroy the railroads between Pichmond and the Shenandoah Y alley and
Lynchburg, had met with disaster, without accomplishing a single impor-
tant result. He had been intercepted at Trevillian station while moving
on the Gordonsville road ; and reaching the latter place by a circuit, was
twice repulsed by the infantry in the rifle-pits there, and pleading the
" want of ammunition " was compelled to withdraw his command across
the North Anna and retreat to the White House.

The month of June thus closed with Lee master of the situation around
Pichmond and Petersburg. In the same month there were other notable
successes to strengthen the capital, and public attention was turned to
events occurring in other parts of Virginia, the result of which was to open
the Shenandoah Yalley, that famous avenue into the territory of the
North, and to afford Gen. Lee the opportunity of an important diversion
We shall see, indeed, that this ready and resourceful commander, with
Grant fully occupied in the south of Virginia, was yet enabled quietly!



OPERATIONS WEST OF THE BLUE EIDGE. 531

and skilfully to send another army of invasion into tlie Nortliorn
States.



OPERATIONS WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE.

At the last reference to operations west of the Blue Eidge, Gen. IIuii-
ter — the same who had made himself famous by his negrophilism in the
department of Beaufort, South Carolina — ^liad taken command of the Fed-
eral forces there, and was about to enter upon an enlarged campaign.
That campaign was dictated by Grant. It indicated the extension of the
auxiliary movement" against Eichmond to as many points as Staunton,
Lynchburg, Charlottesville and Gordonsville — the general design being to
cut the communications of Richmond, in view of which Hunter -was to
move on the point that best invited attack.

West of the Blue Ridge the Confederate force was small, disarranged
and altogether unequal to meet these formidable enterprises of the enemy.
It consisted of a few small brigades of inferiour cavalry, about two regi-
ments of infantry, and a small brigade (Vaughan's) of dismounted troops
acting as infantry. To supply the place of Breckinridge, who had gone to
the Richmond and Petersburg lines, McCausland's little force, from Dub-
lin, was sent to the front of Staunton, and Gen. William E. Jones was
ordered to take all the troops he could move from Southwestern Yirginia
to the same position in the lower valley. Accordingly, Gen. Jones not
only got together all the infantry west of the New River, but having dis-
mounted Vaughan's brigade of cavalry also, took all to Staunton, leaving
nothing in the extreme southwest but a few disjointed bodies of cavalry
and Morgan's command to meet Burbridge, coming in from Kentucky.

Gen. Hunter, having received his instructions from Grant, immediately
took up the offensive, and moving up the Shenandoah Yalley, met Jones'
little command, on the 5th June, at Piedmont, Here the Confederates
were overpowered with the loss of more than one thousand prisoners, and
of their commander, who, with hat in hand, was cheering his men when
he fell, pierced through his head by a minie ball. On the 8th, Hunter
formed a junction with Crook and Avcrill at Staunton, from which place
he moved, by way of Lexington, direct on Lynchburg. He reached this
place on the 16th June.

It now became necessary for Gen. Lee to detach a considerable portion
of his force to meet this distant demonstration of the enemy, and to select
a commander, the decision, energy and rapidity of whose movements might
overthrow Hunter, and possibly make an opportunity to pass a column,
however small, through the Valley of Virginia to threaten the Federal
capital. For this work Gen. Early was selected. He had latterly com-



532 THE rOBT CATJSE.

manded Ewell's corps, and with the great portion of this, he moved rapidly
by the Orange and Alexandria raiboad to Lynchbnrg.

On the 18th June llnnter made an attack on the south side of Lynch<
burg, which was easily repulsed. The next day the Confederates attacked,
drove him in confusion, took thirteen of his guns, pursued him to Salem,
and forced him to a line of retreat into the mountains of Western Vir-
ginia. Gen. Grant wrote : " Had Gen. Hunter moved by way of Char-
lottesville, instead of Lexington, as his instructions contemplated, he w^ould
have been in a position to have covered the Shenandoah T alley against the
enemy, should the force he met have seemed to endanger it. If it did not,
he would have been within easy distance of the James Kiver canal, on the
main line of eonmiunication between Lynchburg and the forces sent for its
defence." As it was, no sooner did Gen. Early ascertain that Hunter waa
retreating by the way of the Kanaw^ha Kiver, thus laying the Shenandoah
Valley open for an expedition into Maryland and Pennsylvania, than he
returned northward and moved down that valley.

While the Shenandoah Valley was thus opened. Gen. John Morgan had
done his part in breaking up the enemy's combination in Western Virginia.
This adventurous cavalier — who had escaped from the Ohio Penitentiary,
and returned to active service — 'Was operating in Southwestern Virginia,
when Gen. Jones, commanding there, was ordered, with all the troops he
could transport, to Staunton, at the very time that Southwestern Virginia
was about to be invaded by Burbridge. Having no force to meet Bur-
bridge in front, it was resolved by Morgan to dash boldly into the heart of
Kentucky, and thus draw the Federal commander away. This plan suc-
ceeded, but at the cost of the defeat of Morgan's command.

With a force of little more than two thousand cavalry, Gen. Morgan
entered the State of Kentucky through Pound Gap. On the 11th June he
attacked and captured Cynthiana, with its entire garrison. On the 12th
he was overtaken by Burbridge, with a largely superiour force, and his
command eifcetually dispersed, and finally driven from the State.

This was the last important expedition ever commanded by John Mor-
gan ; and M-e may add here some account of the tragical circumstances
which suddenly and unexpectedly brought to a close the career of this
extraordinary man, and which constitute a case of atrocious tnurder, un-
paralleled in the records of any events which assume the title of civilized
war. Driven from Kentucky, Gen. Morgan attempted a smaller scale of
operations in East Tennessee, and was next heard of near Greenville. He
was here on the 3d September ; the place lying on the great line of rail-
road from Virginia to Georgia by the way of Knoxville, and nineteen
miles distant from Bull's Gap, where Gen. Gillem w^as encamped with a
brigade of Federal cavalry. What now occurred, it is necessary to state
with more particularity of detail than w^e have usually bestowed on the



DEATH OF GEN. MORGAN. 533

relation of single events, as the manner of Gen. Morgan's dcatli lias been
variously questioned, the enemy claiming that he was killed in honourable
combat.

Tlie General established his headquarters at the house of a Mrs. "Wil-
liams, in the town of Greenville. His own brigade was sent on the road
leading to Eodgersville, for the purpose of getting forage, and a detach-
ment of Tennessee cavalry, six hundred strong, was ordered under Col. Brad
ford, to encamp on the road leading to Bull's Gap, and to picket the road
leading towards the enemy. The country between Greenville and the Gap
is hilly, and wild, and very poor. Gen. Morgan's betrayal was at hand
from a quarter he had least expected. He had no sooner retired to rest
than a woman, the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Williams, mounted a horse,
and, unnoticed, rode to the Federal commander, and informed liim of the
prize within his reach. Gillem immediately moved his command in the
direction of Greenville ; when about five miles from town he halted and
sent a detachment through the woods, and succeeded in getting on the
flank of Bradford's command, and driving him back from the road, leav-
ing it open to Greenville. A detachment of four companies of the 13th
Tennessee Cavalry was then sent forward to charge the town. They mot
\vith no resistance. The square on which Mrs. W.'s house was situated
was surrounded immediately. The officers of Morgan's staff being aroused
by the couriers, of whom there were three or four at the front gate, rushed
out and were captured one by one. Gen. Morgan attempted to escape
through the garden ; finding exit in that direction cut off, he concealed
himself among some grape vines. He had no weapon at all, Captain
Rogers having one of his pistols, and one of his clerks the other. While
the officers of his staff' and couriers were together under guard within
twenty yards of his concealment, he necessarily heard the questions asked
them and the threats made against them.

Seeing that there was no hope of successful concealment, he came out
and surrendered to Capt. Wilcox, of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry, m-Iio had
already both of Morgan's pistols in his possession. This captain sat on his
horse and conversed with the General for some time, and then rode off'.
A few minutes after he left, a man named Andrew Camj^bell, belongiu"*
to the Federal cavalry referred to, rode up and presented his gun at Gen.
Morgan The General said : " For God's sake don't shoot me — I am a
piisoner." The gun was fired and the General fell. The muzzle of the
gun, a Colt's army rifle, was Avithin two feet of Gen. Morgan's breast when