ly routed by one of Gilson s guns, which he fired
himself with rare coolness and precision, and a
charge of the dragoons and the Third Pennsylva
nia cavalry, a volunteer regiment, which, under
the control of the accomplished and fearless
Averill, is fitted to render most efficient service.
On the right, at Whittaker s mill, Gen. Stoneman,
chief of cavalry, with threes batteries and portions
of the First and Sixth regular cavalry, also Farns-
worth s Eighth Illinois cavalry, captured a fine
twelve-pounder gun, which had been moved from
an earthwork and drawn to the edge of the pond.
Here also Frank Lee, a captain in the Thirty-
second Virginia infantry, was made prisoner.
A couple of miles further on, and beyond Whit-
taker s house, which subsequently became the
headquarters of our generals, Stoneman was met
by a strong force of the enemy, and fell back, for
want of infantry, after a sharp and unprofitable
skirmish. He had imprudently approached the
very works of the enemy, and charged them with
out any adequate support, and the result was a
repulse, with the loss of a gun and a dozen
wounded men. His troops fell back to the old
church before referred to, and that building was
made a hospital for his injured as well as for
those of Emory s command. Here, too, our pri
soners, some score or more, were detained, and
a bevy of contrabands of all sliades, who had
come to our lines during the day, with their ef
fects upon their backs, were halted for the night.
While the surgeons were busy in the church,
the venerable walls of which were soon crimsoned
with blood, the prisoners and contrabands were
quartered around blazing fires. The former were
several of them officers of intelligence one a
graduate of Yale College, another a well-known
New-Orleans merchant. They bore their capture
with considerable equanimity, while the contra
bands were as merry and loquacious as though
they had reached the goal of their highest am
bition.
During the night Hooker s and Smith s divisions
pressed forward to their respective destinations
on the left and right, in front of the enemy s works
at Williamsburgh. Slowly but steadily they
narched by the old church, with its surround-
ng fires. At midnight it began to rain, and the
darkness, before oppressive, became absolutely
"mpenetrable. As the companies filed by, they
were at once lost to view, and speedily the moist
ened earth began to quiver under the tramp of
:he troops. Far away to the left Hooker s men
approached the enemy s position, while to the cen-
;re and right Smith s division formed in front of
lis forts.
* From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night,
The hum of either army stilly sounds,
That the fixed sentinels almost receive
The secret whispers of each other s watch."
A dark, dreary morning, with torrents of rain,
bund the contending armies face to face. Flushed
>vith their repulse of Stoneman, the rebels early
Dcgan to advance their pickets on the left, and as
quickly the determined Hooker drove them back.
Sramhall s and Smith s batteries, both from Xew-
"ork, were soon in action, but their progress was
hwarted by the condition of the roads. The
brmer was eventually lost, after a gallant defence,
;he horses being unable to move the guns. It
vas retaken on Tuesday. Throughout the morn-
ng Hooker struggled manfully against the rain,
;he mud, and the rebels, who appeared on the
eft in great strength. Gen. Heintzelman was on
;he field much of the time, and pronounces the
contest extremely severe ; other experienced ofli-
ers represent it as terrible beyond precedent,
i rover s, Patterson s, and Sickles s brigades were
jattled with a fury, under odds, and with a
slaughter which had well-nigh exhausted and
Iriven them from the field, after the artillery had
vithdrawn, but for the timely arrival, at two
i clock, of Kearney s division, consisting of tho
Brigades of Berry, Birney, and Jameson. These
DOCUMENTS.
good troops, though weary with long and rapid
marching, under the sturdy lead of Heintzelman,
were not long in turning the tide in our favor,
though it cost them, especially the Scott Life-
Guard and Mozart regiments of New- York, a
heavy outlay of life.
Troops of less experience and hardihood would
have flinched where these faced the music with a
stubbornness which must have surprised the
enemy.
Meantime Smith s division was doing nobly on
the right and centre. Hancock s brigade, com
posed of the Fifth Wisconsin, Forty-third New-
York, Forty -ninth Pennsylvania, and Sixth Maine
regiments, was on the extreme right, while
Brooks s Vermont brigade occupied the centre,
and both bore the heat of battle most nobly.
Eve.ry few moments couriers brought tidings of
the steadiness of these fine brigades, and our ex
pectation that they would do themselves great
honor during the day was by no means disap
pointed. Everywhere the enemy found them
stern and determined combatants, and worthy
their exalted reputation.
At headquarters, Whittaker s house, a sightly
locality opposite the centre of our lines, between
which and the enemy s works there was a narrow
wood, Gens. Sumner, Keyes, and Heintzelman
were in frequent consultation. The former,
though few troops of his corps were upon the
field, by virtue of his rank was in command.
The active duties of the day were, however, per
formed by Keyes and Heintzelman, who were in
defatigable, and by their clear comprehension of
the exigencies of the contest added, if possible,
to their excellent fame as commanders. The
Union army boasts of no better soldiers than
these two gallant and popular men. Whatever
of unnecessary delay there may have been in
bringing forth reinforcements during the day, it
cannot be attributed to them.
At four o clock in the afternoon the battle w r as
at its height. The scene from headquarters at
that time was exciting and imposing beyond de
scription. Skirting the woods to the left, to the
right, and before us, forming a half-circle two or
three miles in extent, were thousands of our in
fantry men, pouring a steady fire into the dense
forests, where the enemy was steadily advancing.
From my horse I could see the smoke of the
muskets gracefully curling among the tall trees
and hear the crackling reports, which at every
moment announced the severity of our attack,
and brought forth the prompt response of the
confederates ; and now for the first time the rebel
artillery began to be effective in the centre cf our
lines. The hissing shells were thrown nearer,
and with greater precision, and even burst be
yond headquarters, to the consternation of some
of the youthful aids -de-camps who had never
been under fire, and to the greater alarm of the
women and children yet remaining in the house.
Now, also, our own reserves were coming up.
Gen. Keyes had, in person, driven back a mile
or two and urged them forward. Casey s divi
sion, headed by that venerable officer, who has
so long and faithfully served his country, reached
the plateau to the rear of headquarters. Couch s
division also appeared. Now, too, the artillery
and cavalry held in reserve drew near to the
scene of action, and prepared for an immediate
engagement. Several additional batteries were
sent forward. Ayres was throwing his screech
ing missiles far into the enemy s ranks, and Mott
opened an " infernal fire " on the centre, while
far on the right and left the din of our guns was
incessant, the tumult of battle loud and furious.
Yet messengers, their steeds
** Bloody with spurring, fiery-red with haste,"
flew to headquarters with the report that on our
left the desperate enemy was again pressing us
in, while from the right Hancock sent for reen-
forcements without delay. The sombre clouds,
dispensing their copious waters upon the mar
shaled armies, were not darker than our pros
pects now appeared ; but the arrival of additional
armies, their careful placing and strength, and
the knowledge that the main body of our force
could not be far behind, inspired fresh confidence
in our ranks. The battle waged savagely. Men
never fought more doggedly. Death was never
met with more of genuine heroism. The vacan
cies in the lines were speedily filled, the enemy
was met shot for shot and gun for gun. The
army of the Potomac, long drilled, long in wait
ing, eager to avenge the slaughter and repulse at
Bull Run and Ball s Bluff, knew no such word
as fail
When the firing was the most terrific, and the
anxiety the most intense, there came from the
rear of our ranks a sound which seemed for the
moment to subdue the roar even of the artillery.
All eyes and ears w r ere turned to discover its
origin, which proved to be the approach of Gen.
McClellan and staff. Throughout the day he
had been momentarily expected, and his oppor
tune coming was hailed with long and enthusi
astic cheering. Regiment after regiment, as he
was quickly recognised, gave utterance to a wel
come of which Napoleon might have been proud.
Arriving at headquarters, he without dis
mounting from his horse held a brief consul
tation with Gen. Keyes, and approving his
course, and especially his order for reenforce-
ments to Gen. Hancock, joined him in a ride
throughout our lines. His appearance was
everywhere the signal for an outburst of the
wildest applause. He wore a plain blue coat,
and had his cap enveloped in a glazed covering.
The rapidity of his ride to the field had well
spattered him with mud, and the drenching rain
had penetrated his every garment. He, however,
showed no signs of fatigue, and it was not until
he had in person familiarized himself with the
entire field, and by critical observation studied
the exact position of the enemy, that he accepted
the shelter of a room which had been reserved
for him at headquarters.
Thus matters stood at nightfall, when word
came that Gen. Hancock had met the enemy in a
bayonet charge and thoroughly routed bJm,
22
REBELLION RECORD, 1862.
taking possession of all the works on the right of
our lines, and handsomely flanking the rebel
forces on their left, a result Gen. Keyes had been
hoping for since noon, and which he thought
likely, as it proved, to greatly annoy and alarm
the enemy. This masterly movement, crowned
with such complete success, elated our troops,
and was hailed at headquarters as a harbinger of
early victory. Words of warm congratulation
were sent to the dashing Pennsylvania!! by the
Commanding General, and the reinforcements,
advanced by order of Gen. Keyes, soon reached
the fortifications, placing the holding of them
beyond all question, and insuring the spirited
Hancock a quiet night.
In the centre and to the left our troops rested
on their arms. Wet, weary and hungry, with
many depressing obstacles to overcome, they
were nevertheless ready and even clamorous for
an advance. Neither the darkness nor the damp
ness chilled their buoyant spirits, and in their
eagerness to defend the old flag they quite forgot
the risks and dangers of their bivouacs. Through
out the long night it required all the authority of
the officers to keep them from dashing pell-mell
into the enemy s lines, and everywhere discom
fiting him, at the point of the bayonet, after the
thrilling example of Hancock.
By four o clock in the afternoon the large
barn adjacent to headquarters, which had been
prepared for the reception of our wounded, began
to be filled with the victims of the deperate con
flict, chiefly brought in from the right and centre
of our lines, Gen. Hooker s division being too
far away. The arrangements of the rude hospital
were tolerably good, and the surgeons worked
actively and well. By nine o clock the wounds
of upwards of one hundred sufferers had been
carefully dressed, and after that hour few if any
were brought in the darkness, the storm, and
condition of the fields and woods making it
impracticable. I have frequently seen the torn
victims of war, and witnessed with admiration
heroic endurance, but never have I seen such
patience under dreadful agony as that now dis
played by our bleeding volunteers. AVith barely
an exception they stood their tortures without a
murmur, and while undergoing delicate and pain
ful amputations, give utterance to little if any
complaint.
The wounds were mostly from musketry, and
spoke well for the accuracy of the enemy s fire.
The suffering of the men was aggravated by the
sorry condition of their clothes, which, on the
straggling march and in the dripping woods, had
become as wet as though soaked in the sea. It
would seem to be proper that, besides surgical
instruments and medicines, the hospitals should
be provided with fresh clothing, that the poor
fellows, wounded under such circumstances, may
be made comfortable, rather than from necessity
left in a condition which, even under ordinary
circumstances, would be very unpleasant.
Of shell wounds there were several shocking
cases A man lost both legs, one had his arms
broken like pipe-stems, and mother was scalped
as by a tomahawk. Brave fellows who a few
hours before had stood erect and strong, were
bent and exhausted, and as pale and haggard as
though long in hospital. From hearts which at
noon, or later, had beaten high and responsive
to the dictates of a lively and courageous patriot
ism, the warm life blood was rapidly oozing, and
covered with a blanket or sheet many a cold body
awaited the grave. Ah ! how much of the vain
glory of war vanishes before the carnage of the
battle-field ! How much of its stern and un-
poetic reality is found in the hospital ! What
faithful messengers of pain and death are the
shot and the shell !
During the day a number of prisoners had
fallen into our hands, and some deserters had
come to our lines. These were confined for the
night in an outbuilding near to headquarters.
Those who conversed with them found them
mainly ignorant and disconsolate. All admitted
the strength and excellence of our army, but
none could give any good reason for the abandon
ment of Yorktown, which they concurred in pro
nouncing the best fortified place in Virginia. The
prisoners were chiefly from North-Carolina, and
professed to have been in Virginia but a few
weeks. They were unable, or failed, to give us
much information of the position of the enemy at
Williamsburgh. Indeed, during the day our gen
erals had attained no satisfactory intelligence,
save from the ingenious contrabands, scores of
whom hovered about headquarters, and imparted,
in their curious way, all they could of the rebel
movements. Gen. Keyes had frequent interviews
with them, and it was by a comparison of their
stories that he gained the knowledge of the coun
try to the right of the enemy s lines, whereby
Gen. Hancock was enabled to undertake the
flanking movement and his brilliant charge, which
turned the day in our favor. Gen. Keyes re
marked that he had never been deceived by the
contrabands, and I am convinced that they are
generally truthful and well disposed, though often
too ignorant to intelligently impart what they
know.
With the morning of Tuesday the sunshine
came, and the air was clear and bracing. Though
everything was wet and soppy, and the mud al
most fathomless, all felt that if the fight had to
be continued it would be under much better cir
cumstances than on the previous da^y. But the
silence of the night had been generally interpret
ed to indicate the withdrawal of the enemy, and
there was no surprise when a messenger from
Gen. Hooker announced that all the forts on the
left had been abandoned and were possessed by
him, and when from Gen. Hancock we learned
that the foe was nowhere in sight.
The news created much discussion as -to the
plan of the enemy, if he had any, and all who had
tarried at headquarters were out at an early hour
eager for the developments of the day. I M r as
amused to see the Count de Paris struggling
through the mud to the corn-crib, bag in hand,
to procure feed for his horse, and Col. Astor giv
ing directions as to the grooming of his fine ani-
DOCUMENTS.
23
mal, which had stood in the rain all night, while
he warmly denounced the adhesive character of
the "sacred soil."
In the hospital the wounded were compara
tively comfortable, and I thought the occasion a
good one to secure their names, but red tape
would not permit it. The doctors feared I would
disturb the patients, and so, by their own neglect
and their interference with others, many an anxi
ous parent is kept in painful suspense, tremu
lously awaiting a report which, whether favorable
or not, would at least be a source of relief to
thousands.
At nine o clock General McClellan and staff
left headquarters for the battle-field. It was my
privilege to accompany the party. Going to the
right, we soon reached the scene of Hancock s
brave exploits, and examined the formidable
works which had fallen into his hands, and the
obstacles he had so nobly overcome on the previ
ous afternoon. The enemy had evidently thought
him an easy prey, and a man with less resolution
and deliberate courage would have fallen back, at
least until reinforcements came up ; but .not so
Gen. Hancock. Waiting until the rebel brigade
with which he had been contesting the ground,
inch by inch, left its shelter, and on the open
field, a broad and beautiful expanse, undertook
to advance rapidly upon him, he had recourse to
the bayonet, and led the splendid charge which
must forever be honorably associated with his
name. It was a marvellous encounter, and our
men speak highly of the bearing of the foe. The
field was literally strewn with the dead and dy
ing, and it is believed that the enemy nowhere
suttered so severely. His force is said to have
consisted of North-Carolina, Georgia, and Vir
ginia troops.
Already our troops had begun the solemn work
of burying the rebel dead on the right. The
bodies had, many of them, been gathered from
the field, and conveyed to different points where
pits had been dug ifor their reception. I halted
at several of these to look at the mangled remains.
Death had found the unfortunate victims in vari
ous attitudes. One was in the act of raising his
gun to fire, and had stiffened in the same position
another was opening his cartridge-box and
had died in the attempt a third was evidently
retreating, and had fallen with his back to our
advance a fourth clasped his hands to his pistol
and so received the fatal shot. The wounds were
even more singular and repulsive than I had
noticed in our hospital. Several were shot in the
mouth, some through the face. By the bursting
of a shell, one had his head blown off, another
had his back fairly broken, and still another had
his heart torn to pieces. Already the blackness
of corruption darkened many of the faces, and it
seemed imperatively necessary that the bodies
should be put under the earth as speedily as
possible.
The barns, fences, and trees near the battle
field were sadly injured, and even the brute crea
tion had suffered in the conflict, for at one point
1 saw the remains of a young colt which had been
killed by a round shot. Here and there pools of
clotted blood showed where the dead and dying
soldiers had lain, and the bodies of a number re
mained as they had fallen. Ever and anon a
musket, a coat, a sword on the ground, indicated
the hasty withdrawal of its owner, and his deter
mination to suffer no impediment in his flight.
The wheat, which had grown to the height of
a foot in most of the fields where the severest
fighting took place, was of course sadly trampled,
and it is doubtful whether the liberal infusion of
human blood which the earth received will be
sufficient to restore the crop to a vigorous growth.
As there was no rebel cavalry or artillery engaged
at this part of the field, few dead horses were to
be seen. Here and there one, probably the prop
erty of a colonel or a major, was stretched in
death, or lingering in a miserable existence, from
which it were a kindness to relieve it by a well-
directed shot.
The forts on the right, taking Fort Page as the
centre-piece of the works, were shrewdly located
and admirably built, but poorly defended. One
or more of them had not been used to any extent.
Rifle-pits were abundant, and are more popular
with the rebel engineers than with ours. They
were, however, considerably exposed and used to
little purpose. The forts were not unlike those
of our construction near Washington, and were,
as we learned from the contrabands and prison
ers, built, like those at Yorktown, by the negroes,
under the superintendence of overseers, some of
whom, according to the contrabands, were cruel
task-masters. Mention was made of one, who
continually lashed the poor blacks, repeating a
hundred times a day: "Not a spadeful of earth
shall be wasted." Most of the contrabands have
worked upon the fortifications, and. one cause of
their rejoicing at the arrival of our army is, that
they will no longer, in all probability, have to
labor so severely, and in a line for which they are
not especially fitted and certainly have no taste.
Passing on to the centre fort, called Fort Page,
re found it occupied by Neal s (late Birney s)
Twenty-third Pennsylvania regiment, which, hav
ing come up in the night, with Graham s brigade,
of Casey s division, as a reserve to Gen. Hancock,
bad early scoured the field.
The great fort was much damaged by our artil
lery fire. Only a siege-gun remained in it. Sev
eral broken caissons and some ammunition had
been left. The trees around were many of them
splintered by our shells, and the barracks on the
William sburgh side were more or less shattered.
Our men were exploring them, finding bacon,
flour, and hominy, garments, muskets, and filth.
The barracks, like all on the road from Yorktown,
were better built and altogether more substantial
than those occupied by our troops during the
winter. Indeed, they were quite commodious
and comfortable houses.
A drive to the left afforded an opportunity to
examine the ground upon which Hooker had
made his desperate stand, and performed, if not
so brilliant, as heroic service as Hancock. At one
o clock in the morning the eagle-eyed Gen. Jame-
REBELLION RECORD, 1862.
son, whose brigade of Kearney s division had
come to Hooker s support, had discovered the
enemy s departure, and placed his men in the
abandoned forts. These works were of the same
character as those on the right, fitted for four,
six to ten guns each. They had been occupied
by light artillery, which, as from the others, had
been removed, 1 believe the siege-gun found in
Fort Page the only one of that character used by
the enemy during the day.
Where Hooker had fought the signs of slaugh
ter were abundant. Though many of the bodies
had been buried, there were enough yet exposed
to show the terrible effect of his shot. Bramhall s
horses were thickly scattered over the ground, a
certificate to his precarious position. That he
managed to escape with his life is a wonder of
the day. Here, too, we saw where Massachusetts
*nd New-Hampshire men and the Sickles brigade
nad met the enemy, and where the Jerseymen,
under the younger Patterson, had proven worthy
their fathers of Monmouth and Trenton. The
acres of felled and tangled trees had greatly im
peded our progress, and held many of our brave
fellows under the enemy s galling fire. This was
by far the best defended portion of his lines, and
would probably have been held much longer but
for Hancock s coup de maiire.
All over the battle-field our inquisitive troops
were exploring the enemy s defences now exam
ining the forts, now measuring the rifle-pits, and
anon surveying the stockades and parallels.
Many and original were the criticisms passed
upon the enemy s manoauvres. An Irish soldier
thought the rebels would never forget the Sickles
brigade. A Dutchman, smoking his long pipe,
wondered if Jeff Davis expected to escape the
halter after such vast and bold preparations for
resisting the Government. A brawny Yankee,
with his arm in a sling, said the " mudsills and
greasy mechanics" had been heard from, and
would be again. The sentiments expressed,
touching the vanquished, were generally more in
pity than in anger, and the wounded rebels left
on the field received only the kindest treatment.
From the main range of forts, which must be
about a mile from Williamsburgh, that old town
could be plainly seen. An open but desolate
field extended to its leading street, and was in
continuation of a road leading from Fort Page.
Jameson s brigade, leaving at daylight, entered