mined not to lose his chances of battle, made a
final desperate effort, and by literally carrying
his guns to firmer ground, succeeded at last in
getting across ; and an hour later, he was dealing
destruction upon the foe. His was a gallant ef
fort, worthy of all praise. The column now swept
swiftly forward, the uien exhibiting splendid spirit
an earnest of the laurels they were so soon to
gather. They moved from the swamp to high
bluffs in front, and wheeled to the right a mile
or two, striking an elevated field in front of
Fair Oaks, where Abercrombie was in extremity.
They got there in the nick of time. lie was al
most enveloped by an overwhelming force.

At about six o clock, the head of Sedgwick s
column Gorman s brigade deployed into line of
battle in the rear of Fair Oaks, upon the crest of
a hill which was in the centre of an open field,
a farm-house (Adams s) bisecting his line, which
stretched from the north-west on a line which,
if prolonged in a south-easterly direction, would
have cut the railroad at an acute angle on his left.
The hill sloped gently toward the station. Col.
Sully s First Minnesota and the Second New-
York, Lieut-Colonel Hudson, composed the right
wing on one side of the house, the Thirty -fourth



DOCUMENTS.



91



New-York, Col. Sontcr, constituting the left ; the
Fifteenth Massachusetts, Lieut. -Colonel Kimbal
commanding, supporting Kirby s battery, which
was posted at the right of the line, and trained at
a point of woods a "little to the left of the rail
way st-ition, this being the field to which the en
emy had driven Gen. Abercrombie. Two of his
regiments were still stubbornly contesting the
field. Col. Cochrane s First United States Chas
seurs, (New- York,) and Col. Neill s Pennsylvania
regiments, and a Pennsylvania battery were in
line of battle at Gorman s right, forming an ob
tuse angle projecting toward the battery, and
facing in a north-westerly direction. Gen. Burns
formed his brigade in line of battalions in mass,
forming the second line in support of Gorman.
But one of the regiments had not formed, when
the enemy opened a furious enfilading fire of
musketry on our right, in a direction from which
fire was not expected, indicating an effort to turn
our right tlank.

Gen. Sedgwick immediately directed General
Burns to deploy to the right, perpendicular to
the line of battle, with the Sixty-ninth and Sev
enty-second Pennsylvania, to protect our flank
and prevent the enemy from getting into our rear,
while the Seventy-first and One Hundred and
Sixth Pennsylvania were held by Sedgwick in
support of Gorman. The moment, however, was
most critical. The fury of the attack, the dan
gerous proximity of the enemy, his great force
and perfect knowledge of the ground, startled our
gallant fellows. Gen. Sumner and his staff were
directly in front of the battery, looking for the
enemy, rather to the left, when the balls flew
around them like hail. Several of their horses
and t\vo or three battery-teams stampeded, and
for a moment the line of battle seemed to waver.
At that instant, Gen. Burns, with quick judg
ment comprehending the critical situation, shout-
ted in a cool, determined tone : " Steady, men,
steady !" It operated like magic. The Zouaves
burst into a loud, long series of hearty yells,
which possibly were heard at Richmond. One
after another the regiments were infected with
enthusiasm, and before there was time to think
of danger again, Gorman s gallant line had dress
ed up compactly, and were delivering rapid and
murderous discharges at the approaching foe.
The enemy advanced firmly, and were charging
upon Kirby s battery, when he poured into them
a fearful discharge of canister. Unable to sup
port such a fire, the enemy gave way and retired
precipitately to cover. Prisoners captured dur
ing the fight assert that Jeff. Davis was in the
rear, urging his myrmidons forward; and Ma-
gruder, who was with him, swore a fearful oath,
"That s my old battery, and I m going to have
it," alluding to Kirby s, which he, Magruder,
formerly commanded.

Meantime part of Dana s brigade had come up.
His Nineteenth Massachusetts and Forty-second
New-York had been detached for picket duty
and artillery guards. His Seventh Michigan and
Twentieth Massachusetts dep!oyed into line on
Gorman s left, and the linn of battle commenced



moving to the right, delivering terrific volleys at
the enemy, who were sweeping in force to their
left. Again and again they pushed forward.
Masses of them gathered in the forest, attempt
ing to dash at the batteiy, but were as often
swept back by murderous hurricanes of lead and
canister. The battle raged for two hours with
unremitting fury. The rebels found it impossible
to break our inflexible lines, and we found it dif
ficult to shake him off. Dana s wing was finally
swung round almost on the hypothenuse of an
angle to the original line of battle, his gallant
Michiganders and Bay-State lads sweeping the
perimeter of the circle they were describing, with
irresistible fury. Gorman s line had extended
itself on the right, until his left rested in front
and in advance of the first position of his right,
his line being swung round at right angles with
the crest of the hill, and Burns s two regiments,
executing the order of Sedgwick, found themselves
lapping over Gorman s extreme right ; the ene
my was fighting perpendicular to our old front.

The officers were all in their places, animating
and encouraging the men by their example, and
the men moving unflinchingly towards their foe.
Dana, on the left, narrowly escaped death. His
dashing gray received a bullet in his crest, which
he cast oil with a snort of despair. The next in
stant three balls struck him in the body. Rear
ing and plunging with convulsive agony, he dis
mounted his rider, fled frantically up the field,
and fell dead in front of Kirby s battery. Gor
man was moving up and down his glorious line,
exhibiting fiery enthusiasm, and enjoying the
proudest hours of his life. The men were deliv
ering their fire with admirable coolness and regu
larity, and with a quick, nervous energy, which
indicated their determination to decide the con
flict. The enemy, too, fought rapidly and well.
Sedgwick was gallantly moving to the right and
left, reckless of personal hazard ; and Burns held
bis forces firmly in hand on the right, waiting the
iecisive moment. The sun had set grimly, fling
ing his last rays feebly through the thick smoke
which hovered orer field and forest. Darkness
had enveloped the fearful spectacle, only to add
;loom to its horrors. The enemy still clung in
nasses to the thick woods, now and then dashing
out at the battery, only to be driven back with
cruel punishment. Thousands of muskets in
streaming volleys, with the sonorous roar of can
non and the hoarse screams of the combatants
created an uproar as if fiends had been unleashed
;o prey upon each other. Storms of bullets and
canister tore wide passages through the trees
and mangled the bodies of men. Baleful fires
gleamed among the foliage, as if myriads of huge
ire-flies were flitting among the boughs, and there
>vas a fringe of flame blazing on the skirts of the
;hickets, while outside, another and a fiercer
lame girdling the centre, seemed burning into
;he hedge which screened our enemy. It was
past eight o clock before the carnage ceased,
vnowing that the foe was in superior force, and
nenacing our flank, we were compelled to meet
lis point of attack without attempting +o envelop



92



REBELLIOX RECORD, 1862.



him with our wings, but finding our steady lines
invulnerable, and having suffered wretchedly, he
finally fell back, and by half-past eight o clock, he
was driven clear back to his own defensive line.

It was a furious fight. Save Donelson and
Shiloh, there has been no such battle on this
continent. It begun in disgrace, with every ad
vantage of numbers and conditions favoring the
enemy. It ended that day with a severe repulse
to him. But he was consoled for his disappoint
ment and serious casualties, by the spoils of
Casey s and Couch s camps. From the former
he took six pieces of artillery his ammunition,
camp equipage, many standards in fact, all his
army furniture ; and from Couch he took one gun
and his camp equipage. On Sunday morning,
the cannon and flags were triumphantly paraded
through the streets of Richmond. Our loss of
men was very heavy, but the casualties of the
enemy were equally large. But it is impossible
to ascertain the loss of either side until the official
reports are made. One thousand will fully cover
the loss of Sedgwick s division, of whom nine
tenths were wounded. Burns s brigade, which
was held as the first line of supports, lost five
killed and twenty-eight wounded. Capt. Achuff,
of the One Hundredth and Sixth Pennsylvania,
Capt. Markoe, First California, Lieut. Carnblos,
and Gen. Burns, and Lieut. Donelson, of the First
California, were the only officers wounded.

The splendid conduct of the division elicits the
plaudits of the army. General Simmer held his
troops well in hand ; Sedgwick exhibited perfect
coolness and courage ; Gorman was as enthusi
astic as a boy, and firm as a rock ; Burns s quick
judgment and admirable conduct at the most
critical moment of action, undoubtedly had an
inspiring influence, and it was acknowledged with
frenzied acclamations by the stout regiments
wherever he exhibited himself. No more could
have been asked by Dana. He proved himself a
fearless soldier. Capt. Sedgwick, Assistant Ad
jutant-General to General Sedgwick, and Lieut.
Howe, his aid-de-camp ; Captain G. A. Hicks,
A.A.G. to General Burns, and Lieuts. Blakeney
and Camblos, and in fact, all the officers engaged,
both field and staif, behaved themselves most
gallantly. Lieut. Camblos, one of my messmates,
received a severe scalp-wound, but will soon be
able to resume duty. He said that when he was
struck he thought he had run against a tree.
Well he might. Col. John Cochrane, Col. Neill,
Col. Sully, Col. Suiter, and indeed nearly every
field-officer in all the divisions engaged, excepting
Casey s, showed themselves good soldiers and
brave officers.

During the night all our artillery got through
the swamps and was properly posted. The
troops were disposed in three lines, as usual, to
renew the engagement, it being morally certain
the enemy \vould make another effort to drive us
over the Chickahominy. A rebel surgeon who
was captured, stated that that was surely the
object of the enemy. During the night, a courier
from Roger A. Pryor to Gen. Anderson, was cap
tured by Richardson s pickets, with a note in



forming Anderson that Pryor s brigade was in
line of battle on his right. We looked for an
attack at daybreak, but the pickets were not
driven in until six o clock. The enemy menaced
Richardson s division, which was behind the rail
road, to the left of Fair Oaks. They appeared in
the forest directly in front, where they halted
and taunted our line to advance. Gen. French,
whose brigade was in front, declined the invita
tion, and the rebels rushed forward. A furious
battle opened instantly. The enemy fought
rapidly from the start, but adopted tactics which
French construed into a feint to draw him on.
They suspended fire at intervals, as if they were
driven back, and then sent in new forces. In
fact, their capacity for reenforcing, as on Satur
day, seemed inexhaustible. Both sides fought
with determined bravery, and both stood upon
their own chosen positions. Between eight and
nine o clock, Gen. Richardson ordered Howard s
brigade to the front. The volume of fire in
creased on both sides, the enemy having also re
enforced. Our batteries, meantime, were shelling
the forests vigorously, which evidently discon
certed the enemy. Howard now ordered Col. E.
E. Cross, of the Fifth New-Hampshire, to charge
bayonets, the enemy having appeared in a skirt
of woods within one hundred yards, with evident
design to charge.

Cross (many of you know him) sung out :
" Charge them like h 1, boys ; show em you
are d d Yankees." The gallant Fifth responded
with a yell, dashed forward impetuously, and
scattered the enemy like chuff. Brave Howard,
who cheered his reliable fellows in the thickest
of the fray, was now disabled and carried to the
rear. His aid-de-camp and brother, Lieut. How
ard, also fell wounded. Colonel Cross took com
mand, the enemy having begun to fall back.
Col. Miller pf the Eighty-first Pennsylvania, and
Lieut. -Col. Massett, of the Sixty-first New- York,
were killed outright. Soon the enemy recovered
and made another fierce dash. Cross ordered
the gallant Fifth New-Hampshire to charge again,
and led them in person. A fragment of a shell
fractured his forehead, a glancing blow, abrading
the skin and stunning him. But recovering in
stantly he again pushed on, when he was ham
strung by a musket-ball. Finding it impossible
to rise, he shouted to the lads to go on, and was
carried to the rear ; but he had the satisfaction
to hear the shout of triumph before he left.
Major W. W. Cook, of the same regiment, was
also disabled by a similar wound.

Col. Parker now took command of the brigade,
and fought it until the enemy were completely
repulsed. The fight was ended. The enemy
appeared no more that day. Their pickets did
not even venture within view of our outpost
line.

In this battle, as on Saturday, the effort of the
enemy was directed to our left. His second at
tempt being so handsomely foiled, he evidently
gave it up disheartened and disgusted. The
second fight was severe on both sides, but the
enemy was most terribly cut up. But upon both



DOCUMENTS.



93



fields of battle their dead was literally piled u
in horrid masses, while their wounded, moanin
with agony, were scattered through the forests i:
every direction. But our own casualty list i
formidable.

Our friend, Col. E. E. Cross, well known in th
West a few years ago as editor, correspondent
etc., and later as an emigrant to Arizona, wher
he was a conspicuous citizen, raged like a lior
through battle, and they say that when his lon<
body fell he went down like a pine tree. Find
ing it impossible to stand, he shouted : " Chargi
em like h 1, boys ; show em that you are Yan
kees ; d d sorry to say I caan t go with you.
Previous to the misfortune, while he was posting
a compan3 r , a rebel officer rode up inquiring fo
Gen. Anderson. Cross reached for his collar anc
brought him down on the run, answering th<
astonished officer, that: "You re just the chap "
was looking for." Those who know the Colone
best can appreciate his Yankee mannerism
But he acquitted himself gallantly in the fight.

After surveying the field deliberately, I con
eluded that our commanders felt that the arm}
had a narrow escape. Nothing but the splendid
conduct of our disciplined troops saved us from
general disaster. You must bear in mind thai
his whole best disciplined force, under the eye oJ
Jeff Davis himself, and commanded by Generals
Joe Johnston, Huger, Magrudcr, G. W. Smith,
Whiting, Anderson, and other educated generals,
was massed on our left, and that our right was
utterly unable to render any assistance. They
could not possibly cross the river and attack on
the right, and it would have been folly to have
left the right open. Gen. McClellan was where
his duty called him. I saw him in the field dur
ing the Sunday fight, and afterward he rode
along the entire battle-front. During his pro
gress he was greeted with great enthusiasm. It
was a splendid ovation.

I neglected to mention that we lost no general
officer, but had two wounded. But our loss in
regimental, field and line officers, was very se
vere. Among our captives we have Gen. Petti-
grew and Col. Champ Davis, of South-Carolina,
Col. Long, formerly of the regular army, and
several other distinguished Southerners.

Sunday night our troops again slept on the
battle-field, and will continue to do so until we
advance into Richmond. It is a grand satisfac
tion, permit me to say in conclusion, that Sedg-
wick s splendid division fought and gloriously
thrashed the famous Hampton legion. More
than a hundred of them are buried on this field.
But they fought long, and learned how firm the
Yankees stand fire. W. D. B.

CASEY S DIVISION IN THE BATTLE.

To the Editor of the fl~. Y. Tribune :

SIR : Feeling assured that you will not refuse
to a division of the Army of the Potomac, that
has been grossly misrepresented, an opportunity
of setting itself right with the public, I beg to
offer you the following statement of facts, and
correct! )n of other statements which have ap



peared in the public press and been accepted
as unquestionable. The great error of all is the
assertion made in the despatch of Gen. McClellan,
that in the battle of Saturday last (May thirty-
first) the division of Gen. Casey, " which was in
the first line," broke up, "unaccountably and
disunitedly," and that all the men did splendidly,
"with the exception of Casey s division." In
this statement, made public in an official des
patch, there is a severity of censure which has
not been bestowed upon any troops in the ser
vice since the commencement of this rebellion.
The men who broke and ran from the battle-field
of Bull Ptun with such headlong speed and undis
guised terror, and the men who refused to go into
that fight and marched from the field to the
music of the enemy s cannon, received no such
censure, and were not publicly disgraced in any
such manner as Casey s division has been by
Gen. McClellan. And yet the severity is not
more marked than the injustice of it is manifest
to any and every one who knows the facts. In
deed, many who do know them say without hesi
tation that the entire credit of that battle is due
to the very men who are expressly cut off from
any share in it, and that the Commanding Gene
ral would have shown himself more just or better
informed if he had written, " with few exceptions
the regiments engaged did splendidly, but Casey s
division, or at least the First brigade thereof, ex
celled them all." But to this topic I will return
presently. I proceed to correct the erroneous
statements made by various newspaper corre
spondents and others in connection with the said
Battle and its continuation on Sunday, June first.

First. One journal states that after the over
grow of Casey s men, " Gen. Couch, with his
^eterans, saved the day." Gen. Couch did noth-
ng of the sort, and Gen. Couch has no " vete
rans " in his command. One brigade of his divi
sion came up tardily to the support of Gen. Casey,
:>ut went back very rapidly. In the disaster of
;hat afternoon and evening his command bore its
ull part. Its camp, as well as Casey s, fell into
he hands of the rebels, and was occupied by
hem on the night after the battle.

Second. It is stated (and Gen. McClellan s
despatch implies it) that the fight of Saturday
vas a Union victory ; that Sumner and Heint-
/elman s corps came up and drove back the ene-
ny who had defeated Casey. They did nothing
)f the sort. They simply prevented his going on
urther and using the victory he had gained.
?hey, with thousands of fresh men, simply came
n when the fighting was nearly all over, and
icld in check the rebel army, which, for nearly
ive hours, Casey s division had resisted alone.

Third. It is stated that . Gen. McClellan came
up on Saturday evening and took command, and
hat he slept on the battle-field. If he did come
p on Saturday, it is strange that no one of those
^ho were engaged in the front saw Ijim or his
taff, or body-guard, or received any orders from
lim. That he slept on the battle-field is simply
ntrue, a claptrap newspaper item without foun-
ation in fact. The rebel Generals, at least



94



REBELLION RECORD, 1S62.



Roger A. Pryor, did sleep there, but none of
ours.

Fourth. It is stated that on Sunday Gen. Mc-
Clellan made a speech to Casey s division, in
which he stated, that if they would stand by him.
and act as well as the other divisions, he would
bag the whole rebel army in six hours. This is
an entire and utter falsehood. It has not a
shadow of foundation in fact. Gen. McClellan
did not come once into the presence of that divi
sion, and would not readily venture to make any
such insulting speech to them. If he had ap
peared before them to make an address, its bur
den should far more properly have been this :
" Comrades, I thank you for your gallantry and
firmness ; you have saved the army, for if you
had not for hours contended against an enemy
that outnumbered you five to one, the rebel
forces would now be across the Chickahominy,
and my entire force most probably defeated !"

Fifth. It is stated that Gen. Heintzelman, on
Sunday morning, recovered the ground lost on
Saturday by Gen. Casey. He did nothing of the
sort. It was on Monday morning before that
ground was really in our possession.

Sixth. It is stated in Gen. McClellan s des
patch, that on Sunday morning the rebels re
newed the attack, but were repulsed at all points.
They did not renew the attack, and so were not
repulsed. They began an orderly retreat on
Sunday morning, and Gens. Sumner and Heint
zelman followed them and had some skirmishing,
but nothing that deserved the name of a battle.

Seventh. It has been publicly stated, as proof
that we gained a decided victory on Sunday, that
the enemy was driven back at the point of the
bayonet some two miles, and that our advance
immediately took position two or three miles in
front of that held on Saturday last. This also is
totally untrue. There were no ba3 T onet-charges
made in face of the enemy. Bayonets were not
once crossed in the entire affair. And now, after
the lapse of a week, our advance is not one quar
ter of a mile (if it is even a furlong) beyond the
position held by the Fifty-second Pennsylvania on
the morning of the first fight.

Eighth. The entire credit has been given to
Gens. Heintzelman, Kearney, Sumner, etc., but
the public is not aware that it was on their own
representations this was done. When Gen. Mc
Clellan wrote his unjust despatch he had not re
ceived Gen. Casey s report; he had not heard
from any member of Casey s division an account
of the day s work. He took the statement of
men who were naturally more anxious to publish
their own achievements than to do justice to
others. Of at least one of these very men so be-
praised at the expense" of others, it would hardly
be in accordance with military law for your pre
sent correspondent to tell the truth. There are
such things as courts-martial, which regard but
little the truth of a statement if it reflect upon the
conduct of a superior officer, and therefore what
gentlemen with stars on their shoulders were
pushing their steeds toward the Chickahominy,
and eagerly asked of some officers in Casey s di



vision the road to Bottom s Bridge, this deponent
sayeth not.

The real facts as regards Saturday s fight are
these : For two weeks previously the First bri
gade of Casey s division, (commanded by Gen.
Naglee,) was pushed in advance of the whole
army, and kept at hard work in reconnoissances
and advanced picket duty. That splendid bri
gade (than which there is no finer in McClellan s
command) was like a finger thrust forward into
the fire to test its power. Subjected to hardships
which in this campaign have not been equalled,
and open by day and night to the attack of the
enemy, on Saturday morning the One Hundred and
Fourth Pennsylvania volunteers, the Fifty-sixth
New- York, the Eleventh Maine, and the One Hun
dredth New- York, were in camp, in advance of the
Second and Third brigades, the entire division be
ing in advance of Gen. Couch s division about one
mile, and unsupported except by him. Out in front
of all, half a mile or a mile in advance of its own
brigade, the Pennsylvania volunteers were doing
duty as picket reserve ; two companies of it (i 1
and H) being out on the line of pickets, and one
other (C) having just returned from forty-eight
hours spent on picket duty, almost without food,
and totally without shelter and rest.

While matters were in this position, the out
lying pickets were fired upon by the advancing
enemy, but not driven back, as is usual in such
a case. They held their ground for a long time,
and some of them, when actually surrounded,
had to fight their way through to join their bri
gade. This picket-firing began between eleven and
twelve o clock. The Fifty-second was immedi
ately drawn up in line of battle, but owing to
the absence of the two companies above men