like a hurricane. Nothing could stop their fear
ful and determined progress. The more obstinate
the resistance the fiercer their onset. Overwhelm
ing as were the odds against them, the} r pressed
forward, mostly at a " charge bayonet," yelling
like madmen. Col. A. P. Thompson, of Padu-
cah, fell, wounded severely through the neck, and
Adjt. R. B. L. Soery was wounded dangerously.
Other officers "went down, but the men marched
ahead. After the fall of Col. Thompson, Colonel
Ed. Crossland, who had been leading his brave
Seventh wherever the fire was hottest, assumed
command of the brigade, and he discharged this
difficult duty with equal bravery and skill.
Capt. Bowman led the Third Kentucky, and did
it gallantly, Major Johnson not reaching the field
until it was well-nigh won. Lieut. -Col. Coffer
was in command of the Sixth Kentucky during
the first of the action, conspicuous for his daring,
but weak from sickness, and scarcely recovered
from a terrible wound received at Shiloh, he was
DOCUMENTS.
331
forced to 3 r ield his position to Major W. L.
Clarke. This young officer was quite equal to
the task. He was intrepid, skilful, and prudent, i
and brought his men safely out of more than one ;
tight place. The Thirty -fifth Alabama, which i
had never before been under fire, acted with all
the coolness of veterans. Its commander, Col. J. j
W. Robertson, was as self possessed as on a |
dress-parade, and led his brave men into every
danger. Falling from the effects of a sun-stroke, i
the command devolved upon Lieut.-Col. Goodwin,
a young officer of great promise. The conduct
of this brigade (Preston s) was preeminently no
ble, and I regret that its General could not have
been present to have shared its perils and enjoyed
its constant succession of triumphs. Unfortun
ately he is confined to his bed with typhoid fever, !
at the residence of a friend, near Clinton, Miss.
Colonel Thompson, however, as Acting Brigadier, j
proved a gallant and intrepid commander. Of |
the members of his staff, Capt. W. P. Wallace, !
aid-de-camp, was wounded early in the action, ;
having his ribs broken ; and Lieut. Charles Sem-
pie, ordnance-officer, was shot with grape through ,
the leg, being this heroic officer s second wound
in the war, the first having been received at Fort
Donelson. Major J. R. Throckmorten, Brigade- j
Quartermaster, rendered invaluable services in |
removing the wounded. He courted dangerous ;
positions, and captured a lot of Government
horses and mules. But this was nothing for a I
man who had been under fire in nine severe bat- i
ties. Dr. J. W. Thompson, Brigade-Surgeon,
was remarkably efficient in organizing and con- j
ducting his field-hospital arrangements.
While the left was thus forcing the enemy into ;
town, the right wing, under GVn. Charles Clarke, j
did not lag behind. Gen. Breckinridge was him- i
self with this division, and his presence had a j
magical effect upon the men. There was no dan- j
ger he did not share with them. His tall form
seemed ubiquitous here, there, and every where !
in peril, where there was an enemy to drive or :
a position to gain. Of the gallantry and noble i
bearing of his young son Cabell I should not j
speak, were it not that he is as modest as he j
is meritorious a worthy scion of a noble stock, i
Gen. Breckinridge led personally several charges, |
and toward the close of the action, coming up to j
the Fourth and Fifth Kentucky, who had fallen |
back utterly exhausted, he drew his sword, and !
with one appealing look said, in his clear, musi- 1
cal tones : " My men, charge !" This charge is de- j
scribed to us by an officer who participated, as one j
of the most signal and effective acts of the battle. !
The men rushed forward in no particular order, j
firing at and pursuing the enemy, with a deter- j
ruination that could not be thwarted, driving them !
farther than they had yet been driven. But dur- j
ing the whole engagement the Fourth and Fifth j
Kentucky displayed the utmost gallantry, worthy |
of the laurels they had won at Shiloh. Better j
men never followed a flag or faced an enemy than
compose these two regiments. Col. Thomas II.
Hunt, of the Fifth, was in command of the bri
gade, and received a serious shot in the left hip
while actively engaged on the field. He is a
model soldier and the beau ideal of an officer,
and his fall occasioned a pang of regret in tho
minds of all his men. Lieut.-Col. Caldwell and
Capt. Cripps Wickliffe were worthy of their regi
ment, which exhibits the heaviest loss of any on
the field. The Fourth Kentucky was without
field-officers, but under Capt. Miller it proved a
host, bearing through the heat of the fray its tat
tered and bullet-riddled banner, now thrice con
secrated to glory by baptism of fire and blood.
I speak of the Kentucky regiments more in de
tail, because I know more of their conduct, and
for the reason that they bore the brunt of the
fight. But this was only in accordance with the
promise of Gen. Breckinridge, who, in a brief ad
dress a few days before, told his " brave, noble
and ragged Kentuckians" that he would lead them
wherever there was danger.
During the frequent pauses of the fight, wher
the roll of musketry and the sharp crack of ar
tillery were hushed, all ears were strained t<
catch some note of intelligence from the ram Ar
kansas. Long since she should have been en
gaging the enemy s gunboats, which had already
poured a dreadful rain of shot and shell into our
midst. But there was no welcome sound from
the guns of our little vessel. Upon all tongues
were the queries, " Where can the Arkansas be ?
why is she not here?" and there came the un
willing thought, has she failed us, and can all this
deadl} r , terrible struggle have been for naught?
We had already driven the enemy one and a
half miles from the position where he was first
encountered. We had seized all his camps, and
forced him through the suburbs of the town.
Then came the last charge, and right nobly did
our exhausted soldiers discharge their duty.
Wayworn, covered with dust, and consumed by
the heat of battle, the gallant boys plunged head
long again into the fight, and before them fled
the Yankees. In vain did they bring up their
reserve. We drove them all quite to the river,
completely under the protection of their gun
boats, many of them taking to the water.
It was then that Gen. Breckinridge ordered a
recall. He had received a message that it would
be impossible for the Arkansas to participate,
then, in the engagement, but that by two o clock
she could take a part. Slowly and with reluc
tance our troops fell back, although exposed to
the heavy firing of the gunboats. About one
mile and a half from the town they were halted,
and the poor, wearied, jaded fellows threw them
selves upon the ground to rest.
It was in this last charge that General Charles
Clarke had his hip badly shattered, and at his own
request, he was conveyed to a house in town.
Captain Yerger, his aid, remained with him, and
both were afterward made prisoners. Through
out the whole engagement, Gen. Clarke s conduct
was notable for its intrepid daring. He.could have
easily been removed, but he knew that the wound
was a fatal one, and preferred remaining behind.
Upon the fall back, Gen. Breckinridge ordered
the various camps and stores of the enemy to be
312
REBELLION RECORD, 1862.
destroyed. This was accordingly done, and a
vast amount of property was burned. There
were huge piles of pork, beef, bacon, flour, whis
ky, molasses, and sugar, quantities of clothing,
<it which our troops looked wistfully, all given to
the flames. The encampments were those of the
Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New-Hampshire,
Michigan, and Indiana regiments. There was an
air of comfort about all of the tents, and luxurious
appointments in many of them. The sutler s
stores were crowded with delicacies. But noth
ing escaped. Many letters, pictures, and docu
ments were picked up, but the boys brought
away no boot} . Had our means of transporta
tion been more extensive, we could have brought
off a month s supply for our army.
Gen. Brcckinridge intrusted the delicate and
important duty of holding the field to Capt. John
A. Buckner, his Adjutant-General. This officer,
who had, during the morning, rendered himself a
conspicuous target for the enemy, remained be
hind with a battery and seventy -five men. With
this small force he maintained his position until
near sundown, when the whole army was with
drawn to its present position. While thus post
ed, a flag of truce was sent from the enemy s
lines, requesting permission to bury the dead,
which was instantly granted. Later in the day,
another flag approached, with a document ad
dressed u To the commanding officer of the con
federate forces outside of Baton Rouge." This
was from Col. Cahill, and disclaimed the right of
the officer sending the first. It appears that
after Gen. Williams (who was chief in command)
was killed, and Colonels Keith and McMillan had
fallen, there was a controversy among the Feder
als as to the ranking officer, but the succession
finally devolved on Cahill.
One of the most hotly contested points of the
field was a graveyard, from which the enemy
had poured a galling fire, but which was finally
wrested from them. Here the Sixth Kentucky
found shelter, and suffered most of its loss.
Truly it might have been remarked : "In the
midst of life we are in death."
As we drove the Yankees into the town, they
nought the protection of houses, from the win
dows of which they discharged murderous vol-
. eys upon our troops. In one house where they
had lodged themselves, they forced a man, hold
ing an infant in his arms, to walk up and down a
porch, while they fired from behind him. They
knew that our men would not risk slaying the
innocent man and child even to wreak vengeance
on such dastards.
Both engines of the ram Arkansas having been
badly broken, there was no recourse left Lieut.
Stevens, her commanding officer, to prevent the
notable little craft falling into the hands of the
enemy but destroying her. She was accordingly
iired, and at half-past nine o clock yesterday
(Wednesday) morning exploded with a most ter
rible uproar. For some hours before the Essex
and three sloops of war had been firing at her
with their heaviest guns, but all their shot
glanced harmlessly from the impenetrable sides
of the invincible Arkansas. Her position wag
such that neither of her batteries could bo
brought to bear on the enemy. Only one gun
was fired as a parting salvo, when her officer ;
and crew escaped to the Louisiana shore. Al
though pressed by a body of Federal cavalry,
most of them have reached our lines, bereft of
every thing they possessed except the clothing
upon their backs. As the burning fragments of
the Arkansas floated down the river, the Yankee
boats speedily fled to get out of harm s way, so
that the ill-fated ram was a terror to the valiai.t
sailors, even though a battered wreck.
Yesterday afternoon Major Haynes, of the
Quartermaster s Department, proceeded to Baton
Ilouge, under a flag of truce, for the purpose of
visiting General Clark. He was met outside of
town, blindfolded, and the covering over his eyes
not removed until he was taken into the arsenal
building, the window-shutters of which were
closed. He was not permitted to see General
Clark, but learned that he was still living and
well cared for. The enemy acknowledge the loss
of Gen. Williams, Colonels Keith and McMillan,
and about eight hundred killed and missing.
The expedition has not proved a complete suc
cess, owing entirely to the Arkansas not having
cooperated. Had not that vessel met with an
unfortunate accident, the victory would have
been one of the most brilliant of the war. The
land forces accomplished all that was possible.
They drove a largely superior force of the enemy
from strong and well-chosen positions two miles
through the city, to the shelter of their gunboats.
They captured a number of prisoners, more am
munition than we used in the battle, a quantity
of horses, and destroyed more than half a million
dollars worth of Government property. In ex
cellence of plan and brilliancy of execution in
the personal prowess of the men, and the heroic
daring of the officers, the history of the war af
fords no better example. General Breckinrid^
fought the battle with small but trusty forces,
and achieved what scarcely any other man could
have done a victory over double numbers, at
small loss of life, in the face of four of the enemy s
gunboats.
Our loss in killed and wounded will not reach
three hundred. I send you the lists of the casu-
ies in such regiments as I have been able to
visit. We are now comfortably encamped on the
Comite River, while the wounded have been re
moved to Greenwell Springs most delightful lo
cations. SE DE KAY.
Doc. 92.
BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS, YA.
GENERAL HEINTZELMAN S REPORT.*
HEADQUARTERS THIRD CORPS, SAVAGE S STATION, )
June 7, ISC 2. )
General R R Marcy, Chief of Staff, Army oj
the Potomac, New-Bridge :
GENERAL : I have the honor to report the oper-
* See page 72 Documents, ante.
DOCUMENTS
313
ations of the Third and Fourth army corps, under
my command during the engagements of the thir
ty-first of May and first of June.
On the twenty-fifth of May, Gen. Reyes s corps
was placed under my command. He was direct
ed to advance to the Seven Pines, on the Wil-
liamsburgh stage-road, about seven miles from
the city of Richmond. My corps was ordered to
cross the Chickahominy at Bottom s Bridge and
occupy the position, two miles in advance of it,
marked A and B on the accompanying map, and
to watch the crossings of the White Oak swamp,
with the woods beyond covering our left flank
and rear.
On that day I crossed the river and occupied
the positions indicated. Gen. Reyes s corps ad
vanced. The next day a reconnoissance having
been ordered, I rode forward a mile beyond the
Seven Pines, and had the positions examined
to the front and right. Gen. Casey s division
was located a short distance back of the Seven
Pines. He selected a position in front of the
Seven Pines, at which to throw up some defens
ive works. At his request, I let him move for
ward and occupy the ground. He did so, and
immediately commenced strengthening it with
rifle-pits and abattis. The engineers now made a
more thorough examination, and it was decided
to hold a position about three fourths of a mile
in advance, as it covered a cross-road leading
from the Seven Pines toward the " Old Tavern,"
the latter strongly occupied by the enemy. Gen.
Casey moved his division forward, and work was
commenced on this new position. It progressed
but slowly, however, on account of the incessant
rains. This was on the twenty-ninth ; on that
day there was a sharp skirmish. Major Reiley, j
New- York volunteers, killed, and two privates
wounded. On the thirtieth, our pickets and the !
enemy s were again engaged. In the afternoon I
we had a heavy thunder-storm with torrents of
rain, continuing till late in the night and putting
a stop to all work.
On the next day, the thirty-first, the forenoon
was quiet. At about one o clock P.M. I first
heard firing more than there had been for
several days. I sent Lieuts. Hunt and Johnson,
two of my Aids, to the front, to learn what it
was. At two o clock P.M. I received a note from
Lieut, Jackson, of Gen. Reyes s staff, informing
me that the enemy was pressing them very hard,
especially on the railroad, and asking me to send
two brigades, if I had them at hand to spare.
On this, I sent orders for a brigade to advance up
the railroad as a support. The one selected by
Gen. Rearny was Gen. Birney s brigade.
Previous to this, I had received instructions
from the Commanding General to hold the Seven
Pines at all hazards, but not to move the troops
guarding the approaches of Bottom s Bridge and
the crossing of the White Oak swamp, unless it
became absolutely necessary to hold the position
in front at the Seven Pines. Believing the posi
tion in front of the Seven Pines to be a critical
one, and not having entire confidence in the new
troops composing the division of Gen. Casey, I
sought and obtained permission on Friday after
noon to advance a portion of my corps from its
position near Bottom s Bridge. The order wa*
to make such disposition of the troops of my
corps as I saw fit. I immediately ordered two
brigades of Rearny s division to move forward
on the Williamsburgh stage-road, and encamp
about three quarters of a mile in advance of
Savage s station. Lieuts. Hunt and Johnson re
turned about half-past two P.M., having seen Gen.
Reyes, by whom they were directed to report
that his front line, which was Gen. Casey s divi
sion, was being driven in ; the road from the
front was at this time filled with fugitives. I
mounted my horse and rode briskly to the front.
At the corner of the field, not a third of a mile
from my headquarters, I met the fugitives from
the battle-field increasing in numbers as I ad
vanced. I had already given orders for all the
available troops to advance to support those in
front, as well as sent an officer to communicate
with Gen. Sumner and request his assistance.
This officer met a staff-officer sent by Gen. Sum
ner to offer me assistance. On reaching the
front, I met our troops fiercely engaged with the
enemy near the Seven Pines, having lost the first
position, three fourths of a mile in advance. Gen.
Reyes was there, and from him I learned the
position of affairs. Our reinforcements soon be
gan to arrive. Gen. Berry s brigade was sent
into the woods on our left and ordered to out
flank the enemy, who occupied in force Gen.
Casey s camps, and had a battery of artillery
near a large wood-pile in rear of the unfinished
redoubt. This position Gen. Berry held till dark,
when Gen. Jameson s brigade came up, the Fifty-
seventh Pennsylvania having gone up the railroad
from Savage s station, as the main road was full
of fugitives. I directed him to send a regiment
to the right to support Gen. Peck. He sent the
Eighty - seventh New- York, Col. Dodge. The
other two regiments, Sixty-third and One Hun
dred and Fifth Penns}4vania, went to the left
through the woods, and were deplo} T ed, by Gen.
Rearny s order, across the Williamsburgh road,
and they gallantly drove the enemy out of the
abattis and rifle-pits, holding their position for an
hour and a half. This brought the time to about
five o clock, at which hour the enemy received
a reinforcement of a division, and began to drive
our troops out of the woods on the right of the
road. The fire had increased so much that I
went to the left to order two of Gen. Peck s regi
ments, from where they were guarding a road
leading to the White Oak swamp, to support this
line. I met them coming, having been ordered
across by Gen. Reyes. They went into the
woods, but, together with the troops already
there, were driven out by the overwhelming
masses of the enemy.
Gen. Jameson rode across to rally them, but
was met by a volley from the eneiaiy. His horse
fell with three balls in him. In falling, tlie Gene
ral s leg was caught under the animal, when
some men of the Sixty-third Pennsylvania came
and lifted the horse off, and helped the Gener? 1
814
REBELLION RECORD, 1862.
away. Gen. Peck s horse was shot under him,
and several other officers had their horses struck,
or were themselves wounded at this time. Their
exertions, however, partially rallied the retiring
regiments, and they fell back fighting : this
brought us into a narrow strip of woods, along
the main road. With the assistance of my staff
and other officers, we succeeded in rallying frag
ments of regiments, to the number of about one
thousand eight hundred men. Part of these
Gen. Keyes took to the left of the road. I placed
Col. Hays, of the Sixty-third Pennsylvania, in
command of the remainder, and with two compa
nies of his regiment, just returned from picket.
This force I ordered to advance. They succeeded
in repulsing the advancing enemy. This was
late in the afternoon, and the fire gradually
slackened and ceased on this part of the field.
The enemy never got beyond those woods.
A new line was formed in some unfinished
rifle-pits, about a mile in rear, and occupied by
the troops of Gens. Couch s and Kearny s divi
sion, and such troops of Gen. Casey s as could be
collected.
When the troops on the right of the road near
the Seven Pines gave way, the enemy pushed
several regiments across the main road, placing
them between General Berry s brigade, part of
Jameson s, and the portion of our troops who
gave way from the right of the road. These
troops, (Gen. Berry s,) however, most gallantly
held their position on the rebels right flank, and
kept up such a deadly fire that no eflbrt the ene
my made could dislodge them. They remained
till dark, firing away sixty rounds of ammunition
to each man, and then supplying themselves with
cartridges from the dead and wounded. Their
fire completely commanded the open space in
their front, and not a mounted man succeeded in
passing under their fire.
When night came on they fell back about a
mile, took the saw-mill road, and by eight o clock
P.M. joined their division. When we reoccupied
the ground again, the rebel dead covering their
front attested their coolness and the accuracy of
their fire. Early in the afternoon, (three o clock
P.M.,) an order wa,s sent, on the application of
Gen. Keyes, to Gen. Kearny, to send a brigade
up the railroad to his assistance. The order sent
to Gen. Kearny was to send a brigade up the
railroad to the front, and Gen. Birney s was
ordered up. I learned, after I arrived on the
field of battle, that the brigade was halted on the
railroad a very short distance from the camp. I
sent at least two orders for it to advance. From
the reports, a few chance shots fell among the
left of this brigade, but I cannot learn that it was
engaged during the day. Had it gone into action
between the railroad and Williamsburgh road, as
I expected it would, I believe we would have
driven back the enemy and have recaptured our
artillery, lost before I came on the field. The
gallant manner in which the brigade fought when
led into action the next day by the gallant Col.
eT. Hobart Ward, shows what it would have done
if it had taken part in the battle of the previous
day. Through what misunderstanding or coun
ter-orders it was kept back, I am unable to say.
I have since learned that Gen. Kearny gave the
orders.
After the battle, Gen. Birney was placed under
arrest by my order, and brought before a court-
martial, for disobedience of orders. The Court
honorably acquitted him. Gen. Keyes has writ
ten such an excellent report of the operations of
his corps, that it is scarcely necessary for me to
add to it. So much has, however, been said as
to the conduct of Gen. Casey s division, that it
is due to him and to the troops he commanded
that I should give my views. Gen. Casey, in his
report, states : " On the morning of the thirty-
first, my pickets toward the right of my line suc
ceeded in capturing Lieut. Washington, an aid of
Gen. Johnston s, of the rebel service. This cir
cumstance, in connection with the fact that Col.
Hun^, my general officer of the day, had reported
to me that his outer picket had heard cars run
ning nearly all night on the Richmond and York
River Railroad, led me to exercise increased
vigilance. Between eleven and twelve o clock, a
mounted vidette was sent in from the advanced
picket to report that a body of the enemy was
in sight, approaching on the Richmond road. I
immediately ordered the One Hundred and Third
regiment Pennsylvania volunteers to advance to
the front for the purpose of supporting the pick
ets. It was soon afterward reported to me, by a
mounted vidette, that the enemy were advancing
in force, and about the same time two shells were
thrown over my camp. I was led to believe that
a serious attack was contemplated. I immediate
ly ordered the division under arms, the men at
work on the rifle-pits and abattis to be recalled
and to join their regiments, the artillery to be har
nessed up at once. I made every disposition to
repel the enemy ; while they were in progress
the pickets commenced firing." It is much to be
regretted that I knew nothing of this until after
the battle. After the fire had attracted my at
tention, and I had sent two of my aids to the
front for information, I received a note (at two