o clock P.M.) from Gen. Keyes, merely asking, as
I have already said, for two brigades, if I could
spare them, to be sent up the railroad. With
this indefinite information I ordered up every
available man, and as they arrived in succession
was forced to put them in action to meet pressing
emergencies, without waiting to make a concen
trated effort. Nothing but the great gallant^ of
Gen. Kearny, who had a horse shot under him
while leading the Thirty-seventh New-York into
action, his officers and men, and the steadiness
of most of Couch s division, saved us from a most
disastrous defeat. The defensive works of Gen.
Casey s position, in consequence of the increasing
rains, and the short time allowed him for labor
with intrenching tools, were in a very unfinished
state, and could oppose but a feeble resistance to
the overwhelming mass thrown upon them. The
artillery was well served, and some of the regi
ments fought gallantly till overwhelmed by num
bers. After they were once broken, however,
DOCUMENTS,
315
they could not be rallied. The road was filled
received an order from the Commanding General
to remain and keep him informed by telegraph of
the progress of the battle ; and thus I was de-
with fugitives (not all from this division) as far
as Bottom s Bridge. Col. Starr s regiment, of
General Hooker s division, had to force its way j privcd of his services in the battle. His services
through them with the bayonet, and a guard I j and those of Capt. Moses, Assistant Adjutant-
placed at Bottom s Bridge stopped over a thou- General, were very arduous in attending to the
sand men.
wounded, who were all sent to my headquarters
When I
An officer informed me that after we had dri- \ for transportation to the White House,
ven the enemy beyond our first intrenchments, j arrived on the field, I met Samuel Wilkeson,
he visited Gen. Casey s camp, and found more j Esq., of the New- York Tribune. I accepted his
men bayoneted and shot inside the shelter-tents I services as volunteer aid, and I wish to bear tes
timony to his gallantry and coolness during the
battle. When the rebel reinforcements arrived,
about five P.M., and our troops commenced to
than outside of them.
As Gen. Casey, in his report, has not designat
ed the regiments who did not behave well, I do
not feel called upon to name them. The One | give way, he was conspicuous in the throng,. aid-
Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania, the One | ing in- rallying the men. The officers of my staff,
Hundredth and Ninety-second New-York, and who were with me at this critical moment, Dr.
Eleventh Maine, Gen. Casey says, made a charge | Milhau, the Medical Director of my corps, Lieuts.
on the enemy, under his eye and by his express ! Morton and Deacon, were also quite active and
orders, that would have honored veteran troops, j efficient. Lieuts. Hunt and Johnston, who also
The One Hundred and First Pennsylvania and j behaved with much gallantry, were absent at this
Ninety sixth New-York fought well.
moment, delivering orders. Capt. McKelvy,
orders, and rendered me most efficient service
during the battle.
There is one statement in Gen. Palmer s report I Chief Commissary, was very active in carrying
which it is necessary to notice. No portion of
Gen. Hooker s division was engaged on Saturday,
the first day. The heavy loss in Gen. Kearny s j The arrival of Gen. Sedgwick s division, of Gen.
division will attest how much his division felt j Sumner s corps, on my extreme right, late in the
the enemy. After Gen. Kearny s division ar- j afternoon, was most opportune. Gen. Abercrom-
rived in the field, our forces did not fall back a
third of a mile before they checked the enemy.
The next day they drove them back, and before
night a portion of Sickles s brigade, Hooker s di-
bie s brigade had maintained itself most gallantly,
but would have been overwhelmed by the masses
of the enemy, but for his timely assistance. Tho
greatest distance the enemy, with their over-
vision, occupied at least a portion of Gen. Casey s whelming numbers, claim to have driven us back
camps, and brought off numbers of our wounded is but a mile and a half the distance was less.
of the day before, and of the enemy s, too, whom
they had been compelled to abandon on the field
During the evening the troops were formed in
the lines before spoken of, and the artillery so
when they retreated. Gen. Keyes, all the Gene- disposed as to resist a heavy force should the at-
rals of division, and most of the Generals of bri
gades, are specially mentioned for good conduct
and activity on the field. Many lost their horses.
I have already mentioned Generals Jameson and
Berry, of Gen. Kearny s division, and will refer
you to Gen. Keyes s report, where he specially
refers to the exposure and gallantry of the divi
sion and brigade commanders of his corps. As
all the reports I have received accompany this, it
is unnecessary to report their names.
Couch s, Casey s, and Kearny s divisions on
the field numbered but eighteen thousand five
hundred men ; deducting from this force Casey s
division, (five thousand men,) dispersed when I
came on the field, and Birney s, (two thousand
three hundred,) not engaged, we, with less than
eleven thousand men, after a struggle of three
hours and a half, checked the enemy s heavy
masses. Gen. Nagle, who is highly commended
for his gallantry and activity, has not sent in his
regimental reports. It is but just that these
should be forwarded to the War Department, as
an evidence of the good conduct of the officers
On the next morn-
little before seven
tack be renewed the next day. At midnight I
had an interview with Gen. McClellan, and was
ordered to hold my position,
ing, Sunday, June first, a
o clock, firing of musketry commenced near the
Fair Oaks station. This soon became heavy, oc
casioned by an attack by the enemy on Gen.
Sumner s corps, on my right. I immediately
gave orders for that portion of Gen. Hooker s di
vision one half was left at Bottom s Bridge
present to advance between the railroad and the
Williamsburgh road. Gen. Hooker gallantly led
the Fifth and Sixth New- Jersey regiments for
ward near the railroad. Gen. Sickles s brigade
followed, but finding the enemy in force to the
left of the Williamsburgh road, turned, by my
direction, a portion of the brigade to the left of
this road. The ground was so boggy that the
artillery, after making the attempt to follow, had
to return. Gen. Birney s brigade, on the right
of Gen. Hooker, and now under the command of
Col. J. Hobart Ward, promptly and gallantly
supported the former. After some firing, Gen.
and men of the regiments mentioned by their ! Hooker made a gallant charge with the bayonet,
regimental commanders. I leading himself the Fifth and Sixth New-Jersey
When I started for the field, I have to regret 1 1 against the rebel troops, and driving them back
was obliged to leave at my headquarters Captain nearly a mile. In Sickles s brigade, the Seven ty-
McKeever, Chief of my Staff, to attend to the for- 1 first New-York volunteers, Col. Hall, after one or
warding of orders, etc. Shortly sfter 1 left, he two volleys, made a charge, and soon drove tht
316
REBELLION RECORD, 1862.
enemy before them ; the Seventy-third New-York,
Major Moriarty, advanced also. On the right, the
other regiments of this brigade drove the enemy
in the same manner. In every instance in which
our troops used the bayonet, our loss was com
paratively light, and the enemy was driven back,
suffering heavily. Our advance pushed forward
as far as the battle-field of the previous day,
where they found many of our wounded and
those of the enemy. Ambulances were sent for
ward, and all that could be reached were brought
in. I call attention to the paragraph in General
Sickles s report respecting the condition in which
he found the field after the enemy retreated
strewed with small arms, rebel caissons filled with
ammunition, baggage, wagons, subsistence stores,
and forage. In one out-building at Fair Oaks,
half-a-dozen sacks of salt were left. These things
indicate their hasty retreat.
On the next morning, I sent forward General
Hooker, with the portion of his division engaged
the day before, to make a reconnoissance, which
he did most gallantly far be} T ond the position we
had lost on Saturday. As he advanced, the ene
my s pickets fell back. Our pickets got to within
five miles of Richmond. In the afternoon our
troops fell back, by orders of the Commanding-
General, and occupied the position we held before !
the battle. Our loss on the first day was seven |
pieces of artillery from Gen. Casey s division, and
one (the carriage being injured) from General
Couch s. One of these was recaptured the next
day.
As the enemy selected his time and point of |
attack, and failed in his attempt to drive us into |
the Chickahominy, and as he, in his turn, was
driven back with immense loss, abandoning man} r
of his w r ounded and leaving his dead unburied,
we may well claim a victory, and such it certainly
was.
I inclose a list of the casualties in the Third
and Fourth Corps in the battles of the thirty-first
ult. and first inst.
Respectfully submitted,
S. P. HEINTZELMAN,
Brigadier-General Commanding.
LIST OF CASUALTIES IN THIRD AND FOURTH CORPS
AT THE BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES AND FAIR OAKS.
Commands. Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total.
Brig. -Gen. Kearny s Division,. 9 55 .. 64
Brig. -Gen. Hooker s Division,. .. 7 .. 7
RECAPITULATION.
Killed. Wounded. Missing. Toti
Third Army Corps, 9 62
Fourth Army Corps, 21 95 15 1
Total,
............. 30 157
ENLISTED MEN.
Third Army Corp?, .......... 249 91S
Fourth Army Corps, ......... 364 1,660
Total, ................... 613 2,573
tPrisoners in hands of the enemy, 2.
^Prisoners in hands of the enemy, 6.
*Prisoners in hands of the enemy, 107.
15
a
1,81
609 3,8<
157
452
Total, 9 02
Bri.?.-Gen. Couch s Division,.. 9 41
Brig.-Gen. Casey s Division, ... 12 54
Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry,.
Total,.
21 95
ENLISTED HEN.
Brig.-Gen. Kearny s Division, .253 801
Brig.-G en. Hooker s Division,. 16 117
Total, 249 918
Brig.-Gen. Couch s Division, . .200 774
Brig. -Gen. Casey s Division,.. 164 884
Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, . . 2
Total
.364 1,G60
t!48
9
157
184
*318
452
181
1,324
1,108
1,3G6
2,470
Doc. 93.
BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN, VA.
GENERAL POPE S REPORT.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF VIRGINIA, )
CEDAR MOUNTAIN, August 13 5 P.M. f
To Major-General Ilalleck, Commander -in
Chief:
ON Thursday morning the enemy crossed tli
Rapidan at Earners Ford in heavy force, and a<
vanced strong on the road to Culpeper an
Madison Court-House. I had established m
whole force on the turnpike between Culpepc
and Sperryville, ready to concentrate at eithc
place as soon as the enemy s plans were deve
oped.
Early on Friday it became apparent that th
move on Madison Court-House was merely
feint, to deceive the army corps of Gen. Sigel, ;
Sperryville, and that the main attack of the em
my would be at Culpeper, to which place I ha
thrown forward part of Banks s and McDowell
corps.
Brig. -Gen. Bayard, with part of the rear o
McDowell s corps, who was in the advance nea
the Rapidan, fell slowly back, delaying and err
barrassing the enemy s advance as far as pos
sible, and capturing some of his men.
The forces of Banks and Sigel, and one of th
divisions of McDowell s corps, were rapidly cor
centrating at Culpeper during Friday and Sal
urday night, Banks s corps being pushed forwar
five miles south of Culpeper, with Ricketts s d
vision of McDowell s corps three miles in hisreai
The corps of Gen. Sigel, which had marched a]
night, was halted in Culpeper to rest a few hours
On Saturday the enemy advanced rapidly t
Cedar Mountain, the sides of which they occi;
pied in heavy force.
General Banks was instructed to take up hi
position on the ground occupied by Crawford
brigade of his command, which had been throw:
out the day previous to observe the enemy
movements. He was directed not to advanc
beyond that point, and if attacked by the enenry
to defend his position and send back timely nc
tice. It was my desire to have time to give th
corps of Gen. Sigel all the rest possible afte
their forced march, and to bring forward all th
forces at my disposal.
* This battle is also known as the battle of Slaughter s Moun
ain, Cedar Creek, and South-west Mountain.
DOCUMENTS.
317
The artillery of the enemy opened early in the : House, as will be seen from Gen. Buford s des-
afternoon, but he made no advance until nearly j patch. A cavalry and artillery force under Gen.
five o clock, at which time a few skirmishers j Buford was immediately thrown forward in pur-
were thrown forward on each side, under cover j suit, and followed the enemy to the Rapidan,
of the heavy woods in which his forces were con- 1 over which he passed withjiis rear-guard by ten
cealed. The enemy pushed forward a strong
force in the rear of his skirmishers, and General
Banks advanced to the attack.
The engagement did not fairly open until after
six o clock, but for an hour and a half was furi
ous and unceasing throughout the cannonading,
which was at first desultory, and directed mainly
against the cavalry.
I had continued to receive reports from Gen.
Banks that no attack was apprehended, and that
no considerable infantry force of the enemy had
come forward. Yet, towards evening, the in
creased artillery firing having satisfied me an en
gagement might be at hand, although the late
ness of the hour rendered it unlikely, I ordered
Gen McDowell to advance Gen. Ricketts s divi
sion to support Gen Banks, and directed General
Sigel to bring his men on the ground as soon as
possible. I arrived personally on the field at
seven P.M., and found the action raging furiously.
The infantry fire was incessant and severe. I
found Gen. Banks holding the position he took
up early in the morning ; his losses were heavy.
Ricketts s division was immediately pushed for-
o clock in the morning. The behavior of Gen.
Banks s corps during the action was very fine.
No greater gallantry and daring could be exhib
ited by any troops. I cannot speak too highly
of the ceaseless intrepidity of Gen. Banks him
self during the whole of the engagement. He
was in the front, and exposed as much as any
man in the command. His example was of the
greatest benefit, and he merits and should re
ceive the commendation of his government.
Generals "Williams, Augur, Gorman, Crawford,
Prince, Green, and Geary, behaved with conspic
uous gallantry. Augur and Geary were severely
wounded, and Prince, by losing his way in the
dark while passing from one flank to the other,
fell into the hands of the enemy. I desire pub
licly to express my appreciation of the prompt
and skilful manner in which Gens. McDowell
and Sigel brought forward their respective com
mands, and established them on the field, and
of their cheerful and hearty cooperation with
me from beginning to end. Brig. -Gen. Roberts,
Chief of Cavalry of this army, was with the ad
vance of our forces, on Friday and Saturday, and
ward, and occupied the advance of Gen. Banks was conspicuous for his gallantly, and for the
the brigade of Gen. Gordon being directed to I valuable aid he rendered to Generals Banks and
change their position from the right, and mass Crawford. Our loss was about one thousand
themselves in the centre. Be/ore this change five hundred killed, wounded, and missing, of
could be effected it was quite dark, though the
artillery continued at short range without inter
mission. The artillery fire at night by the
Second and Fifth Maine batteries, in Ricketts s
whom twenty-nine were taken prisoners. As
might be expected from the character of the en
gagement, a very large proportion of those were
killed. The enemy s loss in killed, wounded, and
division of Gen. McDowell s corps, was most de- 1 prisoners, we are now satisfied, is much in ex-
structive, as was readily observable the next ! cess of our own. A full list of casualties will be
transmitted as soon as possible, together with a
detailed report, in which I shall endeavor to do
justice to all.
JOHN POPE,*
Major-Geiieral Commanding.
morning, in the dead men and horses and broken
gun-carriages of the enemy s batteries, which
had been advanced against it.
Our troops rested on their arms during the
night, in line of battle, a heavy shelling being
kept up on both sides until midnight. At day
light next morning, the enemy fell back two I
miles from our front, and still higher up the j
mountain. Our pickets at once advanced and [
occupied the ground. The fatigue of the troops
from long marches and excessive heat, made it
impossible for either side to resume the action
on Sunday. The men were therefore allowed to
rest and recruit the whole day, our only active
operation being that of cavalry on the enemy s
flank and rear. Monday was spent in burying
the dead and in getting off the wounded. The
slaughter was severe on both sides. Most of the
fighting being hand-to-hand, the dead bodies of
both armies were found mingled together in
masses over the whole ground of conflict. The
burying of the dead was not completed until peper, where we were in bivouac, rapidly to the
dark on Monday, the heat being so terrible that ! front > as General _ Crawford, commanding I irst
severe work was not possible. On Monday mVht | brigade, First division, had been attacked and
the enemy fled from the field, leaving manyof i needed assistance. My brigade was put in mo-
his dead unburied, and his wounded on the : tion at oncc and reached the position of General,
ground and along the road to Orange Court- See Gen. Pope s report of his Virginia Campaign.
GENERAL GORDON S OFFICIAL REPORT.
HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, IN THE FIELD, )
CAMP AT CEDAR MOUNTAIN, VA., >
August 11, 1SC2. \
Brig.-Gen. A. S. Williams, Commanding First
Division Second Army Corps, Army of Vir
ginia.
SIR : I have the honor to make the following
report of the part taken by my brigade in the re
cent battle of Saturday, August ninth, at Cedar
Mountain, three miles from Culpeper Court-
House, with the enemy under General Jackson.
At nine A.M. on the morning of the ninth, after
a hurried march of the day before, which was pro
longed until twelve o clock at night, I received or
ders to remove my brigade from the town of Cul
318
REBELLION RECORD, 1862.
Crawford at about twelve M. I was directed by
General Roberts, of General Pope s staff, to take
position on the extreme right, which I occupied
with my command of three regiments and two
batteries.
Until four P.M., only a few discharges from the
enemy s guns announced his presence. At this
hour a severe cannonading began, extending from
the left of our line across the road upon which
our centre rested. Our batteries, served with
great vigor, responded manfully, and with such
success, that the whole of our left, consisting of
General Augur 5 division, advanced considerably
from our first position, notwithstanding the en
emy occupied a height which gave him advanta
ges of a plunging fire. Until half-past five P.M.,
this artillery practice continued with unabating
severity. At this hour I heard quite a rapid
musketry firing in my front behind a range of
timber, distant about one third of a mile from my
position. I was ordered by you, sir, to move at
once with my brigade and support General Craw
ford, who was engaging the enemy s left. I moved
at once from ni3 r well-chosen and exceedingly
strong position, gaining the scene of action as
briefly as a double-quick movement could carry
me. I led into action the Second Massachusetts
regiment. Colonel G. L. Andrews ; Third "Wis
consin regiment, Colonel Ruger ; and the Twenty-
seventh Indiana regiment, Colonel Colgrove. I
should state that five companies of the Third
Wisconsin regiment, previously deployed as
skirmishers in this same timber, had been order
ed by you to join General Crawford s command,
which after engaging the enemy with much gal
lantry, had been compelled to retire. I arrived
in the timber as Colonel Ruger was rallying his
men, and added them to my command. The en
emy were posted in the edge of the woods, on the
opposite side of a newly-mown wheat-field dis
tance across this field, about two hundred yards.
As I approached the opening, the enemy, from
his concealed position, received me with a rapid
and destructive fire, but my regiments, particu
larly the Second Massachusetts and Third Wis
consin, coolly took their assigned places, and re
plied with commendable coolness. For at least
thirty minutes this terrible fire continued. Com
panies were left without officers, and men were
falling in every direction from the fire of an en
emy which largely outnumbered my brigade.
Still there was no general falling back. Some
disgraceful instances of cowardice there were, but
these only served to show in bolder relief the
majesty of the courageous bearing of others. The
enemy having gained my right and rear, which,
by their superior numbers they were enabled to
do without a check from me, poured in a destruc
tive fire from this new direction. The fire from
the front had not been diminished. It was too
evident that the spot that had witnessed the de
struction of one brigade would be in a few mo
ments the grave of mine. I had resisted the sug
gestion of a staff-officer of your command to
withdraw when the contest seemed almost hope
less ; but now my duty had been performed, as
the reports will show. I had lost more than
thirty in every hundred of my command ; I there
fore reluctantly withdrew, assembled my dimin
ished numbers between the timber and my first
position, and fell back to the right of the line
which I had held since the morning. This posi
tion I occupied until relieved at a late hour of the
night by troops from General McDowell s division.
There we slept upon our position. We had not
driven the enemy from his ; further than that, if
he had an} r thing of which to boast, it is not in
his numerous dead which fell before the rifles of
the First and Third brigades of the First division.
With my shattered brigade I occupied the front
of the centre of our line of battle until near day
light.
In conclusion, I ought as I thus do to men
tion the names of Colonel Andrews, Second Mas
sachusetts regiment; Colonel Ruger, Third Wis
consin regiment ; and Colonel Colgrove, Twenty-
seventh Indiana regiment, as deserving praise for
gallant conduct. I by no means limit my com
mendation to the names mentioned. 1 would
add the names of many commissioned and non
commissioned officers of my command.
The dead, the honored dead, speak for them
selves ; they gave up their lives for their coun
try s sake. The living yet live for their country,
and the wounded, in their suffering, may be
cheered by the consciousness that all this and
more they can bear for the cause of American
freedom.
Among the killed are Lieutenant-Colonel Crane
and Captain O Brien, Third Wisconsin regiment ;
Captains Gary, Williams, Abbott and Goodwin,
and Lieutenant Perkins, of the Second Massachu
setts. These are some of the names to be re
membered as heroes men w r ho have died that
our country may survive.
I carried into action less than one thousand
five hundred men. I lost in about thirty minutes
about four hundred and sixty-six killed, wounded
and missing. I refer specially to the reports of
Colonels of regiments appended.
My Staff, Captain H. B. Scott, A.A.G., Cap
tain Chas. F. Wheaton and Lieutenant Robert
Shaw, Aids-de-camp, rendered me especial ser
vice in my movements. I ow r e them many thanks
for their labors and coolness under this terrific
fire.
I am, sir, with great respect, truly your ob t
servant, GEO. II. GOKDON,
Brigadier-General Commanding Third Brigade, First Division,
Second Army Corps, Army of Virginia.
REPORTS OP COLONEL ANDREWS.
HEADQUARTERS SECOND REGIMENT MASS. VOLUNTEERS, J
CAMP NEAR SLAUGHTER S MT., Aug. 11, 1862. )
Brig. -Gen. Geo. H. Gordon, Commanding Third
Brigade :
In compliance with orders from brigade head
quarters, I have the honor to submit the follow
ing report of the operations of the Second regi
ment Massachusetts volunteers, August ninth,
1862.
The regiment, with the rest of the brigade,
marched from camp near Culpeper Court-House.
DOCUMENTS.
319
on the morning of the ninth instant. After a