PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 



161 



for the bombardment, when it was discovered the foe 

 had disappeared. Yorktown had been evacuated on 

 the night of the 4th of May, in accordance with the 

 decision of a council of war, in which Davis, Lee, 

 Johnston, and Magruder took part. Seventy-one guns 

 were the trophies abandoned to the Union army. 



In evacuating Yorktown the Confederates abandoned 

 York River, and Franklin's command was taken on 

 board transports to be landed at White House, at the 

 head of the navigation of the Pamunkey. McClellan 

 conducted the pursuit by land. The task of covering 

 the Confederate retreat was intrusted to Longstreet, 

 under whom it was conducted with the greatest order. 

 At Williamsburg defensive works had been constructed, 

 the most prominent being a large work named Fort 

 Magruder, nearly 2 miles in advance of the town. 

 This and the chain of adjoining works were occupied 

 by the Confederates, who saluted the on-pressing col- 

 umns as they appeared on the edge of the forest with 

 a fierce fire. 1 he appearance of the numerous works 

 was a surprise to the Unionists. Longstreet had 

 manned them during the night, resolved to maintain 

 possession. Hooker attacked his right, and Long- 

 street's artillery crossed its fire with that of the Con- 

 federate infantry. The Unionists in the open unable 

 to withstand the cross-fire ambushed themselves among 

 the abatis which became the scene of a fierce struggle. 

 Hooker lost the abatis and was falling back when Kear- 

 ney came to his aid. Allowing Hooker to pass between 

 his battalions he took up the fight, and arrived in time 

 to rescue one or two abandoned batteries. Towards 4 

 o'clock the right came into action, and Hancock, find- 

 ing a small redoubt a link in the Magruder chain 

 unoccupied, took possession of it, and his men pressed 

 on till they arrived in view of the Confederate left. 

 Longstreet, on discovering Hancock, despatched Early 's 

 brigade pzainst him, but this was driven back in dis- 

 order. McClellan, who had remained behind to see 

 Franklin off, arrived before Williamsburg too late for 

 further action that night. He saw that the Confederate 

 defences were turned and prepared for a vigorous as- 

 sault on the morrow, but Johnston, conscious of his 

 numerical inferiority, evacuated his defences and dur- 

 ing the night resumed his retreat. The Confederates 

 had 3000 men disabled, and left 600 prisoners. The 

 Union loss was 2073 killed and wounded and 623 

 prisoners. 



Franklin's division, which had embarked on the 

 evening of the 5th, arrived at Elkhorn near White 

 House on the 6th, but, on attempting to advance on 

 the 7th, he was confronted by Whiting's Confederate 

 division and Hood's brigade. This served to hold 

 him in check, and Johnston reached Richmond without 

 further molestation. 



On the retreat of the Confederates from Williams- 

 burg the Army of the Potomac was pushed forward as 

 rapidly as the horrible condition of the roads would 

 permit and on May 16th its leading divisions reached 

 the White House, whence the West Point Railroad 

 runs west to Richmond, 18 miles. Here McClellan 

 established his depots, and by the 21st had his army 

 established in echelon along the left bank of the 

 Chickahominy. Johnston, meanwhile, had pressed 

 forward the concentration of all available Confederate 

 forces at Richmond, and had in consequence been 

 joined by Huger with 11,000 men from Norfolk. 

 Huger's abandonment of Norfolk led the Confederate 

 Commodore Tatnall to blow up the Merrimac, thus 

 leaving the James open to the Union gun-boats. Mc- 

 Clellan was thus confirmed in his ulterior purpose of 

 transferring his base to the James, and co-operating 

 with Goldsborough in an attack on Richmond on the 

 south. This purpose he would have carried out on the 

 evacuation of Williamsburg but for an object to which 

 high importance was attached, viz. : the insurance of a 

 juncture with McDowell when he should move from 

 Fredericksburg. With this object, as well as for the 

 preservation of his communication with the White 



House, he had to leave his centre and right wing on 

 the north bank of the Chickahominy, when he on the 

 20th commenced to cross the rest of his army at 

 Bottom's Bridge. At this moment McDowell's move- 

 ment had really commenced, and Porter had marched 

 to meet him as far as Hanover Court-House (where he 

 had a combat and captured 700 prisoners and a gun), 

 when Jackson's irruption into the Shenandoah alarmed 

 the authorities for Washington and led to McDowell 

 being countermanded, with his 41,000 men. 



The ground of McClellan's immediate operations 

 may be described in a few words. It presents but one 

 obstacle, the Chickahominy, rising to the north of 

 Richmond. In its downward course we meet first 

 Meadow Bridge (over which passes the Gordonsville 

 Railroad) ; below this is Mechanicsville Bridge, within 

 5 miles of the city ; then New Bridge, connecting the 

 hamlet of Old Tavern with Gaines' Mill heights ; 6J 

 miles below this is the bridge of the West Point Rail- 

 road, and two-thirds of a mile farther down, Bottom's 

 Bridge, 12 miles from Richmond. Here McClellan had 

 crossed his left wing. The noticeable tributaries of the 

 Chickahominy are Beaver-Dam Creek between Me- 

 chanicsville and Gaines' Mill on the left bank, White Oak 

 Creek, giving rise to a vast wooded swamp, called White 

 Oak Swamp, some 3 miles below Bottom's Bridge. 



On the 28th McClellan had his left wing (Keyes 

 and Heintzelman) on the south bank stretching from 

 White Oak Swamp up to the railroad bridge ; Suniner 

 at the centre stood prepared to cross but his bridges 

 were not laid ; the right wing under Franklin and 

 Porter stretched northward on the left bank as far as 

 opposite Richmond. His whole line formed a semi- 

 circle, broken near the centre by the Chickahominy 

 and with the extremities 25 miles apart. The Confed- 

 erates occupied the chord. Johnston was not the man 

 to let slip an opportunity so full of promise for an 

 attack, and accordingly on the 31st delivered an assault 

 at Fair Oaks Station. (See FAIR OAKS, BATTLE OF.) 

 Johnston's serious wound in this action led to the ap- 

 pointment of Gen. Robert E. Lee to the Confederate 

 command-in-chief. 



The battle of Fair Oaks (during which Sumner had 

 crossed to the south side) was followed by storms, last- 

 ing till June 20th, that enforced rest on both com- 

 batants. The only events calling for note were Stuart's 

 cavalry reconnoissance round the whole rear of the 

 Federal line with his raid on the railroad and White 

 House, and the transfer of Franklin's corps on the 

 1 9th to the south bank, Porter, reinforced by McCall, 

 being left alone north of the river. 



By June 26th the ground was dry enough to admit 

 of operations. Lee supposed that McClellan's object 

 in bringing his forces across the Chickahominy was to 

 lay regular siege to Richmond. His cadres had now 

 been filled up by the enforcement of the conscription 

 in the South and by further reinforcements, and he 

 proposed to raise the siege by threatening the Union 

 fine of communication with White House. The 

 armies by which the aims of either general were to be 

 executed were nearly equal, numbering each a little 

 over 100,000 men present for duty. 



The following is a summary of the effective strength 

 of the two armies on June 26, 1862 : 



