ARMY OPERATIONS. 



119 



during the three days' operations around Coal Harbor 

 will not exceed, according to the Adjutant-General's 

 Report, seven thousand fire hundred. 



This morning, Saturday, June 4, the enemy's left 

 wing, in front "of Gen. Burnside, was found to have 

 been drawn in during the night. 



Col. Cesnola, in command of five thousand men, 

 arrived there vesterdav. having marched from Port 

 Royal. ED'WIN M.'ST ANTON, Sec'y of War. 



The position gained, however, was held, and 

 during the next day, Saturday, June 4th, the 

 erection of temporary breastworks was busily 

 prosecuted. At 9 o'clock at night the enemy 

 made a fierce attack on the corps of Gen. Han- 

 cock, Smith, and "Wright, but after a severe 

 loss they were repulsc-J. 



On Sunday, the 5th, the lines continued close 

 to each other. The sharpshooters of the enemy 

 endangered any person exposed in the rifle- 

 pits, and many officers and men were fatally 

 wounded. Meanwhile the work on the in- 

 trenchments, when practicable, was kept up. 

 Soon after dark the enemy made a sudden 

 dash on Gen. Smyth's brigade of the 2d divi- 

 sion of Gen. Hancock's corps. They met with 

 a sharp resistance, and were soon repelled with 

 a disproportionably large loss. On Monday the 

 picket-firing was continued, with some change 

 of position in bodies of the troops, and with 

 the work on the intrenchments. At midnight 

 an attack was made on Gen. Burnside's corps 

 on the right, but soon repelled. The nearness 

 of the lines of the two armies made the battle- 

 fields of Friday disputed, and the dead still re- 

 mained upon it nnburied and the wounded 

 were unrelieved. A correspondence ensued 

 relative to these dead and wounded, between 

 Gens. Grant and Lee. It resulted in an armis- 

 tice of two hours, during which the dead and 

 wounded were carefully removed. Meanwhile 

 the 5th corps was detached from its position on 

 the right centre and withdrawn to the aear. 

 Its place in the line was filled by a transfer of 

 the 9th corps from the extreme right. Com- 

 missary supplies had been constantly sent for- 

 ward to the army from the "White House, with 

 some reinforcements of hundred days' men and 

 convalescents. Xew earthworks were built, 

 extending along the course of the Chickahomi- 

 ny, and everywhere the enemy built parallel 

 works a few hundred yards distant. On Tues- 

 day, June 7th, the enemy making a reconnois- 

 sance, attacked the 9th corps in the afternoon, 

 but were vigorously repelled. Of the 5th corps 

 detached during the night from their position 

 in the line, the divisions of Gens. Griffin and 

 Cutter moved rapidly down toward Sumners 

 bridge, on the Chickahominy. The enemy at 

 the bridge were in force, and opened with 

 rather heavy guns on the approaching column. 

 They were soon driven from the bridge, but 

 continued to command it with their artillery. 

 During "Wednesday and Thursday there was no 

 change cf position. On the latter day, the 

 cavalry under Gens. Torbert and Gregg were 

 pushed further to the left. On Friday some 

 skirmishing of cavalry took place on the right. 



The work of intrenchrnent was continued, and 

 an advance was pushed as far as Bottom bridge, 

 the next below the railroad crossing of Chicka- 

 hominy. The enemy kept pace, confronting 

 the advance, and fortifying at the bridge. On 

 the same day the destruction of the railroad to 

 the "White House was begun from Despatch sta- 

 tion easterly. The rails and ties were removed 

 to the "White House, and shipped on barges. 



On Sunday night, June 12th, the movement 

 for crossing the James River commenced. The 

 line of the enemy extended from Bottom bridge 

 along the Chickahominy, nearly parallel to 

 which was the line of Gen. Grant, and both in- 

 trenched. Bottom bridge was commanded by 

 the enemy, and could not be used for crossing. 

 The next were Long bridge, six or seven miles, 

 and Jones's bridge, ten or twelve miles below. 



On Sunday night, June 12th, the army began 

 to move. The 2d and 5th corps moved to Long 

 bridge, over which they crossed, and took the 

 road due south to "Wilcox's wharf, twelve miles 

 distant on the James' River, and a little west 

 of Charles City. The 6th and the 9th corps at 

 the same time marched to Jones's bridge, by 

 which they crossed the Chickahominy and ad- 

 vanced rapidly to Charles City Court House, 

 about nine miles nearly south of the bridge and 

 a mile from the James' River. The 18th corps 

 about the same time marched to the White 

 House, embarked on transports and proceeded 

 directly to Bermuda Hundred, on the south 

 side of the James' River, being the headquarters 

 of Gen. Butler. The points designated for the 

 crossing of the other corps were Powhatan's 

 and near "Wilcox's "Wharf, where pontoons had 

 already been prepared by Gen. Butler. During 

 all Sunday night and Monday the troops moved 

 forward, and at evening the advance reached 

 "Wilcox's wharf. On Tuesday the crossing of 

 the James commenced, and was completed on 

 "Wednesday. The movement had been attended 

 with some slight skirmishing with the enemy, 

 with a loss of not more than four hundred men. 



Meanwhile deserters having reported that 

 the force of the enemy at Petersburg had been 

 greatly reduced, a demonstration against that 

 city, was made by a portion of the forces under 

 Gen. Butler at Bermuda Hundred. It was de- 

 termined that Gen. Gilinore, with thirty-five 

 hundred men, crossing the Appomattox, should 

 move by the turnpike road and assault the city, 

 while Gen. Kautz, with a cavalry force of fif- 

 teen hundred men, should make a circuit of 

 the place and attack it on the southerly or 

 southwesterly side, and thus, as the movement 

 was simultaneous, both forces might enter the 

 city together. At the same tune another dem- 

 onstration was to be made upon Fort Clifton, 

 The movement commenced on Monday night. 

 June 8th. Gen. Gilmore encountered no seri- 

 ous opposition until within two miles of tha 

 city, when he met the enemy's skirmish lino 

 and briskly drove it back. On arriving in 

 front of the city where the fortifications could 

 be closely examined, he found them too strong 



