USA > Virginia > Campbell County > Campbell County > Annals of the Lynchburg Home Guard > Part 5
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HEADQUARTERS IST BRIGADE, 2D DIVISION, BIVOUAC ON CHICKANIOMINY, May 10, 1862.
CAPTAIN MOXEY SORREL, A. A. G.,
Captain :- I have the honor to submit the follow- ing report of the operations of my brigade, composed of the Seventh Virginia regiment, Colonel J. L. Kemper; Eleventh Virginia, Colonel Sam. Garland; the Seven- teenth Virginia, Colonel M. D. Corse; and the First Virginia, Colonel Louis B. Williams, in the battle of the ist inst. near Williamsburg.
The brigade was ordered under arms early on the morning of the 5th, and I was directed to take such positions on the Yorktown road that I might support either the right or left of our line as occasion de- manded. A heavy fire of artillery having been directed for some time against the redoubts in front of Williamsburg, between 8 and 9 o'clock I received Ma- jor-General Longstreet's order to move my brigade forward to the support of Brigadier-General Anderson, occupying the redoubt known as Fort Magruder. The brigade was immediately put in motion, moved for- ward on the Yorktown and Williamsburg road and halted to deposit knapsacks, while I sent forward my aide-de-camp, Captain F. T. Hill, to report to General Anderson my advance and receive his orders. * * General Anderson reported that he needed no support, and having received a request from General C. M. Wil- cox to support him, I moved the brigade across the fields under a heavy fire of artillery, which was borne with
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all the steadiness of veterans, and formed it in line of battle in rear of the redoubts and in supporting dis- tance of General Wilcox, reporting in person to Gen- eral Wilcox my position and readiness to support him when needed.
At 10:30 Gen. Anderson sent me an order to move down to the woods occupied by General Wilcox, some 800 yards in front of my position, and assist in driving back the enemy who had deployed in force. Very soon the firing began. General Wilcox having attacked, and my own brigade having reached the scene of action, Colonel Kemper of the Seventh, was directed to throw his regiment forward in line and en- gage the enemy. His men dashed in with a cheer, driving back the enemy, who were advancing in con- sequence of the regiment in front having given way, and with admirable skill and coolnes changed front as they fell back, and put his regiment in position behind a fence, facing the enemy and within forty-five yards of them. The Eleventh Virginia, Colonel Garland, was moved forward by the flank on the prolongation of Kemper's original line, with directions to clear his right, face to the left and feel the enemy. The dense wood prevented an accurate estimate of distance, and Colonel Garland's three left companies were still in rear of Kemper, when the Eleventh was moved to the front. Major (Maurice S.) Langhorne was directed to take charge of them and form on Colonel Kemper's
right. * The position of my line was this: Two sides of a rectangle, seven companies of the Eleventh forming the short side, the three companies of the Eleventh, the Seventh and the Seventeenth the long, the enemy being in the re-entering angle, facing the long side. A regiment of regular infantry had formed line immediately opposite the Seventeenth, and was quietly waiting its appearance, when Colonel Kemper called my attention to them. We soon dis-
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covered they were enemies, when Colonel Kemper's regiment and a part of the Eleventh, at a rest behind the fence poured into them a deadly volley, which distinctly marked the line of formation by the dying and the dead. The enemy, however, replied steadily and rapidly. The Seventeenth opened from the left, and Garland from the right was heard pouring in a continuous storm of lead. Then was the time, and Kemper's regiment was ordered to charge them, and, led by their gallant colonel, they bounded over the fence, Colonels Garland and Corse at the same mno- ment, with that military quickness and intuition that proves the thorough soldier, advanced their own lines and the enemy were forced back step by step-my own men eagerly pressing them-until the enemy reached an extensive field of felled timber, which afforded them excellent cover, and where, encouraged by their reserves and fresh troops, they rallied and again made a stand.
My brigade was now in advance, and was formed facing the new position taken by the enemy, at a dis- tance from them of about thirty yards, the Eleventh on the right, the Seventh in the centre, and the Seven- teenth on the left.
The roar of musketry now became louder than ever, and for some two hours was encouragingly kept up. * * Reports were soon made me that our ammunition was being exhausted, and the enemy were again charged with the bayonet by the whole brigade and utterly routed. The superior nerve and euthusi- asm of our men will ever drive them back when the bayonet is resorted to. The success- ful charge of the brigade above alluded to, having been accomplished, the Seventeenth halted on the ground from which the enemy had been driven, and Colonel Corse was directed to refill his cartridge boxes from those of the enemy's dead who were plentifully
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and opportunely strewn around. Colonels Kemper and Garland, finding their line somewhat confused from the charge, withdrew their regiments back to the edge of the woods and there reformed them, refilling cartridge boxes from those of the enemy. * * * About 7 o'clock I received the order of Major-General Longstreet, through General Pickett, to withdraw my brigade from the field, and thus ended victoriously for us on the right, one of the most obstinately contested battles ever fought.
My own brigade was actively engaged in the front for seven hours. Many of my men fired over sixty rounds of cartridges, and for two hours longer we were lying passive under a heavy fire, ready to spring to it again should the enemy rally to the fight. We drove the enemy from every position he took, captured all his knapsacks, and never suffered him to regain an inch of lost ground. My own brigade was fortunate in taking seven stands of colors, about 160 prisoners, and shared with the Ninth Alabama the honor of taking eight pieces of artillery.
Our loss has been heavy, and the Eleventh, Colonel Garland, suffered most severely. His regiment ever pressed forward where the chance of winning glory seemed most dangerous. But all the regiments fought with a heroism that, if persisted in, must ever drive back the foe from our soil.
From the list of casualties accompanying this roport, we take the following:
"Colonel Garland, of the Eleventh, though wounded early in the action, refused to leave the field, and con- tinued to lead his regiment until the battle was over, and his example had a most happy effect in showing his men how to win the battle."
Adjutant J. Lawrence Meem, of the Eleventh, was
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indefatigable in his efforts to secure the victory, and aided greatly the result."
General Hill also commends very highly Major M. S. Langhorne, of Lynchburg, who had been promoted from the captaincy of the Lynchburg Rifle Greys, Company A of the Eleventh.
In this battle the regiment lost 134 men in all, of whom twenty-six were killed, 105 wounded, and three missing, M. M. Leckie, of the Home Guard, being among the killed. We get a list of the wounded in the Home Guard from the Virginian of May 9th, 1862:
First Sergeant James Franklin, jr., wounded in arm; Edward A. Akers, shoulder slightly; J. L. Moorman, hand; Van Taliaferro, arm; Samnel Nowlin, head; A. W. Nowlin, thigh; John Sumpter, arm; Jno. T. Waller, shoulder dangerously; John P. Goggin, hand; G. T. Lavinder, leg twice; Wiley Campbell, month.
Almost immediately after this battle, the Home Guard sustained a heavy loss in the person of Colonel Garland. He was made a brigadier-general, and as his old regiment remained under General A. P. Hill, his career and theirs diverged. Although we are proud of the cause of this loss, we can but lament the effect, for the annals of the Confederate army show no finer char- acter than Garland's. A lawyer by profession, taken from the vocation to which he was trained and put in command of a local company of volunteers, he rose by his own merit to the post of brigadier within a year from the time he took the field. At the time of his death lie was but thirty years of age, and yet he fell
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regretted by the entire army. We publish a sketch of his life in the appendix, but we cannot, in the space allotted to it, give justice to his character.
THE BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES.
The brigade of which theEleventh regiment was a part, again changed hands as Brigadier-General A. P. Hill was promoted to a major-generalcy, and J. L. Kemper became brigadier. David Funsten was made colonel, vice Garland, who was promoted. It still was in Major-General Longstreet's division, however, and formed a part of his first brigade. At this time the brigade consisted of the First, Colonel L. B. Williams; Seventh, Colonel W. T. Patton; Eleventh, Colonel Fun- sten, and the London Artillery, Captain A. L. Rodgers.
After the repulse at Williamsburg, M'Clelland moved with increased caution toward Richmond. He reached a small stream called the Chickahominy and occupied both sides of it. This stream is usually very insignificant and can be forded at any place, but it is liable to overflow and its banks are very marshy. Only the possession of overwhelming superiority in num- bers would justify the division of an army by so treach- erous a stream, but M'Clelland had the superiority, as will be shown later. On the night of the 30th of May there was a violent storm with much rain, and fore-see- ing the rise of the Chickahominy, an attack was ordered by General Johnston on Keys' Division which was the most advanced portion of the enemy's army. The Federals under Casey, were caught unprepared, which seems inexcusable considering the number of war balloons used by them, and were forced back, los-
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ing their camp and six guns. At this time it seemed as though the enemy would be driven back into the swamps and would have to choose between annihila- tion and surrender, but in the very nick of time Sum- ner managed to cross the Chickahominy bringing with him 15,000 men and twenty-four pieces of artillery. "He came purely by chance on the left flank and rear of the Confederates, as the swiftness and success of their own attack threw them into some confusion. A battery of twenty-four Napoleon twelve-pounders and the fire of a long line of infantry swept at close quar- ters the column which, turning the former Federal right, was pushing on for Bottom's Bridge. Thus taken at a terrible disadvantage, the Confederates behaved with the steadiness and courage of veterans. The South Carolinians charged the battery again and again; but no troops in the world could storm such a battery supported by five or six-fold numbers. Their left was repulsed and driven back on Fair Oaks, a part of the Federal position already conquered."-Greg's History of the United States.
In General Longstreet's report of this battle we find this tribute paid his men, among whom as has been shown above, was the Home Guard:
"My own troops have been so often tried and dis- tinguished on other fields, that they need no praise from my lips. A truer, better body of men never marched upon a battle-field. I will mention however, as distinguished for their usual gallantry and ability, Generals R. H. Anderson, C. M. Wilcox, G. E. Pick- ett, R. E, Colston, and Roger A. Pryor, and Colonels Kemper and Jenkins (commanding brigades), Corse,
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Winston, Funsten and Moore, the latter twice shot, once severely wounded."
The report of c.sualties accompanying this report shows that the Confederates lost about 3,000 while the Federal loss, as shown in their own reports, was about 15,000. In addition the enemy lost ten pieces of artil- lery, 5,000 small arms, one garrison, and several regi- mental standards.
The Home Guard suffered fearfully in this fight. We find the following list of killed and wounded in the Virginian of June 3rd, 1862:
KILLED:
A. M. Cross, S. B. Tyree, J. A. Reid, E. H. Elliott, C. W. Terry, John Murrell, and R. E. Apperson.
WOUNDED:
R. S. Cabell, (corporal); J. H. Conley, W. A. Toot, (corporal); J. R. Kent, R. A. Kent, John Crumpacker, C. D. Hamner, (lientenant); Dabney Poindexter, R. C. Berkeley, W. P. Holland, J. A. Moorman, *R. C. Saunders, C. V. Cosby, (color sergeant); D. C. Guy, John Cross, John Wills, James M. Moore, Robert L. Waldron, E. W. Valentine, J. J. Old, J. G. Anderson, J. H. Benson, W. J. Nelson, and J. H. Smith, (lieu- tenant. )
In addition to this loss amongst those who were mem- bers of the company at the time of the fight, Assist- ant Adjutant-General J. Lawrence Meem was killed. He had been rapidly promoted from the position of orderly sergeant of the Home Guard to that of assist-
*Died June 21st, 1863, from his wouldde.
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ant-adjutant general, and at the time of his death was but twenty-six. A sketch of his life will be found in the appendix.
In this battle the company was commanded by First Lieutenant John Holmes Smith, John W. Daniel, (af- terwards major) being adjutant of the regiment.
The wound received in this battle retired General Johnston from the command of the army, and in his place was appointed one who was to cover himself and the Army of Northern Virginia with deathless fame, General Robert E. Lee. He had been engaged in duties which, while of great importance, had not at- tracted public attention, but from this time he was the central figure. The Confederate forces had become much dispirited by the presence of an overwhelming army of enemies in front of them, and many of the higher officers thought it best to vacate the lines then held and occupy others nearer Richmond and of a lesser circumference. Lee, however, determined to maintain the position then held, and drew his army up in line of battle in six divisions. Longstreet's Division formed the right, those of Huger, D. HI. Hill, Magru- der, Whiting and A. P. Hill extending to the left in the order named. Stuart's Cavalry was on the left, chiefly acting as pickets on the Rappahannock near Fredericksburg. The men were set to work throwing up entrenchments, and soon a continuous line of earth- works made their appearance. General Lee came almost daily among the men, and his presence and example soon brought about a change of sentiment among the troops. M'Clellan thought that he was op-
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posed by a greatly superior force, and this, in connec- tion with the swampiness of the ground, kept him from advancing, while Lee profited by this delay to finish his fortifications, which, when finished, inspired the soldiers with fresh courage by the sense of security they gave. Although the men had not then that con- fidence and love for their great chief that afterwards became so striking, yet already they recognized the talent that was to make him what his biographer in the Encyclopædia Brittanica calls him "one of the greatest military leaders in the world's history."
But again we are wandering from our subject. The temptation to do so is almost irresistible when writing of Lee, but we must confine ourselves to the doings of the Eleventh regiment.
M'Clellan's singular delusion as to the number of troops opposed to him continued for some days longer, and this opportune interval was of great use to the Confederates, as it enabled them to entrench themselves thoroughly and with each increase in the fortifications the morale of the army improved.
GAINS' MILL.
On the 26th of June Lee determined to attack the Federal right wing. In the orders issued with this in view Longstreet was ordered to move his division as near as practicable to the Mechanicsville bridge with- out being observed by the Federals. At 8 a. m. that morning the divisions of Longstreet and D. H. Hill were in position at the Mechanicsville bridge, and that evening crossed the Chickahominy, having driven back the enemy during the afternoon. The night was passed
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in bivouac near the bridge and the battle resumed early in the morning by artillery. General Whiting arrived on the field with his division and this oppor- tune arrival enabled Longstreet to keep Kemper's brigade as reserves. Says General Longstreet in his report: "Our gallant officers and men were moved forward in the face ot three lines of infantry fire, sup- ported by batteries from both sides of the Chickahon- iny. The troops moving steadily on under this terri- ble fire, drove the enemy from his position one after the other, took his batteries, and finally drove him into the swamps of the Chickahominy."
The enemy's left was forced and his position thus rendered untenable by the partial turning of the flank. In the retreat that followed many prisoners and regi- mental standards as well as several batteries fell into the hands of the Confederates. The Federals fell back leaving all their dead and most of their wounded on the field.
To fully appreciate the lieroisin required to win this battle it is necessary to understand the Federal posi- tion. This was on a plateau bounded "on its nortli- west side by a bluff eighty or ninety feet in elevation, which, curving to the north and east, gradually dimin- ished into a gentle slope. The plateau was bounded on its north side by a stream flowing along its base, whose banks gradually widened and deepened until, when reaching the bluff they had gained the width of eight or ten and the depth of five or six feet, thius forming a natural ditch. Three lines of breastworks, rising one above the other, had been constructed on
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the base of the bluff, and its crest was crowned with artillery."-( Memoirs of R. E. Lee, by General A. L. Long.)
After this disastrous repulse, M'Clellan withdrew to the shelter of his gunboats, closely followed by the Confederates. General Longstreet came on to the Fed- erals on Monday, June 30th, about noon near Frazier's Farm, and after some preliminary skirmishing, put his division into position either for attack or defense. An engagement was pressed and the enemy was driven back. Owing to some misunderstanding, Longstreet was not supported by Jackson and Huger, and M'Clel- lan was able to make good his retreat during the niglit and by morning was at Malvern Hill. Here on the morning of the Ist of July General Lee determined to attack the enemy, although the well placed artillery on the Federal side was able to sweep the ground before it and shells from the Federal gunboats fell well within the Confederate lines. An attack was made under Magruder on the enemy's left and by hard fighting it was carried, but the Confederates were then driven back themselves. The fire continued till 10 o'clock that night, when it ceased, the Confederates lying on their arms. During the night M'Clellan withdrew his forces and the "Seven Days' Fight" was at an end.
In regard to the number of men engaged on each side, we quote the figures given in the "Official Re- cords of the Union and Confederate Armies," vol. XI. part III, pages 329 and 645.
M'Clellan's total force
158,314.
Lee's total force
78,891.
Difference
79,423.
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The Eleventh Regiment was not engaged in the bat- tle of Malvern Hill, for having been engaged at Fra- zier's Farm the day before, they were held in reserve. General Longstreet, in his report, says of the behavior of his men at Frazier's Farm:
"There was more individual gallantry displayed on this field than any I have ever seen. *
I would mention as distinguished for gallantry and skill, Brigadier-Generals R. H. Anderson, Kemper, Wilcox, Pryor and Featherstone (the latter severely wounded), and Colonels Jenking, Corse, Strange, Patton, Perry, Lieutenant-Colonel Marye, Captain KIRKWOOD OTEY, commanding the Eleventh Virginia, and Cap- tain Kilpatrick."-[Capitals onrs. Ens.]
In the engagement at Frazier's Farm the Home Guard sustained the following losses:
Killed: G. J. Salmons, J. K. Seabury, W. K. Trigg.
Wounded: W. J. H. Hawkins, J. R. Holcombe, T. H. Ballowe, W. P. Holland, T. C. Miller, R. L. Waldron.
Captured: E. C. Barnes, J. H. Jennings, G. M. Turner.
In a skirmish near Yorktown; at the beginning of this compaign, John Winston Ivey was wounded.
In closing this sketch of the peninsular campaign, we will give a parody on Mcclellan's reports which we take from the Lynchburg Virginian, which paper in turn, copied it from the London (Eng.) Punch, of July 30th, 1862. When M'Clellan's reports are com- pared with the actual outcome of the campaign, the satire of this extract is very apparent.
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[Latest American Despatch by Horse-Marine Telegraph.]
CAMP CHICKABRIDDY CHOKEE,
Monday Afternoon.
The Federal troops have won another splendid vic- tory. Seeing that the rebels were approaching in great force, at 6 A. M. this morning I issued my order for a general advance, an order which our brave fel- lows were prompt to carry out. The advance was made in the identical direction as that in which the rebel army was approaching, and was achieved, I need not say, with the whole of our front line escaping without a hurt, and with the exception of a few slight wounds and bruises in the rear, I really have no casu- alties worth mentioning to report.
A good deal of our baggage and some few hundred stands of arms, we left upon the field for a strategic reason, and we likewise abandoned about a score of field pieces which were found to impede the rapid movement of our troops.
My next dispatch will probably be dated from Rich- mond, which I intend to sack at half past five o'clock precisely on Saturday next.
(Signed)
BUNKUM, General Commanding.
To the Honorable Secretary of War, Washington.
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CHAPTER III.
OPERATIONS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA AND THE INVA- SION OF MARYLAND.
After the repulse of M'Clellan's army, described in the last chapter, it was difficult for the Confederates to appreciate the magnitude of their victory. It was almost incomprehensible that such a vast force as that recently in the field should not only have been driven back, but have been demoralized to such an extent that it was incapable of taking the field again. Judg- ing from M'Clellan's reports, the campaign just ended was a remarkable one, for his armny was always out- numbered, always victorious, and yet signally failed in its purpose. So far as we have been able to learn, this is a state of affairs not equalled in the annals of war, except by the one we are about to describe, the one under Pope.
M'Clellan was loth to abandon the line of attack on which he had been defeated, and importuned the authorities at Washington to furnish him with more troops and allow him again to attempt the capture of Richmond. The clamor of politicians and the timid- ity of the President, who feared that the capital was in danger, overcame the plea of the vanquished general, and not only were the reinforcements denied him, but the command of the army was transferred to Major- General John Pope.
To thoroughly understand this campaign it is neces- sary to gain some insight into the character of the general who was to command it, and this can be read-
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ily done from his first official act. This was an address to his troops in the form of a general order in which he said that his headquarters would "be in the saddle," and that he had come from the command of an army in the West "whose business it had been to seek the adversary and to beat him when found." He an- nounced that he would march from Washington to New Orleans without a pause with an ariny equal to McClellan's and told his troops to dismiss the talk about "bases of supplies and lines of retreat as un- worthy of soldiers who were accustomed to see only the backs of their enemies." He announced before the Congressional Committee on the conduct of the war that he "would lie off the flanks of the rebels," and that they could throw no obstacle in his path. By displaying this courage while under the shadow of the fortifications of Washington, he so dazzled the Presi- dent that alnost unlimited power was given him, and on or about the middle of July, 1862, this modern Bombastes Furioso set forth. "M'Clellan had waged war like a civilized soldier and a Christian gentleman, war upon the enemy's armies and defences. Pope's first operation was directed against non-combatants. If the brunt fell upon women and children, it was not his fanlt that the inen of Northeastern Virginia were in the Confederate army. He ordered his troops to subsist on the country, plundering a people who had necessarily been reduced to the verge of starvation by the inevi- table sufferings of the civil population of a seat of war. If a soldier chose to suppose himself to have been fired upon from a house, that house was to be
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