troops and trains were massed, and perhaps had an advantage in all being wide awake. At any rate, we were not a bit demoralized. Scarcely a man started to his feet, all waiting for the word of command. It came quickly, and from the mouth of General Nagle himself, who, riding up to us and seeing our immovability, while the troops around us were in evident confusion, could not restrain his delight at our coolness, as he cried out, "Fall in, my Yankee squad;" for the Eleventh was few in numbers now. We fell in, and, as he proudly led us across the big field to a new position, we stiffened our necks and neither dodged nor bowed to the storm of iron beating down upon us. We had made a hit, and we knew it. Taking position behind the rails of a torn-down fence, the Eleventh lay listening to Jackson's cannon while watching Hazard's battery as it swept the White Oak Swamp bridge with a storm of grape and canister, that kept even Jackson at bay. The cannoneers fell one by one-were thinned out until the officers, not yet killed or wounded, dismounted and took places at the guns. It was whispered that the ammunition was giving out-was almost gone—a few rounds more and the last shell would be fired, and then Jackson and his thirty-five thousand men would pour across the bridge and up the heights to learn what sort of stuff Franklin's force was made of. But this was not to be. Just as we were gathering ourselves for the apparently fast-coming struggle, there came a yell from the rear, a sound of desperately galloping horses, and, with slashing whips, Pettit's guns came tearing on at the top of their horses' speed, General Nagle, who had brought them from the far rear, leading them into position. Ours, as did all the regiments, massed in the big field, rose and cheered Nagle and the artillerymen as they swept by. Inside of a minute from their first appearance, the guns were in position, unlimbered, and were sweeping the bridge with grape and canister. too. Away on the left, at Glendale, there was fighting, and hard fighting, Our men were so hard pressed that Franklin felt obliged to return. to Sedgwick the two brigades that he had borrowed from him. And our first colonel, now General Caldwell, who had been with us during the day, commanding a brigade of Richardson's division, marched away with his brigade to render effective. service in beating back the masses of the enemy. The rebels had attacked at several points in their efforts to break through the lines that covered our retreating supply, ammunition, and artillery trains, but always unsuccessfully. But not until about three o'clock did the attack of the day begin, A. P. Hill and Longstreet charging McCall at Glendale, and overwhelming him after a desperate. struggle, in which McCall was captured, with guns and many of his division. But Hooker was on his right rear and Kearney on his left rear, and their divisions closing in and uniting with that of Sedgwick, now in McCall's rear, with three bri gades (the two lent to Franklin had now returned), and Caldwell's brigade and one of Slocum's arriving in time to take an active part in the battle, Hill and Longstreet were held until night, through taking a wrong road, and Huger not at all, being taken off by a misleading message from Holmes, whose division, drawn from the south bank of the James, did not reach a position on the New Market road until a day later than Lee intended it should. Before the attack on McCall, an attempt had been made to dislodge Slocum from his position on the right of the Charles city road, his line extending to White Oak Swamp and covering Brackett's Ford. Slocum resisted with a sweeping artillery fire similar to, and as effective as, that with which we were holding Jackson at bay. Late in the day an attempt was made on Porter, now at Malvern Hill with Keyes. Holmes and Wise moved down from Richmond by the river road, and made a feeble attack; but the concentrated fire of thirty pieces of artillery on their column, and the shells of the gunboats, forced them to beat a hasty and disorderly retreat. reach the rebel army until after the Battle of Malvern Hill, adding, “Had he been brought over Long bridge two days earlier, McClellan's huge train on the Charles city road would have fallen an easy prey to his cavalry, and he could have blocked the roads through the forest." The night of June 30th, after dark, we prepared to retreat from White Oak Swamp bridge. Oak Swamp bridge. The abandoned. pontoon-train was set on fire, and by its flaring light we fell back, and daylight found us in position with our own division at Malvern Hill. Newcomb writes, "We did not move from the field until nearly ten o'clock at night," and that daylight found us weary mortals in a large wheat field on the bank of the James, not far from Haxall's." The Union right was covered by Turkey creek, an affluent of the James, the left near the left near the river, and, protected by gunboats, which though hidden by timber, threw shells across his (McClellan's) entire The only attack of the day was a left front. Distance and uncertainty sharp skirmish that took place with of aim saved us from much loss by the enemy's cavalry on the Quaker their projectiles, but their shriek road, an attack that caused McClel- and elongated form astonished our lan to fear other attacks of the sort. landward men, who called them But the enemy was now weak in "lamp-posts." After noting that the cavalry, Stuart having remained on rebel artillery labored under a great the other bank of the Chickahominy disadvantage through its inferior to crowd Stoneman down the Penin- elevation, and that it was brought sula. into action in detail, only to be Taylor states that Stuart did not overpowered, he adds, of the rebel General McClellan gives his formation from left to right: Porter's corps, the Sixth, Sykes's division, on the left, then Morrill's division of the same corps; then Couch's of the Fourth corps, then Kearney's and Hooker's of the Third corps, then Sedgwick's and Richardson's of the Second corps, then Smith's and Slocum's of the Fifth corps, then Peck's division (ours) of the Fourth corps. The right extended in a backward curve nearly to the river. McCall was placed in rear of Porter, where the weight of the attack was expected to and did largely fall, and Commodore Rodgers's gunboats were stationed off that flank to cover the approaches from Richmond. plan of battle, that it was to be a dual "mass and charge," the left attack to be made by Jackson, the right by Magruder, Longstreet and A. P. Hill, in support. But it was late in the afternoon, after three o'clock, before the dispositions were made, when the orders were for D. H. Hill, of Jackson's force, to attack with the bayonet as soon as he heard the cheers of Magruder's charge. At about five o'clock, hearing a shout and firing to the right, and supposing it to be Magruder's attack, Hill led his men to the charge, to be beaten off with serious loss. Four brigades were sent to his assistance, but could accomplish nothing. About sunset, and after Hill's attack had failed, Magruder led his men forward with a similar result, losing heavily. General McClellan describes Malvern Hill by stating that "it is an elevated plateau, about a mile and half by three quarters of a mile in area, well cleared of timber, and with several converging roads running over it. In front are numerous defensible ravines, and the ground slopes gradually towards the north and east to the woodland, giving clear ranges for the artillery in those directions. Toward the northeast, the plateau falls off more sharply into a ravine, which extends to the James river." He adds: "From the position of the enemy, his most obvious line of attack would come from the direction of White Oak Swamp. Here, therefore, the line was strengthened by massing the troops, and collecting the principal parts of the artillery.' About nine o'clock, the enemy opened with artillery, and rebel skirmishers felt along our line from the left as far as Hooker. From them, until in the afternoon, there was heavy firing by the batteries of both sides, and a continual rattle of skirmishers' rifles, with now and then a rolling volley, as the troops of the two sides came into view of each other. At three o'clock, a heavy fire of artillery opened on Kearney's left and on Couch's division. This was speedily followed by a brisk attack of infantry on Couch. This attack was made by Anderson's brigade, of D. H. Hill's division. It charged against the right of Couch, and became engaged with Palmer's brigade (late Deven's), to be repulsed, leaving the flag of the Fourteenth North Carolina in possession of the Thirty-sixth New York. At half past four o'clock, D. H. Hill, under cover of an artillery fire, led his men into action, attacking Morrell; but Morrell's front was guarded by fourteen rifled Parrott guns and eleven field-pieces. Hill's assault was speedily broken, and his column driven back with a heavy loss. About six o'clock, Magruder's charge was made. Magruder's plan was as simple as formidable; to mass fifteen thousand men, and charge the batteries and supporting infantry. Hurled against an ordinary line, this mass would have broken through by sheer weight, but, hurled against a concentrated artillery fire and massed infantry, his brigades and their reënforcements were shattered before they could reach our lines. McClellan describes this attack and its fate. After stating that at six o'clock the rebels opened with their artillery on Couch and Porter again, at once pushing forward their columns of attack, he says: "Brigade after brigade formed under cover of the woods; started at a run to cross the open space and charge our batteries, but the heavy fire of the guns and the cool and steady volleys of our infantry in every case sent them reeling back to shelter, and covered. the ground with their dead and wounded. In several instances our infantry withheld their fire until the attacking column, pushed through the storm of canister and shell of our artillery, had reached within a few yards of our lines. Our men then poured in a single volley and dashed forward with the bayonet, capturing prisoners and colors, and driving the routed columns in con fusion from the field.” Darkness ended the Battle of Malvern Hill, though it was not until nine o'clock that the artillery ceased to fire. I must confess that I slept through most of the uproar of this battleslept the sleep of the thoroughly tired out; and I understand that all that could of the army did so, too, refreshing tired Nature against the hour of need. Many of the troops actually engaged had to be awakened to do their brief part in repelling an assault, and that done, would lie down and fall asleep again. And I do not believe that even observing Maxfield heard a sound of the battle, else his diary note for the day would have been a more elaborate one than it is: "Arrived where our teams were encamped soon after daybreak, and, after taking a short nap, moved a short distance and stopped in the edge of a wood so as to be in the shade, remaining there all day." Newcomb notes: "We lay in the edge of the woods, as Keyes said, like a snake in the grass." When darkness set in, the retreat was continued. The movement was now by the left and rear, Keyes's corps covering it. |