The Way of All Soldiers (Gone For Soldiers)

by Jeffry S. Hepple

  “I sent orders for him to hold his ground,” Lee said sharply.

  Stuart offered no reply.

  “Thank you, Colonel. My apologies. It has been a disappointing day, but you have done well.”

  June 27, 1862

  White House Plantation, Virginia

  Major Buford’s face was red. “General McClellan, if you don’t believe anything I tell you, why don’t you replace me with someone you do trust?”

  McClellan took the outburst good-naturedly. “It isn’t that I don’t believe you, Major. The simple fact is that you don’t know everything that I know.”

  “Sir,” Buford said, struggling to keep his temper. “General Magruder’s a part-time actor who’s using theatrical tricks to make his force seem larger than it is. If we were to attack south of the river it would…”

  “That’s enough, Major,” McClellan said. “General Porter, we will be changing our base of supply to the James River and you must hold Gaines’s Mill, at all cost, until those operations are complete. At all cost. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” Porter replied.

  “Sir,” General Sumner said. “Our intelligence agrees with Major Buford’s. General Magruder’s forces are very small. We can easily take him.”

  “That subject is closed,” McClellan snapped. “You all have your orders. Dismissed.”

  Porter caught Buford’s elbow and turned him toward the door. “Not now.”

  Buford looked back at McClellan but he let Porter drag him outside. “There’s something the matter with that man,” Buford hissed.

  Porter let him go. “Lee has him rattled.”

  “He’s going to leave you out there to fight the whole Reb army while he uses a superior force to change supply bases?” Buford grumbled. “That seems more than rattled.”

  “I can handle the whole Reb army,” Porter replied.

  “From your lips to God’s ear.” Buford looked back at the plantation, then claimed his horse from the groom.

  ~

  When Porter reached his line at Beaver Dam Creek, it was already under attack from A.P. Hill. Longstreet arrived early in the afternoon and took up position south of A.P. Hill, but he made little progress. D.H. Hill attacked the right flank but was met by a fierce defense from General George Sykes. He withdrew to wait for Jackson, who was late for the second day in a row.

  At 4:30 PM, when Jackson at last arrived, Longstreet launched General George E. Pickett’s brigade at Porter’s front and D.H. Hill, now with Jackson, attacked the right. Pickett was thrown back with numerous casualties, but the Union right would have crumbled had not General Henry W. Slocum’s division rushed forward.

  After dark, Pickett tried again. His attack should have been coordinated with General John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade, but it was not. Both attacks, however, succeeded in breaking through Porter’s line.

  At 4:00 AM Porter withdrew across the Chickahominy with Buford’s cavalry as rear guard, burning all the bridges behind them.

  Before dawn, under orders from a very sullen and angry General George McClellan, his bewildered Corps Commanders began to withdraw to a secure position on the James River near Harrison’s Landing. Although none of his general grade officers agreed with his decision, they all complied and kept the grumbling from their subordinates at a minimum by threatening immediate and harsh punishment.

  A telegram that McClellan sent to the War Department stated in part: “I again repeat that I am not responsible for this and I say it with the earnestness of a General who feels in his heart the loss of every brave man who has been needlessly sacrificed today… I have seen too many dead and wounded comrades to feel otherwise than that the Government has not sustained this Army. If you do not do so now the game is lost. If I save this Army now I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you or any other persons in Washington – you have done your best to sacrifice this Army.” The insubordinate remarks were removed by the telegraph operator from the message that was delivered to Secretary of War Stanton and President Lincoln but a copy of the entire message was kept on file.

  ~

  It was just before dawn when Jeb Stuart was shown into Robert E. Lee’s office. Lee was seated in a rocking chair with a blanket across his legs. “I’m sorry to wake you, General,” Stuart said.

  “Think nothing of it, Colonel. What have you to report?”

  “Sir, the Yankees are withdrawing.”

  Lee took a moment to absorb what Stuart had said. “Are you quite sure?”

  “Yes, sir. They’ve abandoned the White House Plantation and the supply depot and left their defensive positions of the Richmond and York River Railroad empty.”

  “Forgive me please, Colonel, but your report is hard to accept. General Fitz John Porter defeated our superior force yesterday, then held out all day and most of the night against the largest counterattack that we have ever launched. I should think that General McClellan would be encouraged.”

  “I know, sir. I doubted it myself. But we just rode out and saw a large dust cloud south of the Chickahominy River that was visible in the moonlight.”

  “Very well.” Lee got up, put the blanket on the rocking chair and returned to his desk. “I must know if those people are withdrawing toward the James River or to the east toward the York River.”

  “I’ll have that information for you by noon, sir.”

  “No, no. I will send a reconnaissance in force.” Lee took a deep breath. “I have held you up long enough. I wish you to undertake the task of evaluating the Federal right for me immediately.”

  “We have some prisoners, sir.”

  “Send them to me. I will see to their disposition.”

  “Some are badly wounded, sir. One officer in particular… That is…”

  Lee gave him an odd look. “Please explain to me what part of what I have just told you was unclear, Colonel.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  “Good. I have been ignored and misunderstood far too many times of late. The two cavalry battalions in the Shenandoah will be folded into your cavalry to bring you up to nearly division strength.”

  “Are not those battalions commanded by your son Rooney Lee and your nephew Fitz Lee?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who is to be in command of the new force, sir?”

  “You will be, of course. Why do you ask?”

  “I was just thinking that it might be a bit awkward for your son and your nephew.”

  “My son is a lieutenant colonel and my nephew is a captain. You outrank them both.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “But you may have made a good point.” Lee thought a moment. “I’ll immediately raise you to the rank of brevet brigadier general. When you return we will formalize the formation of your division and promote you to major general.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Stuart wanted to cheer and was having difficulty in holding still.

  “You are dismissed with my thanks, General,” Lee said with a smile.

  Stuart saluted and, making an enormous effort to control his exuberance, walked outside to where Johnny was waiting. When he looked at Johnny, Stuart’s countenance immediately sobered. “I have just been promoted to brevet brigadier general.”

  “That’s wonderful, Beauty,” Johnny said excitedly. He grabbed Stuart’s hand and pumped it, but then when he saw the look on Stuart’s face he let go and stepped back. “Why do you look so serious?”

  “My promotion comes at a price. Our orders are to proceed immediately with our mission to explore the Yankees’ right flank in the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia.”

  “What about the prisoners?”

  “We must leave them here.”

  “But Beauty, we agreed…”

  “General Lee said immediately.”

  “I understand but…”

  “Your brother made his choice. You said so yourself.”

  “But…”

  “He’ll be exchanged and we have a mission. There’s nothin
g left to discuss, Captain.”

  “Very well, sir,” Paul said, struggling with his temper. “Would you object to my speaking briefly to my father? He’s here with John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade.”

  “No objection but I won’t wait for you.”

  “Thank you. I’ll catch up.”

  “One more thing. The battalions of Lieutenant Colonel Rooney Lee and Captain Fitz Lee will become part of our command. Our relationship, yours and mine I mean, will have to become more formalized.”

  “I had already gathered that, General.”

  June 28, 1862

  Near Richmond, Virginia

  General Robert E. Lee waited while General John B. Magruder settled himself into a chair across from him. “The Confederacy owes you a debt, General. Your deceptions at Yorktown, which convinced General McClellan that your force was superior in size, contributed enormously to the defense of Richmond.”

  “Thank you, General Lee,” Magruder replied. “I was simply doing my duty.”

  “For which we are grateful,” Lee said. “However, I have asked you here about another matter.”

  Sensing a mood change in Lee, Magruder squirmed. “Yes, sir?”

  “Yesterday I asked you to perform a reconnaissance in force to determine the location of the retreating Federal army, but instead you initiated an attack. Can you explain that to me, please?”

  “Yes, sir. I sent Toombs with orders to feel the enemy and, contrary to those orders, he attacked Baldy Smith’s Corps near Old Tavern.”

  “Feel the enemy, sir? Were those your exact words?”

  “Yes, sir. I think they were.”

  “And the Toombs of whom you are speaking is Brigadier General Robert A. Toombs, I presume?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Lee made a correction to the report that was open on his desk. “Is it your opinion that General Toombs misunderstood your order to ‘feel the enemy’, or did he purposely disregard?”

  Magruder took a moment to reply. “As you perhaps know, sir, General Toombs was a United States Senator from Georgia and a powerful politician before Georgia seceded.”

  “Yes, I am aware of that.”

  “Well, sir.” Magruder clasped and unclasped his hands nervously. “I don’t know how to put it except to say that General Toombs has a low opinion of professional soldiers.”

  “Meaning that he understood what you said, but disagreed with my orders?”

  “I can’t say that categorically, sir.”

  “Did you mention that the order to ‘feel the enemy’ came from me?”

  “I don’t recall, sir. But I must have. Yes, sir. I must have.”

  “Have you spoken to General Toombs since the engagement?”

  “Yes, sir. Briefly.”

  “But you have not questioned him on the matter at hand, I gather?”

  “Not exactly, sir. I may have implied some criticism of his decision.”

  “What was his reaction to your implied criticism?”

  “He was angry at being so easily defeated by Hancock’s brigade and somehow felt that I should have come to his aid.”

  Lee looked at the report. “This must be incorrect. It says that you sent General George Anderson to join the attack.”

  “Does it say that, sir, or does it say that General Toombs ordered General Anderson forward?”

  “It says General Anderson joined the attack. I presumed it was upon your orders.”

  Magruder shook his head. “He did so under orders from General Toombs, sir.”

  “Without your knowledge?”

  “I learned of it later.”

  “Why would General Anderson obey an order from a fellow brigade commander without first consulting you?” Lee asked in a surprised tone.

  “I have not asked General Anderson that question, sir.”

  Lee again read from the report. “My understanding is that General Toombs lost some two hundred and seventy-one men in the battle.”

  “That sounds accurate, sir.”

  Lee made a final note and then put the report on a stack of similar documents. “Thank you, General.”

  “Is that all, sir?”

  “For now. Yes.”

  “Sir, if I may.”

  “Yes?”

  “In defense of General Toombs – Winfield Scott Hancock is the best of all Union generals.”

  “Your point being what, sir?”

  Magruder shook his head. “That’s all I have to say, General Lee.”

  “Thank you for coming, General Magruder. I wish you good night.”

  June 29, 1862

  Savage’s Railway Station, Virginia

  Union soldiers were burning everything in the Federal supply depot that could not be carried. The wounded men who could not walk and were being left behind were soon covered with gray ash, adding to their misery.

  The Union rearguard at Savage’s Station was made up of five divisions from II Corps, III Corps and VI Corps. The senior officer was General Edwin V. Sumner, who commanded II Corps, but McClellan had decided that Sumner was incompetent, and had failed to place Sumner, or anyone else, in command of the rearguard before he himself boarded an ironclad bound for Harrison’s Landing.

  Taking advantage of this, Lee sent Longstreet and A.P Hill toward the Glendale crossroads, Holmes toward Malvern Hill and Magruder to attack the Federal rearguard. After rebuilding a bridge across the Chickahominy River, Jackson was to join Magruder.

  Magruder made contact at mid-morning but after two hours, when Jackson failed to join him, he disengaged. When Magruder withdrew, Union General Heintzelman decided that his corps was no longer needed and he marched out after the main body toward Harrison’s Landing, without consultation with the other generals at Savage’s Station.

  Unsure of what to do next, Magruder sent two brigades back toward the Union forces at about 5:00 PM. Sumner responded to the weak attack with an equally weak defense and the battle went on until darkness and a thunderstorm put an end to the senseless bloodletting.

  Jackson at last crossed the river at about 2:30 AM, too late to destroy the Federals as Lee had planned. Almost three thousand abandoned wounded Union soldiers were captured and sent to the new prison at Belle Isle in the James River near Richmond.

  June 30, 1862

  White Oak Swamp, Virginia

  At noon, about a third of the Union army had reached the James River and the rest were spread out in a long, broken line between White Oak Swamp and Glendale. Lee sent Jackson to attack the Union rearguard at White Oak Swamp and the rest of his army toward Glendale, with the intention of splitting the Federal forces in two.

  General Benjamin Huger’s division, which was to strike the Federals along the Charles City Road, was held up by trees that had been felled across the road by the retreating Union troops. Fearing a trap, Huger chose to cut a new road through the heavy woods rather than taking an alternate route.

  At about 2:00 PM, Lee, Longstreet, A.P. Hill and President Jefferson Davis, who was visiting the front, came under fire from six Federal batteries. As Lee and Davis moved toward the rear, Longstreet called in his own artillery on the enemy guns. After an inconclusive two-hour artillery duel, Longstreet launched an infantry attack with his forces and those of A.P Hill.

  Confederate General Theophilus H. Holmes was to have attacked Malvern Hill with Magruder, but Magruder didn’t appear until 4:00 PM. By coincidence, they attacked at the same time that Longstreet and A.P. Hill were assaulting the Union guns. Holmes and Magruder were quickly repelled by Porter and artillery fire, but Longstreet and Hill were more successful. The fighting continued until dark with no clear winner.

  Although there were numerous fords, Jackson spent all day rebuilding a destroyed bridge and engaged in a pointless artillery duel with the Federal VI Corps at White Oak Swamp.

  July 1, 1862

  Malvern Hill, Virginia

  During the previous day and night, Union General Fitz John Porter had relentlessly cleared the slopes of Malvern H
ill for the two hundred fifty guns under the command of Colonel Henry J. Hunt. As Lee’s forces positioned themselves to attack, Colonel Hunt launched a massive artillery barrage that destroyed or disabled virtually all of the Confederate guns in less than two hours.

  During the course of the day, the closest Lee’s army ever got to the Federal lines was two hundred yards. Deciding that the Union position was too strong, Lee withdrew to Richmond where he reorganized his army, firing both Holmes and Magruder.

  ~

  From Harrison’s Landing, McClellan telegraphed his report to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton:

  “Confederate General Lee is withdrawing his army to his defenses at Richmond. A rebel force of cavalry and artillery, under the command of Colonel J.E.B. Stuart, came around our right flank last evening, attacked and drove in a picket guard and proceeded to a landing three miles above White House where they burned two forage schooners and destroyed some wagons. Then they struck the railroad at Tunstall’s Station, fired into a train of cars, killing some five or six. Here they met a force of infantry which I sent down to meet them, when they ran off. I have several cavalry detachments out after them and hope to punish them. No damage has been done to the railroad.”

  July 1, 1862

  Belle Isle, Virginia

  Broad Rock Island, in the James River, was discovered by Captain John Smith in 1607 and renamed Belle Isle some time later. Before Virginia seceded from the Union, the island had been home to a village of nearly one thousand. Most of the citizens had been employed by the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Company. Soon after the first Battle of Manassas, a prisoner of war compound was hastily established on the island and the inhabitants were moved to Richmond. Little time, effort or expense was spent on the prison facilities. Some tents were provided, but the majority of prisoners lived and slept on the open ground. Three large tents provided storage, a small, two-surgeon field hospital and quarters for the guards. The latrine and bathing facilities for prisoners was the James River.