Battle of Fair Oaks

“ In this fight General Johnston received wounds that compelled him to retire from the field, and laid him up for a long time. The battle—which is called both Fair Oaks and Seven Pines—cost the National army over five thousand men, and the Confederate nearly seven thousand. It was a more destructive battle than any that, up to that time, the Eastern armies had fought. A participant thus describes the after appearance of the field: "Monday, June 2d, we visited the battlefield, and rode from place to place on the scene of conflict. ”

“ The enemy renewed the conflict on the morrow, attacking General Sumner at “Fair Oaks,” from which the second day’s struggle derives its name. They were everywhere repulsed, and compelled to retreat back to their stronghold, followed by our victorious troops to within four miles of the capital, when, for a second time, it was given up for lost. “The enemy,” wrote General McClellan to the Secretary of War, after the close of the contest, “attacked in force, and with great spirit, yesterday morning, but are everywhere most signally repulsed with great loss. ”

“ In their opinion a victory was neither honourable nor secure that was not obtained in open combat by superior courage. Therefore they esteemed it a kind of law among them never to use any concealed weapons, nor to throw darts from a distance, being persuaded that an open and close conflict was the only fair method of combat. For the same reason they not only made a declaration of war, but sent notice each to the other of their resolution to try the fortune of a battle, and of the place where they were determined to engage. ”

“ So dense was the column in front of the fort, that it was not possible for any man in it to fire without hitting an Indian, while the scattered missiles from the canister shot probably did as much execution as a dozen muskets.
The men were prepared to repel an assault with the bayonets; but no attack was made, for the Indians fled with the utmost precipitation from the deadly spot. The soldiers promptly reloaded their muskets, and the cannon was ready for another discharge.
"You can go now, Phil," said Lieutenant Jackson. "The battle is fought for the present. They will not renew it." ”

“ At the same time a powerful battery had been stationed upon an open field, and they poured volley after volley into the rebel ranks and with the most telling effect. At 11:30 o'clock the roar of battle almost shook the earth, as the Union guns were being fired with all the energy that the prospect of ultimate victory inspired. The fire from the enemy was not so vigorous and they began to evince a desire to withdraw. They fought as they slowly moved back, keeping up their fire from their artillery and musketry, apparently disclaiming any notion that they thought of retreating. ”

“ In the afternoon of that day a strong detachment of the British troops, advancing towards the American left wing with ten pieces of artillery, for the purpose of protecting a forage party, was furiously attacked, and the action almost immediately involved the whole force of both armies. The right wing of the English was commanded by General Frazer, the idol of the army, and admired by none more heartily than by his foes. The first shock of the battle was sustained by him, and by the grenadiers under Colonel Ackland, who were terribly slaughtered, while the Colonel fell dangerously wounded. ”

“ He was concentrating a large army within a few days' march of us, with what design we were ignorant, whether merely to arrest our further [205] advance, or to march upon us and give us battle. In the latter event our situation was a highly dangerous one. With an impassable river immediately in our rear, and an impenetrable forest on either flank, defeat would amount to no less than destruction and capture. The soldiers themselves were not so stupid as not to discern the peril to which we were exposed. ”

“ Gray's party mounted their horses now, in order to have a better view of the battle, and from the situation of the ground on which they were standing, they beheld, in awful anxiety, rush after rush made against the British infantry, whose duty was evidently that of firm defence; they beheld wave after wave of blue ranks advance over the rising bosom of the ground, and saw them successively battered by the rocks they assaulted—the ground covered with men and horses by the well-directed fire of the squares. ”

“ It was an occasion which called forth the highest qualities of our natures, and told us who were men. Before us the enemy's dead strewed thickly over the field, showed us what discipline and courage could do. Above us the hissing and screaming of missiles; around us the roar of battle rising louder and louder; assailed in front and flank; the enemy to the left crowding our fugitive troops and pressing furiously on our rear; the troops to our [224] right swept back; we beheld ourselves the left and the front of the army—all of those five divisions that remained unshaken ”

“ A portion of the First Brigade, composed of the three Iowa regiments, were dismounted for the purpose of storming these forts.
The Second Brigade was retained, mounted. At 9 o’clock, P. M., a move was made. The Iowa men cleared the enemy’s works on their third assault, when the Second Brigade charged, mounted, over the bridge into the city.
In this, the enemy lost over three hundred killed and wounded, one thousand and five hundred prisoners, twenty-four guns, eight battle flags and a vast amount of munitions of war. ”

“ An artillery duel was opened and continued until night.
The next morning a furious battle opened at Frazier's farm on the opposite side of the swamp, and raged with great fury. Our way was still blocked, and hence we were unable to give the needed aid to Longstreet, who, from the sound of battle, was being sorely pressed. The next morning the way was opened; we captured some pieces of artillery and pushed on to the battlefield at Frazier's farm. The enemy now retreated to Malvern Hill and here made a determined stand. ”

“ They attempted this on Saturday, and met with a bloody defeat, and until last night, when they retraced their steps, were confined to an exceedingly narrow and uncomfortable strip of land along the south bank of the river.
Our loss in the battle will not exceed, perhaps, 2000 men, not more than 500 being slain. It is estimated that the enemy’s loss is over 10,000, and it may greatly exceed that number, as our positions were strong and our batteries numerous. The enemy fought well, charging repeatedly over the plain swept completely by our guns, and leaving the earth strewn with their dead. ”

“ The frozen ground with a pair of blankets is not a bed of roses, and is little conducive to sleep and rest. Most of the night was spent around the fires until 2 o'clock when all were ordered to "fall in." The order of march and battle was as follows: The command of Fairchilds and Dorris occupied the extreme left along the lake shore; Mason's infantry battalion, with mountain howitzers packed, joined Fairchild's right; Captain Kelley's command occupied the center with his left resting on Mason's right ”

“ The consequence of another such victory as that of "Oak Hill" gained in the heart of the State, as by their combined forces might very readily have been done, at the time when Price was forced to retreat, would have been of incalculable value to the Confederacy. But the fate, which throughout the contest, rendered Southern prowess unavailing, had already commenced to rule. At the date of the battle of "Oak Hill," General Hardee was advancing through Southeastern Missouri with about thirty-five hundred effective men. ”

“ They led their horses into an adjoining canebrake, unloaded them, and regained the White Oak Spring fort before daylight.
It is impossible at this day to make a just impression of the sufferings of the pioneers about the period spoken of. The White Oak Spring fort in 1782, with perhaps one hundred souls in it, was reduced in August to three fighting white men—and I can say with truth, that for two or three weeks, my mother’s family never unclothed themselves to sleep, nor were all of them, within the time, at their meals together, nor was any household business attempted. ”

“ The fourth day dawned—the appointed day for final victory—and still the struggle continued, fiercer than ever. Slowly, slowly, the German infantry pressed forward, leaving behind them a sea of helpless bodies—a grey carpet as perceived from a distance. The artillery fire swelled and mounted in paroxysms of incredible violence, the German guns hammering in savage persistence, the French batteries lurking for their target, overwhelming it in a deluge. On and on pressed the grey infantry, thrust dangerously as night fell straight at the heart, towards Fort Douaumont. ”

“ By elevating the small guns the curtain fell farther and farther into the enemy's territory, thus making it possible for the Allies to go on farther and farther across No Man's Land.
The infantry rushed forward, fighting and dying nobly in a noble cause. Position after position was consolidated as the Germans fell back before the rain of shot and shell. It is always this way in an offensive, small or large. The first rush of the attacking side, be it German, French, British, or American, carries everything before it. It is the counter attack that tells. ”

“ We fired not a bullet, we shot not an arrow, yet we obtained a signal victory. Soldiers and stragglers threw themselves on the ground to escape from death; while the governor, trusting in his horse’s speed, darted away to save himself. Yet his cowardice cost him his life, for his horse tumbling down, he broke his neck. Thus perished the only victim of this campaign.
We took the guns and ammunition of our vanquished opponents, leaving them only one fusil for every ten men, with a number of cartridges sufficient to prevent their starving on their return home. ”

“ There was nothing but forest ahead of them. They need not concern themselves with any open fields, though they would have their share of swamps and ravines, which would not lessen the difficulty of keeping their units in line through the thickets.
If the French "scalloping" on the left of the Forest, and the 28th Division "scalloping" on the right of the Forest, did not drive in their protecting wedges, a cross-fire would hold the 77th's flanks back while its center, driving ahead, would be caught between the infantry and machine-gun fire from the Germans on either flank. ”

“ By degrees the firing grew steadier and nearer. "If," said we, "it is a reconnoissance of the enemy, it is a bold one; for he is certainly pushing back our advanced troops." Suddenly set in the noise of cannon—jar after jar—quicker and quicker, announcing too truly that the enemy was attacking us in force. Many instinctively buckled on their accoutrements and took their guns. Others continued to manifest the utmost indifference, and some laughed at the vollies which announced the slaughter of comrades. ”

“ The noise of bursting shells, the sound of hard fighting on our left, must have endured for nearly an hour before any attempt was made by the Germans, now swarming in the wood behind the white house, to leave cover and make an attack on our front. From the farthest point of the wood, at a range of 1200 yards, a large body of troops marched out into the open in column, moving across our front to our left flank, evidently for the purpose of reinforcing the attack on C Company.
At 1200 yards rifle fire, even at such a target, is practically useless. ”

“ I know him to be a powerful man.’ Within that time General Hayes was killed, and his body brought to the rear. The work was at close range. No room in that jungle for manœuvering; no possibility of a bayonet charge; no help from artillery; no help from cavalry; nothing but close, square, severe, face-to-face volleys of fatal musketry. The wounded stagger out, and fresh troops pour in. Stretchers pass out with ghastly burdens, and go back reeking with blood for more. Word is brought that the ammunition is failing. Sixty rounds fired in one steady stand-up fight, and that fight not fought out. ”

“ As soon as the troops could be seen moving back, Captain Strahan opened on the fort. Two of his guns were soon disabled, and he lost a sergeant killed, but with the remaining gun he kept up a well-directed and regular fire until the close of the battle. The gunboats Ellen and Hale, moving up Big Folly Creek, now began throwing shells at the long range of over two miles, some of which fell in the fields, greatly endangering our own men ”

“ Before dawn on the 29th the Federal army took up the line of march, and the great retrograde movement was successfully begun. An immense obstacle to its success lay in the character of the country through which it was necessary to pass. White Oak Swamp is an extensive morass, similar to that skirting the banks of the Chickahominy, and the passage through it is over narrow, winding, and difficult roads, which furnish the worst possible pathways for wagons, artillery, or even troops. ”

“ To him as suddenly appeared the 1st Brigade, widely deployed upon the open field, the ground sloping toward him and not a brush to conceal us from his view; a [214] single blue line, compact and firm, crowned with a hedge of sparkling bayonets, our flags and banners flapping in the breeze; and in our center a battery of six guns, whose dark mouths scowled defiance at him. The enemy's infantry fronted toward us and stood. Ours kneeled and brought their pieces to the ready. Thus for some moments the antagonists surveyed each other. He was on the offensive; we on the defensive. ”