THE FIGHT AT PORT REPUBLIC. 139 The struggle that ensued was short: the Rebel attack being resisted with great gallantry by our men; but they were 3,000 at most, while their assailants were 8,000, with more behind them. We were even successful at first over Winder on our right; but to no purpose, since the odds against us were constantly increas quite equal to his own pressing close- | Tyler received and replied to a ly on his rear, he must sometimes dispatch from Shields; but, before turn and fight, and thus permit the finishing his answer, he was apprised other hostile army, advancing on his that the Rebels were in his front, flank, to gain on him. He was at endeavoring to outflank his left. Port Republic during the conflict at Cross-Keys, preparing to cross, and watching for Shields, whose column, though delayed by burnt bridges and swollen streams, had reached Conrad's Store, only 15 miles distant, and whose advance of cavalry and artillery, under Col. Carroll, appeared that day." Carroll had been told that Jack-ing; and, at length, Dick Taylor's son's train was parked near Port Republic, with a drove of beef cattle; the whole guarded by some 200 or 300 cavalry; and he dashed into the village with his troopers and two guns, expecting to cross the bridge and make an easy capture of the aforesaid train and cattle. Had he comprehended the situation, he might have burned the bridge, and thereby exposed the enemy to serious loss, if not utter destruction. But Jackson was already there, with 2 infantry brigades and 3 batteries; by the fire of which Carroll was driven out in 20 minutes, falling back two miles and a half, upon Gen. Tyler's brigade of infantry, 2,000 strong. Tyler, who, on hearing of trouble ahead, had been rapidly hurrying to the rescue, ought now to have retreated also; instead of which, he sent his men to bivouac, and went forward with Carroll to reconnoiter. His vedettes, at 4 A. M.," reported that there had been no advance of the enemy across the bridge during the night, and that only their pickets were visible. Returning to his camp, 75 June 8. 76 June 9. Louisiana brigade, which had flanked our left by an unobserved advance through the forest, made so sudden and overwhelming a dash at Col. Candy's battery on our left, that it was captured; its horses having been killed or disabled. Exasperated rather than dismayed by this loss, Col. Candy, with the 5th and 7th Ohio, made a spirited counter-charge, and retook his battery; but was unable, for lack of horses, to bring it off," though he drove back the Rebel infantry and artillery, and actually captured one of their guns, which, with 67 prisoners, was brought off in our retreat, which was admirably covered by Col. Carroll. The Rebels pursued about 5 miles, capturing 450 prisoners and about 800 muskets. Disastrous as was its result, there is no battle whereof the soldiers of the Union have more reason to be proud than that of Port Republic. Fremont awoke that morning to find his enemy vanished, and to follow on his track to Port Republic; arriving just in time to find the last Rebel safely across the river and the was this battery lost and won, in the desperate " Jackson's official report says: "Three times and determined efforts to capture and recover it." bridge in flames. Some of Jackson's | moned on the 17th, with the bulk of officers had been obliged to abandon his army, to Richmond. their horses in order to make good their escape. Gen. Jackson makes his total loss in these engagements, 133 killed, 929 wounded, and 34 missing-in all, 1,096; or, since he left Winchester, 1,167, with 1 gun; while he had captured, including wounded in hospital, 975 men and 7 guns. Considering the perils he braved, and the odds which ought to have been, but were not, brought to bear against him, his campaign was one of the most brilliant of the war, and stamps him a true military genius." Both Fremont and Shields, being recalled by orders from Washington, here relinquished the pursuit and slowly retired; while Jackson, master of the situation, recrossed the South Fork on the 12th, and encamped at Weyer's Cave; whence he was sum On the same day" with Jackson's demolition of Kenly at Front Royal, Gen. Heth, with 3 regiments of Virginia Rebels, attacked at Lewisburg, in West Virginia, the 36th and 44th Ohio, Col. Geo. Crook, by whom he was quickly routed, though Heth seems to have had decidedly the advantage in numbers. Before our artillery could be brought into position, the Rebels were broken and flying, with a loss of 4 guns, 300 muskets, and 100 prisoners. Our loss was 11 killed and 52 wounded, including Col. Crook in the foot. The Rebel loss is stated at 50 killed and 75 wounded, part of whom were doubtless included in the prisoners. Heth burnt the bridge over the Greenbrier, three miles distant, and thus arrested the pursuit. VII. MCCLELLAN BEFORE RICHMOND. THE capture of Norfolk and the destruction of the Merrimac, alias Virginia, having opened James river to our navy, Commander John Rodgers, in the steamer Galena, backed by the Monitor, Aroostook, Port Royal, and Naugatuck, moved up that river unimpeded, save by the shallows on which they repeatedly grounded, to within eight miles of Richmond, 78 Confidential letters, unpublished, from Lee and Jackson to Johnson and Ewell, show that the movement was suggested, and in fact directed, from Richmond: Jackson and Ewell being ordered to combine their forces and strike a blow at Banks or at McDowell, as circumstances should render advisable. The detachment of where he found the channel thoroughly obstructed by two separate barriers of piles and vessels, the banks lined with sharp-shooters in rifle-pits, and a battery of heavy guns mounted on Drewry's Bluff,' 200 feet above the surface of the water. The river was here so narrow as to compel him to come to anchor; which he did very near the lower barrier, and within Shields from Banks, and sending the former to McDowell at Fredericksburg, in order to enable the latter to advance to the aid of McClellan before Richmond, determined the direction of the blow. FIGHT AT HANOVER COURT HOUSE. 141 600 yards of the Rebel guns. He at until rëenforced by Gen. D. C. Butonce opened fire on the battery, and terfield, with four regiments of his maintained a most unequal contest brigade, when the enemy was charged for 3 hours; when, having exhaust- and quickly routed; one of his guns ed his ammunition, he desisted and being captured by Col. Lansing's fell down the river. The Galena had 17th New York. The cavalry, Ben13 men killed and 11 wounded; the son's battery, and Gen. Morell's inNaugatuck 2, and the Port Royal 1 fantry and artillery, keenly pursued wounded. The bursting of a 100- the fugitives; while Martindale's bripound Parrott on the Naugatuck gade, with a section of artillery, adthreatened a more serious disaster. vanced on the Ashland road, pushCapt. Farrand, commanding the ing back the enemy in his front, Rebel battery, reports his loss at 7 until ordered to reform his brigade killed and 8 wounded. and move up the railroad to the Court House. One regiment having taken that course, Gen. Martindale was left with but two and a half regiments and one section of Martin's battery, when he was attacked by a superior force and compelled to maintain the unequal contest for an hour. The first collision on the Chickahominy between the advance of Gen. McClellan's army and the Rebels occurred' near New Bridge; where the 4th Michigan, Col. Woodbury, waded the stream and assailed and drove off a superior Rebel force, losing but 8 men in all, and taking 37 prisoners, of whom 15 were wounded. Meantime, Gen. Porter, at the Court House, learning that his rear was thus attacked, faced his whole column about and moved rapidly to the rescue, sending the 13th and 14th New York, with Griffin's battery, di Directly afterward, Gen. Fitz-John Porter, commanding the 5th corps, on our right, was ordered by Gen. McClellan to advance from New Bridge, via Mechanicsville, to Hano-rectly to Martindale's assistance,pushver Court House, in order to facilitate and render secure Gen. McDowell's expected junction from Fredericksburg. Starting at 3 A. M.,' in a pouring rain, our cavalry advance, under Gen. W. H. Emory, had reached at noon a point two miles southward of the Court House, where the road forks to Ashland, and where the enemy were found in position to bar our further progress. The 25th New York and Berdan's sharp-shooters speedily coming up, they were deployed by Gen. Emory, with a section of Benson's battery, and thus advanced slowly toward the enemy May 24. 3 ing the 9th Massachusetts and 62d Pennsylvania through the woods on the right (west) to take the enemy in flank; while Butterfield, with the 83d Pennsylvania and 16th Michigan, hastened through the woods still farther to the right, and completed the rout of the enemy. The 13th New York, of Col. G. K. Warren's brigade, which, having been delayed repairing bridges, had not hitherto been in action, now came up on our left; and, the odds being too palpable, the Confederates made a rapid retreat. Their loss is stated by Gen. McClellan at some 200 killed, 730 4 May 27 prisoners, including wounded, one | River Railroad, to the right. and 12-pound howitzer, many small arms, rather in advance of Couch's posi two railroad trains, and their camp at Hanover Court House captured and destroyed. We lost 53 killed and 344 wounded. The Rebel force thus defeated consisted of Gen. L. O'B. Branch's division of North Carolina and Georgia troops, supposed by Gen. McClellan to be 9,000 strong. tion. Heintzelman's (3d) corps had crossed after Keyes's, and been stationed in his rear, but rather to the left, so as to observe the roads de- · bouching on that side from White Oak Swamp, whereby we might be unexpectedly assailed in flank. Sumner's corps was still north of the Chickahominy, some miles higher up, McClellan was with Fitz-John Porter's and Franklin's corps, at and near New Bridge, nearly 10 miles above Bottom's Bridge. Heintzelman, as senior Major-General, was in command on the left until Sumner appeared. The Chickahominy, opposite Rich-ready to cross at command. Gen. mond, 20 to 30 miles from its mouth, is a sluggish, oozy mill-stream, three to four rods wide, often fordable, but traversing a swampy, miry bottom, generally wooded, half a mile to a mile wide, bordered by low, irregular bluffs. All the bridges by which it was previously crossed were of course destroyed in their retreat by the Rebels; but Brig.-Gen. H. M. Naglee, of Casey's division, Keyes's (4th) corps, leading our advance on the left, crossed it near Bottom's Bridge' without difficulty, wholly unopposed; followed by the rest of the corps three days later, the bridge having meantime been rebuilt. During the three following days,' Naglee made a spirited reconnoissance toward Richmond, and to within two miles of the James, on our left; Couch's division took up,' by order, a position some miles in advance, at a place known as the SEVEN PINES, on the direct road from Bottom's Bridge to Richmond; which he proceeded hastily to fortify with abatis, rifle-pits, etc., and by building and arming a small redoubt. Meantime, the remaining division (Casey's) of Keyes's corps was advanced to and encamped about the station known as FAIR OAKS, on the Richmond and York * May 20. 5 The enemy being seen in force barely a mile from our front, Casey's pickets were posted some half a mile in advance of his line. It rained heavily throughout the night of May 30, swelling the Chickahominy to an extraordinary height, flooding its miry bottom, and setting afloat several of our new-made bridges. Gen. Jo. Johnston, who commanded the Rebel army, saw his opportunity, and resolved to profit by it. The roads of all that region center on Richmond, radiating thence like the folds of a fan, and affording a considerable advantage in manoeuvering to the combatant who holds the city. Informed by his scouts of the numbers and isolated position of Keyes's corps, Johnston resolved to assail and crush it before it could be adequately rëenforced. To this end, he directed Maj.-Gen. Longstreet, with his own and Gen. D. H. Hill's division, the latter in advance, to push out by the Williamsburg road and May 24, 25, 26. 7 May 28. BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES OR FAIR OAKS. 143 attack our position in front, while | so come in on our right. The entire Gen. Huger's, on his right, was to Rebel army defending Richmondmove down the Charles City road some 40,000 to 50,000 strong-was and come in on our left flank; and either engaged in or supporting this Gen. Gustavus W. Smith was to movement, with Jefferson Davis, move out on the New Bridge road to Gen. Lee, and other magnates, obOld Tavern, taking thence the Nine- serving, directing, animating, and mile road to Fair Oaks Station, and giving counsel. time waited impatiently in our immediate front, gave, at 1 P. M., the signal to his division to advance and attack. The attacking columns were to | nated, when Hill, who had for some move at day-break;" but the tremendous rains of the preceding afternoon and night had so flooded the earth as to render the moving of artillery exceedingly difficult; the infantry Casey's division was surprised as often wading through mud and water well as largely outnumbered. Havtwo or three feet deep. Huger's ing been scarcely two days in this flank movement had not yet culmi- position, their defensive works were May 31. |