thing, a sergeant went to hunt him up. While looking beyond the picket-line, where Seth was wont to post himself every day, the sergeant's attention was arrested by a soft "halloo!" "Who's there?" inquired the sergeant.

"It's me," replied Seth. "I've captured a Secesh gun." "Bring it in," said the sergeant.

"Can't do it," answered Seth. It's over there."

The sergeant then saw that Old Seth had the exact range of one of the enemy's heaviest guns, and the gunners could not load it for fear of being picked off by him.

"Fetch me a couple of haversacks full of grub," continued the old man. "This is my gun, and the varmints shan't fire it again while the scrimmage lasts.

The old man was given his "grub," and he kept watch over his gun until Yorktown was evacuated.

As soon as the Confederate authorities knew that McClellan

was moving on Yorktown, General Johnston, who had before commanded only the Army of Northern Virginia, as the force at Manassas was called, was given charge also of the troops in the Peninsula and at Norfolk. General Magruder, who was in command of the defences at Yorktown, had only thirteen thousand men when McClellan arrived, but his force was soon increased to fifty-three thousand, and on April 17 General Johnston himself took command of it. Finding that McClellan was mounting heavy rifled guns to bombard his works, and having only old-fashioned smooth-bore guns to defend with, Johnston determined to retreat. This he did on the night of May 3, and the Union army took possession of the works the next morning. In doing this several men had their feet blown. off or were otherwise wounded by torpedoes buried in the ground by the Confederates. They were so made that the pressure of a man or a horse's foot would explode them. Other

JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON.

1862.]

BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG.

249

kinds of torpedoes were hidden in carpet-bags, in flour barrels, and in places where men would be likely to go. General McClellan made some Confederate officers, who were prisoners, search for and remove them all.

The retreating enemy was vigorously pursued by the Union cavalry under General Stoneman, followed by the infantry divisions of Generals Hooker and Kearney. The Confederates had another line of works across the Peninsula at Williamsburg, the principal part of which was called Fort Magruder. Stoneman's advance was stopped by these works, and he was obliged to wait for the infantry to come up. Heavy rain was falling, and the roads were very muddy, but Hooker pressed on, and attacked the Confederates early in the morning of May 5. General Johnston had not intended to try to hold this line, but finding himself closely pursued, turned back part of his forces, under General Longstreet, to check McClellan until the main. body and the baggage trains could cross the Chickahominy. Hooker fought against superior numbers

until late in the afternoon. At last Kearney's division came up and allowed Hooker, who had lost seventeen hundred men and was out of ammunition, to retire. In the meantime General Sumner, who was the commanding officer in the field, had sent General Hancock with his brigade far to the right, where he took a strong position

TORPEDO.

which commanded the rear of the Confederate lines. As soon as this was found out by the enemy he was attacked, but he repulsed them gallantly, and at evening was strongly reinforced. The Confederates, having held their works long enough to save their baggage trains, left during the night, and marched toward the Chickahominy. The total Union loss during this fight, which is commonly called the battle of Williamsburg, was more than two thousand; that of the Confederates about eighteen hundred.

General McClellan had remained during this advance at Yorktown, making preparations to send General Franklin's division up the York River to West Point. This was part of McDowell's corps, which had finally been sent to him at his earnest request. He was left in ignorance that an important

fight was going on at the front until one o'clock, when he went to the field and promptly reinforced Hancock. On the next morning Fort Magruder and Williamsburg were occupied; and in a few days the army moved forward both from that place and from West Point, which had been taken possession of and made the general landing-place of supplies. The roads were very muddy, and it was not until the 20th of May that the advance reached the banks of the Chickahominy. Meanwhile two new army corps had been formed-the Fifth, under com mand of General Fitz John Porter, and the Sixth, under General William B. Franklin.

ARMORED LOOKOUT.

General Johnston had crossed the Chickahominy, meanwhile, and taken a position about three miles from Richmond, where a strong line of fortifications had been thrown up. By his advice the Confederates evacuated Norfolk, after removing the stores and burning the dock-yards, and the troops there were added to his army. As soon as the news reached General Wool, commanding at Fortress Monroe, he sent up some troops and took possession of the place. The Merrimack had been ordered to go up the James River to aid in the defence of Richmond, but she drew too much water and was blown up, May 11, by order of her commander, Commodore Tatnall. This relieved the Union fleet from any more fears on her account, and several vessels, under command of Commodore John Rodgers, at once moved up the James. The flag-ship of the squadron was the iron-clad Galena, and she was accompanied by the Monitor, Aroostook, Port Royal, and Naugatuck. As there were supposed to be many batteries along the banks, the vessels moved. with great caution, a strict watch being kept from an armored lookout at the mast-head of the leading vessel. This lookout was a kind of square box, made of iron plates thick enough to protect the man in it from rifle balls. But the vessels met

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PANIC IN RICHMOND.

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with no obstructions until they reached Drury's Bluff, about eight miles below Richmond, where the river bank is nearly two hundred feet high. There they were stopped by a barrier across the river made of sunken vessels, held in place by piles, and defended by a strong work called Fort Darling on the top of the bluff, and by rifle-pits along the banks. The vessels opened fire on the morning of May 15, but the Confederate batteries were too high to be reached by the Monitor's guns, and about noon, the Galena having been badly damaged and the Naugatuck disabled by the bursting of one of her guns, Commodore Rodgers withdrew, and went down the river to City Point.

The advance of the fleet up the James and the arrival of McClellan's army on the Chickahominy caused the greatest fear in Richmond. Most of the people believed that the city would fall within a few days, and the Confederate authorities sent away the government records and made preparations to leave. The stores and shops were ordered to be closed at two o'clock each afternoon, to give time for all able-bodied men to drill. The streets were filled with anxious women and children, and many got ready to go into the country at the approach of danger.

CHAPTER XXI.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY.-CHICKAHOMINY.

MCDOWELL AT FREDERICKSBURG.-PORTER AT HANOVER COURT-HOUSE.-MCDOWELL ORDERED TO WASHINGTON.--STONEWALL JACKSON.-JACKSON OR A RABBIT.-JACKSON'S PRAYERS.-BANKS DRIVEN INTO MARYLAND.-JACKSON REPULSES FREMONT.-DEFEATS SHIELDS.-TURNER ASHBY.-A GALLANT DEED.-FLOODS IN THE CHICKAHOMINY.-THE UNION ARMY DIVIDED.--SEVEN PINES AND FAIR OAKS.--GENERAL JOHNSTON WOUNDED.ROBERT E. LEE IN COMMAND OF THE CONFEDERATES.-THE SWAMPS OF THE CHICKAHOMINY.-BALLOONS IN WAR.-HOW ARE YEES, BYES?-JEB STUART.-THE RIDE AROUND MCCLELLAN.-WHITE HOUSE.-WASHINGTON'S MARRIAGE.-STONEWALL JACKSON AND THE

FARMER.

W

HEN General McClellan's advance reached the Chickahominy, General McDowell, with about forty thousand men, was at Fredericksburg, on the Rappahannock River, where he could either protect Washington or move against Richmond. McClellan, who believed Washington to be in no danger, had often asked to have this force sent to him by water. If that had been done he could have moved against Richmond, after leaving Williamsburg, up the James River, where the gunboats could aid him, and where he could assist the gunboats in taking Fort Darling. At last the President ordered McDowell to march and join McClellan, not in the way he wanted, but by land, following the line of the railroad from Fredericksburg. This obliged McClellan to go up the York, instead of the James River, because the latter would have been too far away from McDowell. At this time McClellan had, according to his own report, about eighty thousand men fit for action. He was very anxious to receive McDowell's reinforcement, because he believed that the Confederates had a larger force than his own and were defended by strong earthworks. Hearing that a strong body of Confederates was at Hanover Court House, and fearing that it would interfere with McDowell's advance, he sent Porter's corps (May 27) to attack it. Porter drove this force from its position and destroyed its camp, inflicting considerable loss upon it in dead and wounded, and capturing more than seven hundred prisoners. The way was thus cleared for McDowell's junction with the army, but after that general had started from Fredericksburg news was received in Washington that General