Download Field Trip to the Seven Days Battles

Field Trip to the Seven Days Battles
April 20 – 23, 2012
As has been done the three previous years, members of the CCWRT embarked on a spring field
trip in a rented 15 passenger van. Unlike our previous three trips, this year’s group of ten
persons headed east with the destination being Richmond, Va. The trip began on a beautiful
Friday, April 20th with a ten hour drive from Cincinnati to Richmond. After checking into the
Hampton Inn – Mechanicsville, we had a little over one hour of daylight to see as much of the
nearby Cold Harbor
Battlefield as we
could take in via a
self guided tour.
Sadly only a very
small portion of the
Cold
Harbor
Battlefield
is
preserved, but for
our group it was
large enough to keep
our interest until
darkness fell. After
a quick bite to eat it
was time to bivouac
for the night.
The next morning, Saturday, April 21st, NPS historian Bob Krick met us at the motel to begin our
tour of the Seven Days Battles. Our first stop was the Dabbs House (pictured above). This
became Robert E Lee’s headquarters after taking command of the Army of Northern Virginia on
June 1st, 1862. The house is located
just east of downtown Richmond
and was where Lee devised his
strategy for the defense of
Richmond.
Next, Mr. Krick took us to the site
of Ellerson’s Mill (pictured at right),
a major landmark in the Battle of
Beaver Dam Creek, also known as
the Battle of Mechanicsville. The
battle took place on June 26, 1862,
and was the first major engagement
of the Seven Days Battles.
Although the mill is long gone, we
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were able to walk across a pedestrian bridge extending over Beaver Dam Creek. Here 14,000
well entrenched Union infantry, supported by 32 guns in six batteries Fitz John Porter’s V Corps,
repulsed repeated A. P. Hill’s 11,000 Confederate attackers with substantial casualties. Although
this battle was a tactical victory
for the Union, McClellan
realized that he could not keep
Porter's corps in place with
Jackson threatening his flank. He
ordered Porter to begin a
withdrawal and at the same time
decided to change the army's
base of supply from White House
on the Pamunkey River to
Harrison's Landing on the James
River.
At right, Bob Krick describes the
action near the center of the
Gaines’ Mill Battlefield.
By next afternoon, June 27th, four
of the five corps at McClellan’s
disposal were south of the rain
swollen Chickahominy River. Only Fitz John Porters Fifth Corps was still north of the river.
Lee met with Jackson and A. P. Hill at Walnut Grove Church and formulated a plan that would
either cut Union supply lines or force a battle. Krick directed our van to the Walnut Grove
Church parking
lot to talk about
this meeting, the
first
of
the
famous Lee –
Jackson
partnership. The
combined effort
of all of Lee's
force
was
destined to be the
largest
Confederate
attack of the war,
about 57,000 men
in six divisions.
The plan called for Jackson to march toward Old Cold Harbor, and then south beyond Porter's
right flank. Bob Krick took us to the crossroads where the Old Cold Harbor Tavern still stands
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(pictured above). The first actions of the battle occurred here between noon and 1 p.m. on June
27 after D.H. Hill's division reached Old Cold Harbor, where it was scheduled to link up with
Stonewall Jackson's command. Hill pushed through the crossroads with two brigades, which
encountered unexpected infantry fire. When Stonewall Jackson finally reached Old Cold
Harbor, weary from the marching and counter-marching, he began to arrange his troops and
those of D.H. Hill to trap the Federals he expected to be driven east by Longstreet and A.P. Hill.
The photo above shows the ten people who attended the Seven Days Tour. Pictured from left to
right are Tom Williams, Bob Limoseth, Esly Caldwell, Dan Bauer, Andy Simmons, John
McGee, Ken Anderson, Becket Burkett, Randy Donohue, and Mark Fidler. The group is
standing in front of the Watt House on National Park Service section of the Gaines’ Mill
Battlefield.
Thanks to some hospitable
property owners and Bob
Krick’s knowledge of the
land, we were able to access
the eastern half of the
battlefield.
The area is
typically restricted from the
general public. Although this
was very fortunate for our
group, it is a shame to think
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that unless one has the benefit of guide, these portions of the battlefield are seen by only a few.
As the group was walking to the east section of the Gaines’ Mill Battlefield, we passed by an old
country road (pictured below). Bob Krick was eager to point out you will not find a more
authentically preserved
Civil War era road than
this.
After walking about a
mile, we finally reached
the most eastern part of
the Union line along Old
Cold Harbor Road. In
the photo below Bob
Krick describes the fierce
action that took place
around the McGhee
House which sits about
100 yards off the Old
Cold
Harbor
Rd.
Unfortunately,
the
McGhee house is house
is long since gone. This piece of land has the distinction of being the sight of two major Civil
War battlefields. The Cold Harbor line of battle ran along a north south axis while the Gaines’
Mill battle lines ran
east-west
with
the
intersecting point being
around the McGhee
House.
Porter's reinforced V
Corps held fast for the
afternoon
as
the
Confederate attacked in
a disjointed manner,
first with the division of
Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill,
then Maj. Gen. Richard
S. Ewell, suffering
heavy casualties. The
arrival of Maj. Gen.
Stonewall
Jackson's
command was delayed,
preventing the full
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concentration of Confederate force before Porter received some reinforcements from the VI
Corps.
To make his stand, Porter
selected a plateau encircled at
its base by the marshy stream
known as Boatswain Swamp.
The photo at left shows part
of this plateau which is on the
west end of the battlefield.
The position was later
overrun
by
Confederate
forces.
Porter observed the gathering
Confederate
lines
and,
suspecting
his
enemy's
intention to "overwhelm and
crush" him, finally requested
reinforcements. They had not
yet arrived when the Confederates, under A. P. Hill, launched their initial assault that afternoon.
The narrow hilltop allowed little room for maneuvering, so the ensuing battle was a heated
contest of brute force.
As the sun was starting to go down, William Whiting's Division achieved the breakthrough on
Longstreet's front. Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood's Texas Brigade move forward swiftly and
aggressively and broke a hole in the line. Pickett's brigade also succeeded in its second assault of
the day. Confederate
breakthroughs on their
center and right could
not be countered and
the
Union
line
crumbled.
Sykes's
regulars conducted an
orderly
withdrawal
from the McGehee
house to Grapevine
Bridge. The Union
brigades of Brig. Gens.
Thomas F. Meagher
and William H. French
arrived from the II
Corps, too late to help
other than as a rear
guard for Porter's retreat. A battalion of the 5th U.S. Cavalry under Captain Charles J. Whiting
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made a desperate charge against the Texas Brigade, but was forced to surrender after heavy
losses. By 4 a.m. on June 28, Porter withdrew across the Chickahominy, burning the bridges
behind him. The above photo above is of the newly erected Texas monument just west of
Boatswain Creek which commemorates the Texans breakthrough.
Eventually, the Union line broke in several places almost simultaneously, with the 4th Texas and
18th Georgia infantry regiments are generally credited with initiating the breakthrough. The
fighting was brutal; in
the words of one Texas
soldier, "One volley was
poured into their backs,
and it seemed as if every
ball found a victim, so
great was the slaughter."
As the Confederates
advanced down into the
creek, Union troops
were driven from their
position on the other
side of the creek. The
photo at left is of the
Boatswain Creek bed.
The Union Brigades of
Martindale and Butterfield were forced to retreat to higher ground away from the creek. The
splintering Union line and deepening darkness gradually brought the battle to a close.
Reinforcements arrived as the bulk of the army was retreating, but had little hope of reversing
fortunes. Two entire Union regiments—nearly a thousand men—surrendered to Confederates
after finding themselves surrounded by the enemy. Below is the monument erected for Cadmus
Wilcox Alabamian’s.
Many veterans would
remember the nine hours
at Gaines's Mill as the
most vicious fighting of
the entire war. McClellan
soon declared publicly
what he had already
decided privately: that he
would
abandon
his
campaign
against
the
Confederate capital. Lee,
meanwhile, earned the
confidence of the Army of
Northern Virginia and
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President Davis, although the rest of the Seven Days' Campaign would fail to destroy the Union
army. Gaines's Mill was an intense battle, the largest of the Seven Days and the only clear-cut
Confederate tactical victory of the Peninsula Campaign. Union casualties from the 34,214
engaged were 894 killed, 3,107 wounded, and 2,836 captured or missing. Of the 57,018
Confederates engaged, casualties totaled 7,993 including 1,483 killed, Since the Confederate
assault was conducted against only a small portion of the Union Army (the V Corps, one fifth of
the army), the army emerged from the battle in relatively good shape overall. Lee's victory, his
first of the war, could have been more complete if it were not for the mishaps of Stonewall
Jackson. Although McClellan had already planned to shift his supply base to the James River, his
defeat unnerved him and he decided to abandon his advance on Richmond and begin the retreat
of his entire army to the James. Gaines's Mill and the Union retreat across the Chickahominy was
a psychological
victory for the
Confederacy,
signaling
that
Richmond
was
out of danger.
In the photo at
left,
Andy
Simmons and Dan
Bauer
present
Bob
Krick
a
check for $300
donated by the
Cincinnati Civil
War Round Table
and made out to
the
Richmond
Battlefield Preservation Association. The photo is taken in front of the Watt House.
We finished off the day by driving to the site of Savage’s Station. Bob Krick explained that this
was a railroad depot along the Richmond & York Railroad. It was here that McClellan’s rear
guard was attacked on June 29th, 1862. In Union Army’s haste to evacuate the area, much of the
army’s supplies were ordered to be burned if they could not be carried. With the group weary
after the long walk at Gaines’ Mill, we did bother getting out of the van at Savage’s Station.
With that, we headed back to the Hampton Inn for the night.
Sunday, April 22
As was forecasted, Sunday was a rainy, cold day. Bob met us at the motel at 8:00 AM, and we
headed for White Oak Swamp, the site fighting on June 30, 1862. After the van was parked on
the side of the road next to White Oak Swamp, it became apparent to us that White Oak Swamp
is a far less formidable barrier than the Chickahominy River is. The Chickahominy River seems
more of your classic looking swamp while the White Oak Swamp seems to be more of a creek.
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Nevertheless, as we sat in the van with the raindrops hitting the windshield, Mr. Krick explained
how easy it would have been for Stonewall Jackson’s forces to cross the creek to left of the main
road and simply bypass the Union’s strong defensive position. Instead, Jackson engaged in a
pointless artillery duel. Bob went onto say that that Thomas Jackson, who would go onto to
become a legendary figure, was not himself during the Seven Days. This was no more apparent
than his lack of action at White Oak Swamp. With rain falling steadily, nobody wanted to get
out of the van to take pictures. Aside from a sign on the road, there is not much to photograph.
Next Bob directed our
van a little further south
to
the
Glendale
(Frayser’s
Farm)
Battlefield. He asked
that the van to be
parked on the side of
the Long Bridge Road.
With the rain subsiding
a bit, he said this would
be as good as anytime
to go for a walk. We
walked into woods,
then into a clearing
under a high tension
power line, and then
back into more woods.
Finally we came upon
this lone marker shown above. This marker was placed in this spot two years ago to memorialize
the furthest advance of the 69th PA bayonet charge. The marker was paid for and dedicated by
members of the 69th
PA reenactors.
The
historians knew this
was the spot because
it sits right next to a
depression in the
ground
which
is
known to be the sight
of the Whitlock Farm
House, located right in
the middle of the
Glendale fighting. If
you look closely at the
photo on the right, the
depression can be
seen just beyond the
marker. Bob said if
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we know of any other groups would be interested in putting up a marker at Glendale or any of
the other Seven Days Battlefield sites, he and the NPS would gladly accept them.
The modern Glendale Battlefield is unique in all the battlefields I have ever visited in that
nowhere else is there so much of the battlefield preserved or on the cusp of being preserved with
so little in the way of monuments or markers. Mr. Krick said this affords great opportunity for
him and the NPS to develop the land into a meaningful way. He said if you come back in 15
years, the hope is that you will hardly recognize the place.
Next Bob took us to the Glendale Visitors Center (GVC) which is pictured below. This building
is open only seasonally and would have been closed the day we visited. The center has some
very nice exhibits including an electric map which gave a good understanding of the fighting at
Glendale and Malvern Hill. However, the best feature of the GVC was that had a bathroom.
Bob said that because Glendale gets so visitors, when he is assigned to work at the GVC it gives
him an excellent opportunity to catch up on his Civil War reading.
At Glendale, Lee ordered his Army of Northern Virginia to converge on the retreating Union
forces, bottlenecked on the inadequate road network. The Army of the Potomac, lacking overall
command coherence, presented a discontinuous, ragged defensive line. Although belated and not
initiated as planned, the assaults by the divisions of A.P. Hill and Longstreet, under Longstreet's
overall command, turned out to be the only ones to follow Lee's order to attack the main Union
concentration. Longstreet's 20,000 men assaulted the disjointed Union line of 40,000 men,
arranged in a 2 miles arc north and south of the Glendale intersection. The brunt of the fighting
was centered on the position held by the V Corps, 6,000 men under Brig. Gen. George A.
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McCall, just west of the Nelson Farm owned by Nelson, north of Willis Baptist Church. (The
farm was owned by R.H. Nelson, but its former owner was named Frayser and many of the
locals referred to it as Frayser's, or Frazier's, Farm.)
Three Confederate brigades, Cadmus Wilcox, Micah Jenkins, and James Kemper, were sent
forward in the assault. Longstreet ordered them forward in a piecemeal fashion, over several
hours. Kemper's Virginians charged through the thick woods first and emerged in front of five
batteries of McCall's artillery. In their first combat experience, the brigade conducted a
disorderly but enthusiastic assault, which carried them through the guns and broke through
McCall's main line with Jenkins's support, followed up a few hours later by Wilcox's brigade of
Alabamians. The Confederate brigades met stiff resistance in bitter hand-to-hand combat where
men stabbed each other with bayonets and used rifles as clubs.
Heavy fighting continued until about 8:30 p.m. Longstreet committed virtually every brigade in
the divisions under his command, while on the Union side they had been fed in individually to
plug holes in the line as they occurred. That night, the Union army established a strong position
on Malvern Hill. Union casualties were 3,797 (297 killed, 1,696 wounded, and 1,804 missing or
captured). Confederate casualties were comparable in total—3,673 (638 killed, 2,814 wounded,
and 221 missing. Longstreet lost more than a quarter of his division.
After our stay at the
GVS, it was time for
lunch. Our choice of
where to eat was an
easy one as there is
only one restaurant in
the Glendale/Malvern
Hill area, the Dairy
Queen.
With our
stomachs full it was
time to take on
Malvern Hill which
meant more walking
and more rain.
Malvern Hill was Lee’s
final opportunity to
intercept McClellan's army before it reached the safety of the river and the end of the Seven
Days, at the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1. After parking the van in a small, gravel lot, we
crossed the road to examine what is left of the Parsonage, which was home for the preacher of
the Willis Baptist Church. As shown in the photo above, all that remains are a couple of
chimneys. Pardon the raindrop on the photo.
After that, Bob directed us to a trail going up a hill into the woods. Upon emerging from the
woods, we were in clearing which was where the Confederate Army was massed. In the photo
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on the top of the next page, Mr. Krick explained to us that the Confederate attack on Malvern
Hill was really going up only a very slight grade. The terrain slopped downward on each side of
the Confederate advance, but the bulk of the attack was done on relatively level, open ground. In
the photo on the next page, the group is facing the same way the attacking Confederates faced.
After that we walked the length of the Confederate attack. At this point the rain was coming
down the heaviest of the day, almost sideways. Along the way, Bob had us top at a marker that
described where some slave cabins existed. Due to some recent archeology work, historians now
know the exact spot where the cabins stood.
After walking about half a mile, we came to where the center of the Union line was. Fortunately,
there is a little shelter at marking the spot of the Union artillery positions. In the below photo,
the photographer is standing under the shelter looking out toward the Confederates advance.
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The slopes of Malvern Hill were cleared of timber, providing great visibility, and the open fields
to the north could be swept by deadly fire from the 250 guns placed by Col. Henry J. Hunt,
McClellan's chief of artillery. Three gunboats on the James River, added even more firepower.
Beyond this space, the terrain was swampy and thickly wooded. Rather than flanking the
position, Lee attacked it directly, hoping that his artillery would clear the way for a successful
infantry assault (just as he would plan the following year in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg).
Lee's plan was to attack the hill from the north on the Quaker Road, using the divisions of
Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Richard S. Ewell, D.H. Hill, and Gen. William H.C. Whiting.
Unfortunately for Lee, Henry Hunt struck first, launching one of the greatest artillery barrages in
the war from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Union gunners had superior equipment and expertise and
disabled most of the Confederate batteries. The advancing columns of Confederate infantry were
blasted to pieces by the massed artillery. Adding to the terror were the huge 50-pound shells
lobbed from the three gunboats. Despite the setback, Lee sent his infantry forward at 3:30 p.m.
D. H. Hill launched his division forward along the Quaker Road, past Willis Church. Across the
entire line of battle, the Confederate troops reached only within 200 yards of the Union Center
and were repulsed by nightfall with heavy losses. D.H. Hill wrote afterward in a postwar article,
"It wasn't war; it was murder." Lee's army suffered 5,650 casualties (versus 2,214 Union) in this
wasted effort. Malvern Hill ended the Seven Days Battles when McClellan's army ceased to
threaten Richmond.
Since it was only midafternoon, Bob offered a little bonus tour. We drove to Drewery’s Bluff.
Drewry's Bluff,
rises 90 feet
above the water
and commands a
sharp bend in the
James
River,
making
it
a
logical site for
defensive
fortifications for
the defense of
Richmond. The
area was fortified
with earthworks,
barracks,
and
artillery
emplacements
with three large
seacoast
guns
(one
10-inch
Columbiad and
two 8-inch Columbiads) in the fort.
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A Federal squadron steamed around the bend in the river below Drewry's Bluff early on the
morning of May 15,1862. The force, under Commander John Rodgers, consisted of five ships.
At 7:15 a.m. the flagship Galena opened fire on the fort, sending three giant projectiles toward
the Confederate position.
When Confederate batteries in the fort replied, the whole vicinity shook with the concussion of
the big guns. After four long hours of exchanging fire, the "perfect tornado of shot and shell"
ended. With his ammunition nearly depleted, Commander Rodgers gave the signal to discontinue
the action at 11:30. His sailors suffered at least 14 dead and 13 wounded, while the Confederates
admitted to 7 killed and 8 wounded. The massive fort on Drewry's Bluff had blunted the Union
advance just seven miles short of the Confederate capital. Richmond remained safe. Our group
was very appreciative for Bob to take us to Drewry’s Bluff considering the rain was still coming
down steady.
Drewry’s Bluff was very interesting, but due to the bad weather, we did not do much more than
quickly walk the loop and take a couple of pictures. We still had several hours of daylight. Mr.
Krick offered to take us on a driving tour of downtown Richmond. Our tour consisted of a drive
down Monument Avenue, Chimborazo Hospital, many of the state sponsored hospitals, Libby
Prison, and finally Tredager Iron Works. The NPS maintains, free of charge, museums at both
Chimborazo and Tredager. With afternoon now getting late, Bob was reluctant to let us get out
the van at any of these locations. After a little prodding, we promised to be back in the van in by
twenty minutes, if Bob let us check explore Chimborazo. This is where Mr. Krick maintains his
office on the second floor. The first floor includes an excellent display of Civil War medical
artifacts.
Since
we
kept
our
promise, Bob
also let us go
inside
the
Tredager
museum if
we promised
to be out in
twenty
minutes. The
photo at left
shows
the
remains of
the Tredager
Iron Works.
We kept our
promise, for
the most part,
and with that
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our tour was done. Bob guided the van back to the Hampton Inn and we finished our tour and
were done for the day.
The next day, on our return trip to Cincinnati, we decided to stop by Lexington, VA and check
our Washington and Lee College and VMI. Robert E. Lee served as the president of Washington
College from 1865 to his death in 1870. Lee was buried in crypt in the lower level of the chapel
shown in the photo below. There was a guide inside the chapel who told us about the building
and the crypt. We also wandered around the museum in the basement. Photos are no longer
permitted to be taken inside the chapel.
Next, we got back in the van and drove just a few hundred yards to VMI and past the parade
grounds. After that we got back on the highway and drove straight back to Cincinnati returning
at 6:30 on Monday, April 23.
Many thanks to Bob Krick and his outstanding tour of the Seven Days Battles and Richmond.
Submitted by Dan Bauer
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