road was fortified at an immense expenditure of labour. Seven of these lines of fortifications-one of them twelve miles in length-were erected between Pittsburg Landing and Corinth; and towards the end of May the town was evacuated by the Confederates. General Halleck, in command of the Federal troops, entered Corinth on the 29th; but the enemy had escaped. General Pope (who a few weeks before had been defeated while attempting to capture Farmington, and to destroy the railway at that point) was sent forward to pursue the retreating columns, and extravagant reports were despatched to Washington with reference to his success in cutting up the ranks of the fugitives, capturing many thousands of their number, and spreading dismay far and wide. What degree of truth may have been contained in these reports, it would be difficult to say with any precision; but it was probably not much. Beauregard had indeed suffered some losses on the road of his retreat; but he succeeded in saving by far the greater part of his army, and in establishing himself at Tupelo, about fifty miles south of Corinth. The Federals, however, though disappointed in their hoped-for annihilation of the Southern Army, had acquired a command over the Mobile and Ohio Railway, and were thus in a much better position than before. Fort Pillow, on the Mississippi, was abandoned by the Confederates on the 4th of June, and the Federal gunboats at once descended the river, and anchored next day off Island No. 45, close to the city of Memphis, Tennessee. Here the Confederate fleet, though at a great disadvantage as to strength, engaged the naval forces of the enemy on the morning of June 6th, and, after a sharp encounter, was defeated with heavy loss. The surrender of Memphis followed as a matter of course, for the city had now no means of defence. It was one of the principal places of export for the produce of those regions; but its prosperity was ruined for a time, and it was evident that there had been a great destruction of cotton before the entry of the conquerors.

The Union forces now determined to attack Vicksburg, situated on a sharp bend of the Mississippi, in the State similarly named. The position was important, as it enabled those holding it to bar the passage of the river; it was also strong, not merely by reason of its fortifications, but because of the vast swamps and forests, and the numerous creeks and tributary streams, which presented so many obstacles to a land force proceeding against it. On the present occasion, however, it was to be attacked from the river. Commodore Farragut, advancing up the Mississippi after the surrender of

New Orleans, had by the 24th of June come within sight of Commodore Davis, descending the stream from Memphis. With the fall of Vicksburg, the river would be opened to the commerce of the Western States; but as long as the town and fortifications remained in the hands of the Confederates, the great water-highway would be effectually blocked. Siege was therefore laid to the place, and the bombardment opened on the 25th of June. It continued, with occasional intermissions, for a month; yet the storm of shot and shell failed to produce any serious effects. By the labour of more than a thousand negroes, a canal was dug through the small peninsula, formed by the bend of the river, which fronts the town. It was hoped in this manner to open a channel by which ships could pass up and down, out of reach of the batteries; but the work proved a failure. An exciting incident occurred on the 15th of July. The small Confederate steamer, Arkansas, which had been roughly and hastily coated with iron, and had for some time been lying hidden in the Yazoo— an affluent of the Mississippi, which it enters a little above Vicksburg-issued forth from its place of concealment, drove away three Federal gunboats which had been sent to make a reconnaissance, and, entering the larger river, boldly passed through the whole of Davis's fleet, inflicting much damage, and finally anchored under the guns of Vicksburg. The Arkansas was itself a good deal injured by the enemy's fire; but a subsequent attempt to sink her failed in its object. On the 24th of July, the siege of Vicksburg was abandoned for a time, and Farragut's vessels returned to Bâton Rouge. Another repulse of the Federals in the summer of 1862 was in the neighbourhood of Charleston, South Carolina. Landing on the south-eastern end of James Island, in Charleston Harbour, a strong body of Union troops endeavoured, on the 15th of June, to storm a fortified position which, had they succeeded in taking it, would have enabled them to bring their guns to bear in the most effective manner on Charleston itself. But the attack, after entailing a large expenditure of life, was relinquished, owing to the unexpected difficulties of the task, and further operations against the city were indefinitely postponed.

The success of General Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley embarrassed the operations of McClellan in his advance on Richmond. It deprived him of the assistance of McDowell's corps, and introduced an element of uncertainty into the whole campaign. President Lincoln, however, thought that the Confederate movement evinced a disposition to waive any desperate defence of Richmond, and he

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therefore pressed on McClellan the advisability of attacking that city at once, or giving up his plan. altogether. McClellan was not inclined to relinquish his long-meditated scheme, and he ordered a reconnaissance in force to be pushed forward in the direction of Hanover Court House. At the head of the fifth corps, General Porter marched from his camp on the right of McClellan's position at daybreak on the 27th of May. The Confederates were shortly afterwards attacked, and retreated, followed by the Federal cavalry and a portion of the infantry. The bridges over the Pamunkey were burned, and the adjacent railway was destroyed, after an action, in which seven hundred of the Confederates were brought in prisoners. The main body of McClellan's army was thus enabled to advance, and at the close of May the several corps were stationed on a curved line not far from Richmond. Two of these corps, forming the left of the chief army, had been pushed beyond the river Chickahominy, and the situation was such as to expose them to a dangerous attack in the absence of their comrades, from whom they were separated by the stream at their back. General Joseph Johnston, the Southern leader, had under his orders an army consisting of four divisions, commanded by Generals Longstreet, Smith, D. H. Hill, and Huger, all of whom had formerly served in the army of the United States. It was determined to attack the left wing of the Federals on the morning of May 31st; but the excessive rains which prevailed at that time made the roads so heavy and difficult that one division of the Southern army was unable to reach the post to which it had been assigned, and was therefore prevented from taking part in the action. General Longstreet nevertheless ordered Hill's division to commence the attack at two P.M. division of the Federal army was bore the brunt of the assault.

General Casey's that which first Several of the

troops fell back with precipitation, and the camp was captured, together with the hospital and baggage-waggons.

A stand was subsequently

made, and Casey sent word to his colleagues on the other side of the Chickahominy that he was being hard-pressed, and stood in need of reinforcements. Some time elapsed before General Sumner could effect the passage of the stream; but he at length did so by means of two hastily-constructed bridges. The battle in the meanwhile had become hot, and the right of the Federal left wing was driven back with great loss. General Johnston personally directed the attack, until, having been wounded by the splinter of a shell, he fell from his horse, and broke two of his ribs, when the

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command devolved on General Smith. Jefferson Davis was himself upon the field, but of course took no active part in the conduct of affairs. The arrival of General Sumner did little to change the relative position of the combatants. The Federals continued to fall back; the Confederates continued to advance; and it was only night which put an end to the combat. Had Huger's division, which had been delayed by the state of the roads, reached the battle-field in time, the Federals would probably have been entirely crushed. As it was, they had been forced to retreat two miles, and had lost nine guns, and a vast amount of camp-equipage and stores, including those of the medical department.

The Federal right wing had remained on the left bank of the Chickahominy during the whole of that day, and General McClellan appears not to have been aware of the check which his advanced corps had received, until nine o'clock in the evening. He had ridden as far as Despatch Station, on the Richmond and Westport Railway, where he found trains filled with wounded, and heaps of stores blocking up the station. The moment was one of the most anxious that he had had to endure since the earliest days of his command. He was suffering from chronic dysentery, and was worn out with fatigue and watchfulness. The precise position of the Confederates was not easily to be determined. The night was pitch-dark. The only accounts of the day's operations which could be collected at the time were confused and contradictory, and it was by no means certain that the next day would not be signalised by an overwhelming disaster to the Federal arms. The two armies bivouacked that night on the field for which they had so furiously contended, and the Confederates were reinforced by the division of General Huger, which had at length overcome the difficulties of the muddy and forestcumbered roads. The engagement was renewed in the early morning of June 1st. It was now the Federals that attacked, and the Confederates, finding themselves opposed by large bodies of fresh troops, fought with considerable languor and hesitation, and, after a struggle of five hours' duration, were repulsed along the whole line. The Federals again stood on the ground they had occupied before the first day's operations, and one of the guns which had been taken from General Casey's division was recaptured. General McClellan arrived on the ground towards the close of the battle. The difficulty of crossing the Chickahominy had prevented his appearing at an earlier hour; and when he reached the scene of action, there was little for him to do. There was much, however, for him to. see, and that of the most distressing nature. The

woodland paths were thronged with soldiers carrying off the wounded, and the neighbouring farmhouses were filled with miserable sufferers, whose necessities were being attended to as far as the difficulties of the situation would admit. "The ambulances," says the Prince de Joinville, who was present on the occasion, "had something about them particularly horrible. The houses were too few to contain more than a proportion of the wounded, and the others were compelled to lie outside. But, although they did not make any complaints, and bore their fate with stoical courage, their exposure in one position beneath the rays of the sun soon became intolerable."

The Confederates had suffered equally with their adversaries, and in addition they had to endure the mortification of losing the battle. Their retreat was facilitated by the wide and shadowy forests which in that region cover the face of the country; and even had the land been more open, it is probable that little would have been done in the way of pursuit, owing to the exhausted state of the conquerors. The Federals lay down on the ground which they had won, and McClellan, riding along the lines from right to left, was received with hearty enthusiasm. The Southern troops were so much disorganised that if the 35,000 fresh troops who were still on the other side of the Chickahominy could have made their appearance on the scene of battle, it is probable that the Confederate disaster would have been even worse. The interposing river, however, was still more swollen than on the previous day, and the divisions of Generals Franklin and Porter either could not or would not attempt its passage. The contest had been of a very sanguinary nature. During the two days' fighting, the North (on McClellan's own admission) lost 7,000 men ; the South also suffered terribly; yet this obstinately-contested battle was attended by no definite or decisive result. The only difference between the relative positions of the armies before and after the struggle was that an additional Federal corps stood at the later date on the right bank of the Chickahominy. McClellan's right wing still lay on the further side of the river; the Confederates still occupied the woods in front of Richmond; and the probability of taking that city seemed no nearer than before. The left wing of the Federals now encamped upon the battle-ground; but it was not long before the health of the men was affected by their terrible surroundings. The swamps were rendered doubly pestiferous by unburied bodies; the waters of the streams, from which alone the soldiers could slake their thirst, were poisoned by the abomi

nations which drained into them; the air was hot and oppressive; the vapours of the marshes and the humid woods were a burden and a danger to life; and there was nothing in the existing situation, or in the prospects of the immediate future, to counteract these deadly influences. Both armies entrenched themselves in the positions they had assumed at the close of the battle, which has been designated, from two localities on the field, that of Fair Oaks or Seven Pines. The field-works of McClellan, which were of a rather elaborate character, extended in a semi-circle from the White Oak Swamp to the Chickahominy, and were so arranged as to enclose within their sweep the line of railway, and the several roads and bridges communicating with the right wing of the Federals. The Commander-inChief applied to Washington for reinforcements; but the necessity of checking General Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley prevented the President from sending any fresh troops to the neighbourhood of Richmond.

The Confederates sustained a loss in the temporary withdrawal from active service of General Johnston, whose injuries were so severe as to compel his retirement into private life until he had recovered from their effects. The chief command now devolved on General Lee, an officer of high reputation and known ability. Lee was not merely an educated soldier, but a man of decided character, simple habits, and stern resolution. While many of the commanders on both sides were prone to self-indulgence and indolent carelessness, Lee was one of those watchful chiefs who never take anything for granted, but maintain a sleepless vigilance over the whole operations of the field. During all the campaigns of the civil war, he invariably occupied a tent, and refused to sleep under a roof, even in the severest winter. Taking note of minute details, he did much to improve the discipline of the forces committed to his charge; and the licentiousness of the camp was checked, not merely by the stringency of his orders, but by the excellence of his personal example.* In many respects, the opposing armies were equally matched. Any advantage possessed by either side in one direction was counterbalanced by some other advantage enjoyed by the adversary in another direction. Richmond was still the great object of contention, and sanguinary encounters were yet to be fought, before it could be determined whether that city should succumb to the Federals, or remain as the head-quarters of the Southern League.

* Colonel Fletcher's History of the American War, Vol. II., chap. 2.

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WHETHER or not the President had sufficient reason for diverting the corps of General McDowell from the Army of the Potomac, it is certain that the absence of that corps affected the operations of McClellan before Richmond. In some testimony before a court-martial on the former of those Generals, in December, 1862, the latter gave it as his decided opinion that the Army of the Potomac would have taken Richmond, had not McDowell's corps been separated from it; and he added that if the troops of that officer had joined the main body of the forces in the month of May, by way of Hanover Court House from Fredericksburg, they would have been in the Confederate capital in a week after the junction. However this may have been, it is clear that McClellan hesitated from the moment he knew he was not to have the support of his coadjutor; though it may be that a more daring General would have done without. It will be recollected that fear for the safety of Washington induced Mr. Lincoln to detain McDowell, and to place him at the head of a new military department -that of the Rappahannock. When the alarm with respect to the Federal metropolis had passed away, it was determined by the President to employ McDowell in a series of operations which should collaterally support McClellan in his great expedition; and the former was accordingly directed by Mr. Stanton, in a communication dated May 17th, to move upon Richmond by the general route of the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railway, and to co-operate with the Army of the Potomac, then advancing on the line of the Pamunkey and York Rivers. At the same time, however, he was always to hold himself in such a position as to be able to cover Washington against any sudden incursion of the Confederate forces. In the execution of these

designs, he was to be aided by the division of General Shields, which was to be detached from Banks's command for that purpose.

But this plan was as quickly set aside as some which had preceded it. On the 24th of May, General McDowell was ordered to suspend for the present the movement on Richmond, and at once to put in motion 20,000 men, for operating in the valley of the Shenandoah. General Fremont had just been directed to move towards Franklin and Harrisonburg, in order to relieve General Banks, and to capture or destroy the forces of Jackson and Ewell; and McDowell was to cooperate personally with the project, so as to render its success more likely. Though bitterly deploring these orders, which he believed would prejudice the advance on Richmond without accomplishing any useful end, McDowell loyally obeyed the commands of his chief. Nevertheless, he addressed a remonstrance to the Government, in which he represented that he could better cut off General Jackson's retreat by an advance on the railway between Gordonsville and Richmond than by a march into the Shenandoah Valley. His extreme left had already begun to touch the extreme right of General McClellan, and it was therefore excessively mortifying to be obliged to move a portion of his army in another direction. The Government, however, was resolved on the prosecution of its scheme, and McDowell accordingly marched to the north-west, with the division of General Shields, and some other regiments. He was to move on Strasburg, which was at the same time to be approached from the opposite direction by Fremont. Thus it was hoped to close in upon the Confederate leader, Jackson, and to overwhelm him by preponderance of numbers.

rear.

It cannot be questioned that Jackson was in a position of danger. In pursuing the forces of General Banks on the 24th and 25th of May, he had imperilled his line of communications, and his retreat from the vicinity of the Potomac was now threatened by the combined movements of McDowell and Fremont. Moreover, in executing that retreat he would have General Banks in his But he calculated on the marching powers of his men, on their courage, and on his own strategical ability. After making a feigned demonstration against Harper's Ferry on the 30th of May, he retreated up the Shenandoah Valley on the 31st, followed by Banks as far as Martinsburg. Fremont had left Franklin on the 25th, and next day was at Petersburg, thirty miles distant. Leaving behind them their baggage, tents, and knapsacks, that they might march with the greater celerity, Fremont's men pursued their eastward course, and on the night of the 31st halted at the intersection of the Strasburg and Winchester roads. The march was resumed on June 1st; and as the advanced guard was crossing the last of the outlying ranges of hills forming the eastern spurs of the Shenandoah mountain-chain, the rear-guard of General Jackson was perceived, moving south. The main body of the Confederate army was already out of view, and Fremont hurried forward on its track. Jackson, however, had got the start, and, marching with great rapidity-his rear protected against any attack by the cavalry under Colonel Ashby-he pursued the road leading south from Strasburg. He was encumbered with a long train conveying the plunder and spoils of Banks's army, and with two thousand prisoners; yet his movements were remarkably quick, and he delayed the progress of his enemy by burning the bridges behind him. Some few skirmishes between the rear of the retreating and the front ranks of the pursuing forces occurred from time to time; but the main body kept well in advance, and on the 2nd of June was beyond Woodstock. On the following day, Fremont crossed Stony Creek, and on the 4th found the army of General Jackson drawn up at Mount Jackson. A mile beyond the place so called, the north fork of the Shenandoah crosses the road, and it was necessary for Jackson to cover the passage of his infantry and train over the long wooden bridge by which the opposite bank is reached. This was effectually accomplished by the artillery and cavalry, and, when all were over, the bridge was set on fire. As the river was too deep to be forded, Fremont-whose regiments had been unable to prevent either the passage of Jackson's troops or the subsequent destruction of the way-was compelled

to repair the bridge before his men could resume their march. This entailed the loss of a day, and it was not until noon on the 5th that Fremont's army was again in motion. By the 6th, Harrisonburg had been reached, and on the evening of that day a skirmish of some importance took place between a body of Federal cavalry and infantry, in advance of the other troops, and the Confederate rear-guard. The cavalry, pushing forward incautiously, fell into an ambuscade, and were severely handled, together with the infantry who came to their support. In the end, the Union troops were withdrawn, and their opponents remained masters of the field; but the latter had sustained a great loss in the death of Colonel Ashby, of the cavalry division of Jackson's corps. He was a member of an old Virginian family, long connected with the army, and, although not himself a professional soldier, had exhibited, on joining the Confederate ranks, remarkable aptitude as a leader of horse, together with the most brilliant courage. After the death of his brother, in one of the early encounters of the civil war, he appears to have been seized with a melancholy resolve to perish in the same fashion. He exposed himself with reckless gallantry to the bullets of the enemy, and at length, after many narrow escapes, fell at the head of his soldiers in the collision of the 6th of June.

The check received by Fremont on that occasion was sufficiently serious to stop his further progress for more than a day. At six o'clock on the morning of June 8th, he led his army out of Harrisonburg, and a few hours later came up with about half of the enemy's forces, stationed in a strong position under the command of General Ewell. The Confederates were posted on hilly and broken ground, thickly covered with dwarfoaks and pines; but Fremont was now in strength, having been joined by several other bodies of troops which had been sent on the track of the fugitives. Shields had been following Jackson by a road parallel to that which Fremont had traversed, and a brigade of his army, under Colonel Carroll, was not far off. The whole of Fremont's line advanced at eleven o'clock in the morning. The fighting was severe and prolonged, and, after a brief promise of success, ended in the retreat of the Federals, about four o'clock in the afternoon. Having been fought near a small hamlet called Cross Keys, the battle is known by that designation. On both sides the losses were heavy; but the Confederates had had the best of the action, and the Federals were no longer in a position to prevent General Jackson from falling on the division of General Shields. The advanced brigade of