that division (Colonel Carroll's) was by this time at Port Republic, a few miles to the south-east of the ground, outside Harrisonburg, where General Ewell successfully resisted the whole of Fremont's army. During the 8th, General Jackson, who with half his force had crossed one of the forks of the Shenandoah, was engaged with Carroll's brigade; but the action was little more than an artillery duel, and resulted in the Federals being compelled to retire. Still, the position of Jackson was fraught with peril. In the course of the afternoon, General Tyler, of Shields's division, arrived to the assistance of Carroll, and the Confederate commander had the army of General Fremont in his rear, while the detachment under Tyler and Carroll barred his onward path, being a little in advance of his forces on the road which they would have to traverse. Jackson, however, felt himself equal to the exigencies of the situation. On the morning of the 9th of June, he conveyed the greater part of his army across the intervening river by a bridge formed of planks laid on waggons that had been pushed into the stream; and the action became general as the day advanced. The scene of the encounter was an open plain crossed by the main road. On a small knoll, the Federals had posted a large proportion of their artillery; but several of the guns were captured by a sudden charge of the Louisiana brigade. This serious loss had so dispiriting an effect on the Federals that their line was utterly broken, and the regiments took shelter in the surrounding woods. Fremont had been unable to go to the assistance of Shields's division, owing to the partial destruction of the bridge over the river. This he attempted to repair; but his men were speedily driven off by the Confederate artillery planted on the opposite bank. For the same reason he was unable to pursue his opponent, who retreated at his leisure to Brown's Gap, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he obtained possession of the Gordonsville and Staunton Railway, and was thus in direct communication with Richmond. Jackson had by this time received reinforcements, and Fremont was apprehensive of being overpowered, should he follow on his rear. He therefore turned back towards Harrisonburg, which was reached in the midst of a violent storm on the afternoon of June 10th. The retrograde movement was continued on subsequent days, and the division of General Shields was also ordered to fall back. Jackson, by the excellence of his arrangements, and the cool audacity of himself and his men, had escaped from a very dangerous position, and the combined forces of the Federals, which for a moment seemed on the point of closing him

in, were compelled to give up their expedition without achieving the smallest tittle of success. The movement had in fact been productive of unfortunate results as regarded the operations of McClelland before Richmond. The Union forces had been separated and weakened; and if Jackson had done nothing else, he had at least diverted a part of the enemy's strength from the main operation of the war. The Confederate star was once more in the ascendant, and the recent triumphs of the Federals were rendered to some extent nugatory by the bad management which first provoked the advance of Jackson, and afterwards contributed to his successful retreat.

An action of a comparatively unimportant character had been fought on the 23rd of May in the western part of what was called the Mountain Department, West Virginia, where General Heath, at the head of nearly 3,000 Confederates, attacked Colonel Crook at Greenbriar Bridge, nine miles from Camp Alleghany. The attack was vigorously resisted, and the forces of General Heath were speedily defeated, with the loss of four pieces of artillery, three hundred stand of arms, and several prisoners, together with a hundred and fifty killed and wounded. On retreating, Heath burned the Greenbriar Bridge in order to prevent pursuit, and he appears not to have been followed. Had the Confederate General been successful, and penetrated farther east, it would have been incumbent on Fremont to weaken his division by sending a detachment against him; but under the circumstances this was not necessary. Fremont, Banks, and Shields, were originally in a most favourable position for dealing with Jackson, who was considerably out-numbered, and placed in a dilemma from which he should never have been suffered to escape; but the three Union officers mismanaged their concerted plan, and the single Confederate General achieved, with a very trifling loss, a triumph which, all things considered, must be characterised as brilliant.

Towards the close of June, the armies of Generals Fremont, Banks, and McDowell, were consolidated into one, and called the Army of Virginia. Severa! of McDowell's regiments, however, were sent as reinforcements to General McClellan, who had always complained bitterly of being deprived of his expected supports. The command of the Army of Virginia was conferred on Major-General Pope, who had recently been acting in the west. Fremont, considering himself aggrieved, resigned his post, and was succeeded by General Sigel. On the 14th of July, Pope addressed his officers and soldiers in a proclamation characterised by the boastful

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tone too commonly adopted in those days of excited feeling. "Let us understand each other," he said. "I have come to you from the west, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies-from an army whose business it has been to seek an adversary, and beat him when found; whose policy has been attack, and not defence. I presume I have been called here to pursue the same system, and to lead you against the enemy. It is my purpose to do so, and that speedily." Pope was a native of Kentucky, but a citizen of Illinois. He had graduated at West Point in 1842, had served in the Mexican war, and was now nearly forty years of age. In 1849 he conducted the Minnesota exploring expedition, afterwards acted as topographical engineer in New Mexico, and in 1853 was appointed to the command of one of the expeditions for surveying the route of the Pacific Railway. At that time he professed very Southern opinions in politics, but on the breaking out of the civil war accepted the position of a Brigadier General of Volunteers. For some time he held command in Missouri, and subsequently (as already described) co-operated with Halleck in the reduction of Corinth, Mississippi. Whether justly or not, Pope was detested in the South, where he was characterised as a braggart, a coward, and a bloodthirsty tyrant. His successes in the West had certainly not been equal to what he himself alleged in his address to the Army of Virginia, and we shall see that in his new position he did not add to his reputation, such as it was.

All this while, the Army of the Potomac remained in a state of inactivity within its lines on the Chickahominy. Here, about the middle of June, they were startled by a sudden exploit of the Confederates under General J. E. Stuart. McClellan had not expected any attack by the Confederates on his rear, and the line of railway running from his camp to the White House, situated on the Pamunkey River, was left almost entirely unguarded. The depôts at the White House were equally unprotected, being held only by a very small force. It is singular that so cautious a commander as McClellan should have allowed such important points to be so much exposed; but he seems to have considered that, if attacked at all, he would be attacked in his front. The watchful Confederates, however, knew where he was weakest, and Stuart, after leaving Richmond on June 13th, moved along the line of rail communicating with Fredericksburg. Having penetrated as far as Kilby's Station, the forces turned eastward, and bivouacked in the vicinity of Hanover Court House, twenty-two miles north of Richmond. The

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expedition was conducted with the most entire secresy. The men themselves did not know where they were going; no trumpets were to sound, and as little noise as possible was to be made, lest the Federal pickets should discover the presence of their enemy. The thickness of the forest favoured the execution of this design; and at daybreak on the 14th the troops marched on Hanover Court House, where they drove in a small force of cavalry, and afterwards defeated another and a larger body of mounted troops. The camp was burned, and Stuart then determined to get into the rear of the Federal army, by making a circuitous march. He pursued his way along the south-western bank of the Pamunkey in the direction of Turnstall's Station, on the Richmond and Westport Railway. At Garlick's Landing, on the river, he detached a squadron of cavalry, to burn whatever stores they might find, together with the vessels lying close by; and, while this was being accomplished, he himself hurried forward to Turnstall's Station, cut the telegraph wires, and surprised the small guard by which the place was held. Colonel Ingalls, in command at the White House, was soon afterwards informed of what was happening, by a train conveying troops which had been fired into by the Confederates. He at once took measures for defending the stores; and the shipping in the river prepared to escape to Yorktown, if the necessity should arise. In another direction, the main body of the Confederate cavalry captured a large train of forty waggons, took several prisoners, burned a railway bridge, and then, about midnight, made for the Chickahominy on their homeward march. It was necessary to construct an extemporary bridge over that river; but, notwithstanding all obstacles, Richmond was safely gained in about two days after the expedition had set forth. The incursion had inflicted a certain loss on the Federals, and at the same time increased the self-reliance of the Confederate cavalry; and all had been obtained with the loss of only one man.

Jackson was now beginning to excite uneasiness in the mind of McClellan. His position and designs were shrouded in considerable mystery, and gave occasion to many conflicting rumours; but on the whole it seemed probable that he was concentrating a force at Gordonsville, on the railway leading to Richmond, and that he was preparing to attack the Federal rear on the 28th of June. McClellan therefore determined to anti cipate any such movement by making an advance along the Williamsburg road, in the vicinity of the Seven Pines. This was done on the 25th, by which time the bridges over the Chickahominy

had been completed, and the lines of entrenchment finished. After a very arduous engagement, the Federals at the close of the day found themselves half a mile in advance of the positions they had quitted in the morning. It was determined to make the grand attack on the enemy's lines next day; but that very night McClellan received a confirmation of the rumours respecting General Jackson. He at once wrote a despatch to the Secretary of War, stating that the rebel force was believed to be 200,000 in number, including Jackson and Beauregard; that he (McClellan) would have to contend against vastly superior odds, if those reports were true; but that his troops would do all in the power of men to hold their position, and repulse any attack. He regretted his great inferiority in numbers, but affirmed that he was in no way responsible for the fact, as he had repeatedly represented the necessity of obtaining reinforcements, and had pointed out that Richmond was the decisive point, and that all the available means of the Government should be concentrated there. "I will do all that a general can do," he proceeded, "with the splendid army I have the honour to command, and, if it is destroyed by overwhelming numbers, can at least die with it, and share its fate. But if the result of the action is a disaster, the responsibility cannot be thrown on my shoulders; it must rest where it belongs." So apprehensive did McClellan feel for the safety of his position that on the 26th of June he determined to abandon his base of operations on the Pamunkey for one on the James River. He had been contemplating such a plan for a long time, and was now moved to adopt it by what he considered the relative strength of himself and his adversaries, and by the fear of being attacked by Jackson on his right flank. The Confederate forces were indeed making very threatening movements. Jackson was marching through the country lying between the Chickahominy and the Pamunkey, whilst other divisions had crossed the former of those rivers, and were proceeding down the stream on the left or north-eastern bank—that is, on the side farthest from Richmond. General D. H. Hill, in command of one of these divisions, attacked the village of Mechanicsville, and, taking possession of it, posted himself on the road to the Confederate capital. In conjunction with General Branch, he then assaulted the Federal lines at Beaver Dam Creek. Descending the right bank of that creek, which runs into the Chickahominy, the two commanders confronted the ranks of their enemies, who were stationed on the opposite side. The attacking forces endeavoured to cross, but were driven back by the

terrific fire opened on them from the breastworks crowning the left bank. Foiled in this attempt, they occupied a position on the right bank, and at nine o'clock at night the combat terminated without any definite results. It would seem to have been the intention of General Lee, who commanded in person, to cut off that portion of the Federal army which was encamped on the left bank of the Chickahominy; but, if so, he failed in the accomplishment of his design. Still, General McClellan felt extremely insecure, and during the ensuing night withdrew his troops to a position some two miles lower down the Chickahominy. Earlier in the day which closed with this movement, the Federal commander had telegraphed to Colonel Ingalls, at the White House, certain instructions having in view the possibility of a rapid retreat. He was told to load the railway cars with provisions and ammunition, to fill all the waggons he had with subsistence, and to send them to Savage's Station by way of Bottom's Bridge. If obliged to abandon the White House, he was to burn everything he could not carry off, and in that case the depôts were to be established on the James River without delay. These orders were carried out by Colonel Ingalls with great promptitude; but the situation, though menacing, was not quite so bad as had been supposed. McClellan was mistaken in assuming that he had 200,000 men in his front. The Confederate forces were in truth not more than half that strength; and, as McClellan himself had command of about 95,000 troops, his inferiority to the enemy was but slight.

On the night of June 26th, General McCall, on the extreme right of the Federal position, was ordered to fall back on the bridges across the Chickahominy near Gaines's Mill, to join the other troops of General Porter's corps, and to make a stand in that locality, in order to give the army time to carry out its change of position. General Porter was not to cross the bridges until evening, and was then to destroy them. Early on the morning of the 27th, the Confederate division under General D. H. Hill, which had been held in check the previous day, opened a heavy fire of artillery on the front ranks of General McCall, who retreated farther down the stream. Other Confederate troops now crossed the Chickahominy near Mechanicsville, and shortly afterwards the whole of the Southern line, except the right wing under General Magruder, was ordered to advance. The operations of General Lee had for some time been embarrassed by the apprehension that McDowell was approaching to the relief of McClellan; but, on discovering his mistake, the

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Confederate commander resolved upon a general attack. The retreating corps of General Porter, which was now stationed in the immediate proximity of the bridges, was presently assaulted. The Federals stood firm, and, after a fierce and doubtful encounter, the Confederate troops gave way in considerable disorder. Being reinforced and formed anew, they again advanced to the attack, but as yet with no better success than before. The 19th North Carolina Regiment is said to have lost eight standard-bearers, and most of the officers were either killed or wounded. Towards nightfall, the Confederates brought up large bodies of reserves, and the Federal left, where the men had been fighting all day, and were exhausted, receded with precipitation. The alarm soon extended to the centre of the Federal lines, which also fell back in confusion, until supported by fresh brigades under Generals Meagher and French. The presence of these troops, and the opening of a battery which had been placed in position, checked the pursuit of the enemy, and darkness soon afterwards closed over the scene. The independence of the American soldier was almost drolly exhibited on this occasion. When the fugitives were reproved by their officers, they replied that they were weary, and had had enough of fighting for that day. Some alleged that they were in want of ammunition, and it appears that in many instances this was really the case, and that there was no proper organisation for supplying them with powder and shot as the action proceeded. Attempts were made by squadrons of cavalry to intercept the flying corps, and the officers even threatened the men with their pistols; but the torrent was not to be stayed. The cavalry then endeavoured to retrieve the fortunes of the day by engaging a body of Confederate infantry which came pouring out of the woods; but the Confederate fire was so severe that the horsemen, after losing many of their number, galloped wildly back towards Sumner's Upper Bridge, whence they had started. Dashing past through their own artillery, they caused a panic among the gunners, who believed them to be the enemy, and, under the influence of that impression, took to flight, with the exception of some few, who stood bravely to their guns until shot down by the advancing infantry. The majority of the fugitives succeeded in getting over the bridge on to the right bank of the Chickahominy; but more than twenty pieces of artillery remained on the field of battle.

During the ensuing night, the train of 5,000 waggons, the siege-train, 2,500 oxen, and other material, were in motion for the James River. The bridges over the Chickahominy were then

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destroyed, and the corps of General Keyes took possession of the road across the White Oak Swamp, and of the principal lines of communication by which the Federal army could be annoyed by the enemy. The wounded it was found necessary

to abandon where they lay, and many must have perished in the woods and swamps, uncared for and alone. The Confederates had flattered themselves that McClellan would be cut off from all power of retreat, and that the capture or destruction of the entire Federal army was almost certain. They were disappointed, however, on finding that the immense stores accumulated at the White House had been partly removed and partly destroyed, according to McClellan's instructions to Colonel Ingalls, and that the several divisions had crossed the river. No further steps could be taken on the 28th, owing to the necessity of burying the dead, attending to the wounded, and allowing an interval of repose to the others; but it was hoped to pursue the retreating adversary on the following day. The two armies were now divided by the line of the Chickahominy. The greater number of the Confederates were on the left bank, and the whole of McClellan's army had been united on the right bank. Before the Confederates could cross, the bridges must be rebuilt, or the several divisions must go considerably out of their way, in order to gain the bridge at Mechanicsville, which had not been in the power of the Federals, and was therefore untouched. It was the afternoon of the 28th before General Lee understood the real state of the case-namely, that his opponent was on his road to the James River, to form a junction with the fleet. It was believed, however, that this design could be easily frustrated, and measures were immediately taken for intercepting the Federal army, and cutting off its communications with the river. morning of the 29th was spent by McClellan's troops in destroying all that could not be carried away. Among other things, a complete railwaytrain, with locomotive, tender, and cars, which had been left on the track, was sent headlong over the broken bridge into the river.* The corps of

The

Generals Sumner and Franklin were left at Fair Oaks, with instructions to protect the baggage and supply-trains on their way to the James River; and, having made these arrangements, McClellan pursued his course with the main body of the army. He was in a position of much gravity; but, strange to say, the Confederates at Richmond were equally exposed to a reverse. After the action of the 27th, the Federals were much nearer to the Southern

* Tenney's History of the Rebellion.