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to you or me. Saxton, at Harper's Ferry, informs us that large forces, supposed to be Jackson's and Ewell's, forced his advance from Charlestown to-day. General King telegraphs us from Fredericksburg that contrabands give certain information that fifteen thousand left Hanover Junction Monday morning to re-enforce Jackson. I am painfully impressed with the importance of the struggle before you, and shall aid you all I can consistently with my view of the due regard to all points.

Major-General MOCLELLAN.

A. LINCOLN.

To a dispatch reporting the destruction of the South Anna Railroad bridge, the President replied thus:

WASHINGTON, May 29, 1862,

Your dispatch as to the South Anna and Ashland being seized by our forces this morning is received. Understanding these points to be on the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad, I heartily congratulate the country, and thank General McClellan and his army for their seizure. A. LINCOLN.

On the 30th, General McClellan telegraphed to the Secretary of War, complaining that the Government did not seem to appreciate the magnitude of Porter's victory, and saying that his army was now well in hand, and that "another day will make the probable field of battle pass able for artillery."

On the 25th of May, General Keyes with the Fourth Corps had been ordered across the Chickahominy, and was followed by the Third, under General Heintzelman--que division of the Fourth, under General Casey, being pushed forward within seven miles of Richmond, to Seven Pines, which he was ordered to hold at all hazards. On the 28th, General Keyes was ordered to advance Casey's Division three-quarters of a mile to Fair Oaks. General Keyes obeyed the order, but made strong representations to headquarters of the extreme danger of pushing these troops so far in advance without adequate support, and requested that General Heintzelman might be brought within supporting distance, and that a stronger force might be crossed over the Chickahominy to be in readiness for the general engagement which these advances would be very likely to bring on. These requests were neglected, and General

Keyes was regarded and treated as an alarmist. On the afternoon of the 30th he made a personal examination of his front, and reported that he was menaced by an overwhelming force of the enemy in front and on both flanks, and he again urged the necessity for support, to which he received a very abrupt reply that no more troops would be crossed over, and that the Third Corps would not be advanced unless he was attacked. At about noon the next day he was attacked on both flanks and in front, General Casey's Division driven back with heavy loss, and in spite of a stubborn and gallant resistance on the part of his corps, General Keyes was compelled to fall back with severe losses, some two miles, when the enemy was checked, and night put an end to the engagement. On hearing the firing at head-quarters, some four miles distant, General McClellan ordered General Sumner to hold his command in readiness to move. General Sumner not only did so, but moved them at once to the bridge, and on receiving authority crossed over, and, by the greatest exertions over muddy roads, reached the field of battle in time to aid in checking the rebel advance for the night. Early the next morning the enemy renewed the attack with great vigor, but the arrival of General Sumner, and the advance of General Heintzelman's Corps, enabled our forces, though still greatly inferior, not only to repel the assault, but to inflict upon the enemy a signal defeat. They were driven back in the utmost confusion and with terrible losses upon Richmond, where their arrival created the utmost consternation, as it was taken for granted they would be immediately followed by our whole army.

General McClellan, who had remained with the main body of the army on the other side of the Chickahominy during the whole of the engagements of both days, crossed the river after the battle was over, and visited the field. "The state of the roads," he says, "and the impossibility of manoeuvring artillery, prevented pursuit." He returned to head-quarters in the afternoon. On the next day, June 2d, General Heintzelman sent forward a strong reconnoitring party under General Hooker, which went

within four miles of Richmond without finding any enemy. Upon being informed of this fact, General McClel lan ordered the force to fall back to its old position, assigning the bad state of the roads as the reason for not attempting either to march upon Richmond, or even to hold the ground already gained. In a dispatch to Washington on the 2d, he states that he "only waits for the river to fall to cross with the rest of the army and make a general attack. The morale of my troops," he adds, "is now such that I can venture much. I do not fear for odds against me.” It seems to have been his intention then, to concentrate his forces for an immediate advance upon the rebel capital, though in his report, written more than a year afterwards, he says the idea of uniting the two wings of the army at that time for a vigorous move upon Richmond was simply absurd, and was probably never seriously entertained by any one connected with the Army of the Potomac."*

The Government at once took measures to strengthen the army by all the means available. An order was issued, placing at his command all the disposable forces at Fortress Monroe, and another ordering McDowell to send McCall's division to him by water from Fredericksburg. McDowell or Fremont was expected to fight Jackson at Front Royal, after which, part of their troops would become available for the Army of the Potomac. On the 4th, General McClellan telegraphed that it was raining, that the river was still high, that he had "to be very cautious," that he expected another severe battle, and hoped, after our heavy losses, he "should no longer be regarded as an alarmist." On the 5th, the Secretary of War sent him word that troops had been embarked for him at Baltimore, to which he replied on the 7th, "I shall be in perfect readiness to move forward and take Richmond the moment McCall reaches here, and the ground will admit the passage of artillery.". On the 10th, General McCall's forces began to arrive at White House, and on the same day

* See General McClellan's Report, August 4, 1863.

General McClellan telegraphed to the department that a rumor had reached him that the rebels had been re-enforced by Beauregard-that he thought a portion of Halleck's army from Tennessee should be sent to strengthen him, but that he should "attack with what force he had, as soon as the weather and ground will permit-but there will be a delay,” he added, "the extent of which no one can foresee, for the season is altogether abnormal." The Secretary of War replied that Halleck would be urged to comply with his request if he could safely do so that neither Beauregard nor his army was in Richmond, that McDowell's force would join him as soon as possible, that Fremont had had an engagement, not wholly successful, with Jackson, and closing with this strong and cordial assurance of confidence and support :

Be assured, General, that there never has been a moment when my desire has been otherwise than to aid you with my whole heart, mind, and strength, since the hour we first met; and whatever others may say for their own purposes, you have never had, and never can have, any one more truly your friend, or more anxious to support you, or more joyful than I shall be at the success which, I have no doubt, will soon be achieved by your arms.

On the 14th, General McClellan wrote to the War Department that the weather was favorable, and that two days more would make the ground practicable. He still urges the propriety of sending him more troops, but finds a new subject of complaint in a telegram he had received from McDowell. The latter, on the 8th, had received the following orders :

The Secretary of War directs that, having first provided adequately for the defence of the City of Washington and for holding the position at Fredericksburg, you operate with the residue of your force as speedily as possible in the direction of Richmond to co-operate with Major-General McClellan, in accordance with the instructions heretofore given you. McCall's Division, which has been by previous order directed towards Richmond by water, will still form a part of the Army of the Rappahannock, and will come under your orders when you are in a position to co-operate with General McClellan.

General McDowell had telegraphed McClellan as follows on the 10th of June :

For the third time I am ordered to join you, and hope this time to get through. In view of the remarks made with reference to my leaving you, and not joining you before, by your friends, and of something I have heard as coming from you on that subject, I wish to say, I go with the greatest satisfaction, and hope to arrive with my main body in time to be of service. McCall goes in advance by water. in advance by water. I will be with you in ten days with the remainder by Fredericksburg.

And again, June 12th:

The delay of Major-General Banks to relieve the division of my command in the valley beyond the time I had calculated on, will prevent my joining you with the remainder of the troops I am to take below at as carly a day as I named. My Third Division (McCall's) is now on the way. Please do me the favor to so place it that it may be in a position to join the others as they come down from Fredericksburg.

These telegrams, it will be seen, are in accordance with the orders to McDowell of the 8th, which directed that McCall's Division should continue to form part of the Army of the Rappahannock, and required that McDowell should operate in the direction of Richmond, to co-oper ate with McClellan in accordance with instructions here tofore given him.

These instructions are those of the 17th and 18th of May, concerning which McClellan sent to the President his long telegram of the 21st, in which he says:

This fact (McDowell's forces coming within his department), my superior rank, and the express language of the sixty-second article of war, will place his command under my orders, unless it is otherwise specially directed by your Excellency, and I consider that he will be under my command, except that I am not to detach any portion of his forces, or give any orders which can put him out of position to cover Washington

To this the President answered :

You will have command of McDowell after he joins you, precisely as you indicated in your long dispatch to us of the 21st.

In regard to this, McClellan, in his report (August 4th, 1863), says:

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