BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Seven Days Campaign -- Seven Pines Natl Cemetery

VA -- Seven Days Campaign -- Seven Pines Natl Cemetery:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. 7PINES_180602_006.JPG: A National Cemetery System Civil War Dead An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War between April 1861 and April 1865. As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union troops. This propelled the creation of a national cemetery system. On September 11, 1861, the War Department directed commanding officers to keep "accurate and permanent records of deceased soldiers." It also required the U.S. Army Quartermaster General, the office responsible for administering to the needs of troops in life and in death, to mark each grave with a headboard. A few months later, the department mandated interment of the dead in graves marked with numbered headboards, recorded in a register. Creating National Cemeteries The authority to create military burial grounds came in an Omnibus Act of July 17, 1862. It directed the president to purchase land to be used as "a national cemetery for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country." Fourteen national cemeteries were established by 1862. When hostilities ended, a grim task began. In October 1865, Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs directed officers to survey lands in the Civil War theater to find Union dead and plan to reinter them in new national cemeteries. Cemetery sites were chosen where troops were concentrated: camps, hospitals, battlefields, railroad hubs. By 1872, 74 national cemeteries and several soldiers' lots contained 305,492 remains, about 45 percent were unknown. Most cemeteries were less than 10 acres, and layouts varied. In the Act to Establish and to Protect National Cemeteries of February 22, 1867, Congress funded new permanent walls or fences, grave markers, and lodges for cemetery superintendents. At first only soldiers and sailors who died during the Civil War were buried in national cemeteries. In 1873, eligibility was expanded to all honorably discharged Union veterans, and Congress appropriated $1 million to mark the graves. Upright marble headstones honor individuals whose names were known; 6-inch-square blocks mark unknowns. By 1873, military post cemeteries on the Western frontier joined the national cemetery system. The National Cemeteries Act of 1973 transferred 82 Army cemeteries, including 12 of the original 14, to what is now the National Cemetery Administration. Reflection and Memorialization The country reflected upon the Civil War's human toll – 2 percent of the U.S. population died. Memorials honoring war service were built in national cemeteries. Most were donated by regimental units, state governments and veterans' organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic. Decoration Day, later Memorial Day, was a popular patriotic spring event that started in 1868. Visitors placed flowers on graves and monuments, and gathered around rostrums to hear speeches. Construction of Civil War monuments peaked in the 1890s. By 1920, as the number of aging veterans was dwindling, more than 120 monuments had been placed in the national cemeteries.
2. 7PINES_180602_019.JPG: Civil War Dead An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War between April 1861 and April 1865. As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union troops. This propelled the creation of a national cemetery system. On September 11, 1861, the War Department directed commanding officers to keep "accurate and permanent records of deceased soldiers." It also required the U.S. Army Quartermaster General, the office responsible for administering to the needs of troops in life and in death, to mark each grave with a headboard. A few months later, the department mandated interment of the dead in graves marked with numbered headboards, recorded in a register.
3. 7PINES_180602_029.JPG: Creating National Cemeteries The authority to create military burial grounds came in an Omnibus Act of July 17, 1862. It directed the president to purchase land to be used as "a national cemetery for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country." Fourteen national cemeteries were established by 1862. When hostilities ended, a grim task began. In October 1865, Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs directed officers to survey lands in the Civil War theater to find Union dead and plan to reinter them in new national cemeteries. Cemetery sites were chosen where troops were concentrated: camps, hospitals, battlefields, railroad hubs. By 1872, 74 national cemeteries and several soldiers' lots contained 305,492 remains, about 45 percent were unknown.
4. 7PINES_180602_030.JPG: Most cemeteries were less than 10 acres, and layouts varied. In the Act to Establish and to Protect National Cemeteries of February 22, 1867, Congress funded new permanent walls or fences, grave markers, and lodges for cemetery superintendents. At first only soldiers and sailors who died during the Civil War were buried in national cemeteries. In 1873, eligibility was expanded to all honorably discharged Union veterans, and Congress appropriated $1 million to mark the graves. Upright marble headstones honor individuals whose names were known; 6-inch-square blocks mark unknowns. By 1873, military post cemeteries on the Western frontier joined the national cemetery system. The National Cemeteries Act of 1973 transferred 82 Army cemeteries, including 12 of the original 14, to what is now the National Cemetery Administration.
5. 7PINES_180602_034.JPG: Seven Pines National Cemetery Fort Sumner, Fair Oaks Station, was part of a line of earthen fortifications the Union Army constructed after the Battle of Seven Pines, June 1862. Library of Congress. Battle of Seven Pines In spring 1862, Union Gen. George B. McClellan devised a plan to take Richmond, the Confederate capital. By May, McClellan had pushed Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's forces to the city outskirts. The Union troops outnumbered the Confederates by 40,000 men. As McClellan pushed forward, the Chickahominy River divided his army, giving Johnston an opportunity to strike. The Confederates attacked on May 31, 1862, but a complex battle plan and poor coordination resulted in a five-hour delay. Still, the Confederates drove Union forces back. The timely arrival of Union reinforcements prevented further Confederate gains. The next day, June 1, the battle renewed but neither side made headway. By mid-afternoon it was over. The Union Army lost approximately 5,000 men, the Confederates 6,200. National Cemetery During the Civil War, Union and Confederate armies fought numerous battles for control of Richmond. Thousands of Union soldiers perished. They are now buried in seven national cemeteries created in the Richmond-Petersburg area in 1866. Seven Pines National Cemetery contains the remains of Union soldiers killed at the Battle of Seven Pines, associated engagements at Fair Oaks, and the Battle of Savage Station. Additionally, remains recovered from burial grounds near field hospitals at sixty farms are interred here. By 1874, a total of 1,357 Union soldiers were buried at this cemetery, only 150 were identified. The cemetery design divided the nearly 2-acre tract into four burial sections separated by gravel walks. A flagstaff mound marked the center. By 1871, an iron gun monument had been placed south of the flagstaff. A few years later, a brick Second cemetery was built soon afterward. Artillery Monuments James Kelly planted seven new pines, three on the west side and Empire-style lodge was completed. A brick wall enclosing the Bronze plaques, authorized in 1872 to be placed on ornamental cannon (right), were an important cemetery feature. According to the Quartermaster General: "No cemetery can be considered properly finished till some considerable monumental brass bears an inscription recognizing its establishment and the number of dead soldiers it contains." Many of these plaques and artillery monuments survive in the cemeteries. National Cemetery Administration. The Seven Pines Civil War maps show a village labeled "Seven Pines" at the intersection of Williamsburg Pike and Nine Mile Road. According to local lore, the name came from seven pine trees that had once stood at the crossroads. About 1869, cemetery superintendent four on the east side of the gate along Williamsburg Pike. View of cemetery showing the seven pine trees planted by Superintendent Kelly, 1912. Library of Congress.
6. 7PINES_180602_042.JPG: Battle of Seven Pines In spring 1862, Union Gen. George B. McClellan devised a plan to take Richmond, the Confederate capital. By May, McClellan had pushed Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's forces to the city outskirts. The Union troops outnumbered the Confederates by 40,000 men. As McClellan pushed forward, the Chickahominy River divided his army, giving Johnston an opportunity to strike. The Confederates attacked on May 31, 1862, but a complex battle plan and poor coordination resulted in a five-hour delay. Still, the Confederates drove Union forces back. The timely arrival of Union reinforcements prevented further Confederate gains. The next day, June 1, the battle renewed but neither side made headway. By mid-afternoon it was over. The Union Army lost approximately 5,000 men, the Confederates 6,200.
7. 7PINES_180602_047.JPG: Artillery Monuments James Kelly planted seven new pines, three on the west side and Empire-style lodge was completed. A brick wall enclosing the Bronze plaques, authorized in 1872 to be placed on ornamental cannon (right), were an important cemetery feature. According to the Quartermaster General: "No cemetery can be considered properly finished till some considerable monumental brass bears an inscription recognizing its establishment and the number of dead soldiers it contains." Many of these plaques and artillery monuments survive in the cemeteries. National Cemetery Administration.
8. 7PINES_180602_053.JPG: The Seven Pines Civil War maps show a village labeled "Seven Pines" at the intersection of Williamsburg Pike and Nine Mile Road. According to local lore, the name came from seven pine trees that had once stood at the crossroads. About 1869, cemetery superintendent four on the east side of the gate along Williamsburg Pike.
9. 7PINES_180602_054.JPG: View of cemetery showing the seven pine trees planted by Superintendent Kelly, 1912. Library of Congress.
10. 7PINES_180602_061.JPG: From The Bivouac of the Dead by Theodore O'Hara The muffled drum's sad roll has beat The soldier's last tattoo; No more on life's parade shall meet That brave and fallen few. On Fame's eternal camping-ground Their silent tents are spread, And Glory guards, with solemn round, The bivouac of the dead.
11. 7PINES_180602_064.JPG: Seven Pines National Cemetery
12. 7PINES_180602_091.JPG: McClellan's Second Line Here, at Seven Pines, was McClellan's second and main line of defense. The Confederates under D. H. Hill, having taken the first line, attacked this position, held by Casey and Couch reinforced by Kearny, May 31, 1862. The battle was bitterly contested until Longstreet sent in fresh troops. The Union line was broken; the Unionists fell back a mile and a half to the east.
Wikipedia Description: Seven Pines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seven Pines (and the Seven Pines National Cemetery) are located in the unincorporated town of Sandston in Henrico County Virginia. It is believed to have been named for a group of trees planted within the national cemetery near the intersection of the old Williamsburg-Richmond Stage Road and the Nine Mile Road. However, it is also possible that the name "Seven Pines" may have come into use earlier, as pine trees are prolific in the densely wooded areas nearby. Maps and records much earlier than the cemetery refer to the location as "Seven Pines."

During the American Civil War, several major battles of the Peninsula Campaign in 1862 took place nearby, including the Battle of Seven Pines (in Confederate records,) or the Battle of Fair Oaks (in Federal Records.) A National Cemetery was established there in 1866. The cemetery name is derived from the seven pine trees planted along the inside of the cemetery wall in 1869. The cemetery’s 1.9-acres are located on a portion of a battlefield. To help facilitate visitation, an electric street railway was built to the site by a company formed in 1888.

Seven Pines National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. In modern times, the area nearby is commonly called simply "Seven Pines."

--

Battle of Seven Pines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, in which the Army of the Potomac reached the outskirts of Richmond.

On May 31, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Federal corps that appeared isolated south of the Chickahominy River. The Confederate assaults, although not well coordinated, succeeded in driving back the IV Corps and inflicting heavy casualties. Reinforcements arrived, and both sides fed more and more troops into the action. Supported by the III Corps and Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick's division of Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner's II Corps (which crossed the rain-swollen river on Grapevine Bridge), the Federal position was finally stabilized. Gen. Johnston was seriously wounded during the action, and command of the Confederate army devolved temporarily to Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith. On June 1, the Confederates renewed their assaults against the Federals, who had brought up more reinforcements, but made little headway. Both sides claimed victory.

Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, it was the largest battle in the Eastern Theater up to that time (and second only to Shiloh in terms of casualties thus far, about 11,000 total) and marked the end of the Union offensive, leading to the Seven Days Battles and Union retreat in late June.

Background:

Johnston withdrew his 60,000-man army from the Virginia Peninsula as McClellan's army pursued him and approached the Confederate capital of Richmond. Johnston's defensive line began at the James River at Drewry's Bluff, site of the recent Confederate naval victory, and extended counterclockwise so that his center and left were behind the Chickahominy River, a natural barrier in the spring when it turned the broad plains to the east of Richmond into swamps. Johnston's men burned most of the bridges over the Chickahominy and settled into strong defensive positions north and east of the city. McClellan positioned his 105,000-man army to focus on the northeast sector, for two reasons. First, the Pamunkey River, which ran roughly parallel to the Chickahominy, offered a line of communication that could enable McClellan to get around Johnston's left flank. Second, McClellan anticipated the arrival of the I Corps under Maj. Gen. Irwin McDowell, scheduled to march south from Fredericksburg to reinforce his army, and thus needed to protect their avenue of approach.

The Army of the Potomac pushed slowly up the Pamunkey, establishing supply bases at Eltham's Landing, Cumberland Landing, and White House Landing. White House, the plantation of W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee, son of General Robert E. Lee, became McClellan's base of operations. Using the Richmond and York River Railroad, McClellan could bring his heavy siege artillery to the outskirts of Richmond. He moved slowly and deliberately, reacting to faulty intelligence that led him to believe the Confederates outnumbered him significantly. By the end of May, the army had built bridges across the Chickahominy and was facing Richmond, straddling the river, with one third of the Army south of the river, two thirds north.

Opposing forces:

The Union army of 105,000 men was near the outskirts of Richmond to the northeast, straddling the Chickahominy River. There were three Corps north of the river, protecting the Union railroad supply line: the V Corps under Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter; the VI Corps, under Brig. Gen. William B. Franklin; and the II Corps, under Brig. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner. South of the river were the IV Corps, under Brig. Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes, in a position far forward and close to the Confederate lines; and the III Corps, under Brig. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman. At the start of the battle on May 31, McClellan was confined to bed, ill with a flare-up of his chronic malaria.

Johnston had 60,000 men in his Army of Northern Virginia protecting the works of Richmond. His command consisted of the Right Wing, under Maj. Gen. James Longstreet (the divisions of Brig. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, commanding Longstreet's division, Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill, and Brig. Gen. Benjamin Huger), the Left Wing, under Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith (the divisions of Brig. Gen. William H. C. Whiting, commanding Smith's division, and Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill), and the Reserve, under Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder (the divisions of Brig. Gens. Lafayette McLaws and David R. Jones).

Johnston's plan:

Johnston, who had retreated up the Peninsula to the outskirts of Richmond, knew that he could not survive a massive siege and decided to attack McClellan. His original plan was to attack the Union right flank, north of the Chickahominy River, before McDowell's corps, marching south from Fredericksburg, could arrive. However, on May 27, the same day the Battle of Hanover Court House was fought northeast of Richmond, Johnston learned that McDowell's corps had been diverted to the Shenandoah Valley and would not be reinforcing the Army of the Potomac. He decided against attacking across his own natural defense line, the Chickahominy, and planned to capitalize on the Union army's straddle of the river by attacking the two corps south of the river, leaving them isolated from the other three corps north of the river.

If executed correctly, Johnston would engage two thirds of his army (22 of its 29 infantry brigades, about 51,000 men) against the 33,000 men in the III and IV Corps. The Confederate attack plan was complex, calling for the divisions of A.P. Hill and Magruder to engage lightly and distract the Union forces north of the river, while Longstreet, commanding the main attack south of the river, was to converge on Keyes from three directions: six brigades under Longstreet's immediate command and four brigades under D.H. Hill were to advance on separate roads at a crossroads known as Seven Pines (because of seven large pine trees clustered at that location); three brigades under Huger were assigned to support Hill's right; Whiting's division was to follow Longstreet's column as a reserve. The plan had an excellent potential for initial success because the division of the IV Corps farthest forward, manning the earthworks a mile west of Seven Pines, was that of Brig. Gen. Silas Casey, 6,000 men who were the least experienced in Keyes's corps. If Keyes could be defeated, the III Corps, to the east, could the be pinned against the Chickahominy and overwhelmed.

The complex plan was mismanaged from the start. Johnston chose to issue his orders to Longstreet orally in a long and rambling meeting on May 30. The other generals received written orders that were vague and contradictory. He also failed to notify all of the division commanders that Longstreet was in tactical command south of the river. (This missing detail was a serious oversight because both Huger and Smith technically outranked Longstreet.) On Longstreet's part, he either misunderstood his orders or chose to modify them without informing Johnston. Rather than taking his assigned avenue of advance on the Nine Mile Road, his column joined Hill's on the Williamsburg Road, which not only delayed the advance, but limited the attack to a narrow front with only a fraction of its total force. Exacerbating the problems on both sides was a severe thunderstorm on the night of May 30, which flooded the river, destroyed most of the Union bridges, and turned the roads into morasses of mud.

Battle:

The attack got off to a bad start on May 31 when Longstreet marched down the Charles City Road and turned onto the Williamsburg Road instead of the Nine Mile Road. Huger's orders had not specified a time that the attack was scheduled to start and he was not awakened until he heard a division marching nearby. Johnston and his second-in-command, Smith, unaware of Longstreet's location or Huger's delay, waited at their headquarters for word of the start of the battle. Five hours after the scheduled start, at 1 p.m., D.H. Hill became impatient and sent his brigades forward against Casey's division.

Casey's line, manned by inexperienced troops, buckled with some men retreating, but fought fiercely for possession of their earthworks, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. The Confederates only engaged four brigades of the thirteen on their right flank that day, so they did not hit with the power that they could have concentrated on this weak point in the Union line. Casey sent for reinforcements but Keyes was slow in responding. Eventually the mass of Confederates broke through, seized a Union redoubt, and Casey's men retreated to the second line of defensive works at Seven Pines. During this period, both of the high commanders were unaware of the severity of the battle. As late as 2:30 p.m., Heintzelman reported to McClellan, still sick in bed, that he had received no word from Keyes. Johnston was only 2 1/2 miles from the front, but an acoustic shadow prevented him from hearing the sounds of cannons and musketry and he and his staff did not know the battle had begun until 4 p.m.

The Army of the Potomac was accompanied by the Union Army Balloon Corps commanded by Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe. Lowe had established two balloon camps on the north side of the river, one at Gaines' Farm and one at Mechanicsville. Bad weather on May 30 in heavy winds on May 31 prevented the balloons from being launched before the start of the battle to provide an early warning of the attack. The aerostats Washington and Intrepid launched after 2 p.m., but Lowe and his assistant were unable to see specific troop movements through the heavy forest from their position north of the river, and provided no useful intelligence to McClellan.

Around 4:40 p.m., Hill, now strengthened by reinforcements from Longstreet, hit the secondary Union line near Seven Pines, which was manned by the remnants of Casey's division, the IV Corps division of Brig. Gen. Darius N. Couch, and Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny's division from Heintzelman's III Corps. Hill organize a flanking maneuver, sending four regiments under Colonel Micah Jenkins from Longstreet's command to attack Keyes's right flank. The attack collapsed the Federal line back to the Williamsburg Road, a mile and a half beyond Seven Pines. The fighting in that part of the line died out by 7:30 p.m.

Just before Hill's attack began, Johnston received a note from Longstreet requesting that he join the battle, the first news he had heard of the fighting. Johnston went forward on the Nine Mile Road with three brigades of Whiting's division and encountered stiff resistance near Fair Oaks Station, the right flank of Keyes's line. Soon heavy Union reinforcements arrived. Brig. Gen. Edwin C. Sumner, II Corps commander, heard the sounds of battle from his position north of the river. On his own initiative, he dispatched a division under Brig. Gen. John Sedgwick over the sole remaining bridge. The treacherous "Grapevine Bridge" was near collapse on the swollen river, but the weight of the crossing troops helped to hold it steady against the rushing water. After the last man had crossed safely, the bridge collapsed and was swept away. Sedgwick's men provided the key to resisting Whiting's attack.

The most historically significant incident of the day occurred around dusk, when Johnston was struck in the right shoulder by a bullet, immediately followed by a shell fragment hitting him in the chest. He fell unconscious from his horse with a broken right shoulder blade and two broken ribs and was evacuated to Richmond. G.W. Smith assumed temporary command of the army. Smith, plagued with ill health, was indecisive about the next steps for the battle and made a bad impression on Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee, Jefferson's military adviser. After the end of fighting the following day, Jefferson replaced Smith with Lee as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.

On June 1, the Confederates renewed their assaults against the Federals, who had brought up more reinforcements and fought from strong positions, but made little headway. The fighting ended about 11:30 a.m. when the Confederates withdrew. McClellan arrived on the battlefield from his sick bed at about this time, but the Union Army did not counterattack.

Aftermath:

Both sides claimed victory with roughly equal casualties, but neither side's accomplishment was impressive. George B. McClellan's advance on Richmond was halted and the Army of Northern Virginia fell back into the Richmond defensive works. Union casualties were 5,031 (790 killed, 3,594 wounded, 647 captured or missing), Confederate 6,134 (980 killed, 4,749 wounded, 405 captured or missing). The battle was frequently remembered by the Union soldiers as the Battle of Fair Oaks Station because that is where they did their best fighting, whereas the Confederates, for the same reason, called it Seven Pines. Historian Stephen W. Sears remarked that its current common name, Seven Pines, is the most appropriate because it was at the crossroads of Seven Pines that the heaviest fighting and highest casualties occurred.

Despite claiming victory, McClellan was shaken by the experience. He wrote to his wife, "I am tired of the sickening sight of the battlefield, with its mangled corpses & poor suffering wounded! Victory has no charms for me when purchased at such cost." He redeployed all of his army except for the V Corps south of the river, and although he continued to plan for a siege and the capture of Richmond, he lost the strategic initiative. An offensive begun by the new Confederate commander, Gen. Robert E. Lee, would be planned while the Union troops passively sat in the outskirts of Richmond. The Seven Days Battles of June 25 through July 1, 1862, drove the Union Army back to the James River and saved the Confederate capital.
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