Existing comment:
Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan, away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula. There were more than 36,000 casualties during this campaign, 15,849 from the Union, and 20,614 from the Confederacy.
Day 1: June 25, 1862:
Federal forces tested Confederate lines to no avail at Oak Grove.
Battle of Oak Grove (aka Battle of King's Schoolhouse)
Major General Joseph Hooker tried to push forward against the Confederate right flank to gain ground for better positioning of McClellan's siege guns. Hooker advanced in fierce fighting, but withdrew. McClellan visited the battlefield and ordered Hooker to attack again, but without success.
Day 2: June 26, 1862:
Poor communication reduced the effectiveness of Lee's attack.
Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (aka Battle of Mechanicsville)
Believing that Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson would be in position to threaten Federal troops above the Chickahominy River, Lee gathered much of his army to begin a general attack. Major General A.P. Hill was directed to capture Mechanicsville enabling Major General James Longstreet and Brigadier General D.H. Hill to cross the bridge over the Chickahominy and, in conjunction with Jackson, surround and defeat the 25,000 soldiers of Brigadier General Fitz John Porter's Corps. Alas, Jackson was delayed and could not reach his position in time. The attack began without him.
Lee watched from Chickahominy Bluffs. A.P. Hill detached a brigade under Brigadier General Lawrence Branch to wait further upstream to provide a communications link with Jackson. A.P. Hill, unable to reach Jackson or Branch, ordered a general advance on his own initiative. Porter's men at the Meadow Bridge redoubt engaged Hill's men before withdrawing. Suddenly a Union skirmish line appeared from some woods and crossed the Mechanicsville Pike, quickly followed by Confederate skirmishers. When observers reported this to Lee, orders went out to Longstreet and D.H. Hill to advance.
Lee met A.P. Hill in Mechanicsville under the chaos of Union and Confederate artillery and learned that Hill had advanced on his own without Jackson. Rather than risking momentum, Lee ordered Hill to continue his advance.
Leaving Mechanicsville Lee stumbled on Jefferson Davis and his civilian followers.
"Mr. President," Lee said, "who is this army and what is it doing here?"
As Davis squirmed he replied, "It is not my army, General."
Calmly Lee responded, "It is certainly not my army, Mr. President, and this is no place for it."
"Well, General," David replied as he doffed his hat, "if I withdraw, perhaps they will follow me." David disappeared, but only from Lee's sight. When Davis halted, a nearby soldier was killed by an exploding shell.
-- Douglas Southall Freeman, "R.E. Lee: A Biography"
Porter's Corps repulsed the Confederate assault at Beaver Dam Creek but was ordered by McClellan that evening to pull back to a stronger position at Gaines' Mill, where he was hammered again the next day. McClellan, now realizing Jackson had shown up and fearing that he was greatly outnumbered, began planning a retreat.
McClellan intended to launch an attack on the 26th but was delayed and forced to go on the defensive by Lee's attack. Lee left only a thin line of defense in front of Richmond as he threw his forces across the Chickahominy River. |