Existing comment:
Days 3-4: June 27-28, 1862:
Lee launched the largest attack of his career, producing the only clear Confederate victory of the campaign. McClellan made the decision to retreat, and after the 27th, concentrated on getting his Army safely across the James River.
Battle of Gaines' Mill:
Lee continued his offensive. Porter was ordered to hold high ground near Gaines' Mill so that the army could change its base of supply to the James River. Several of his subordinates urged McClellan to attack General John B. Magruder, who was set up between the railroad tracks and the river, but fearing vast numbers of Confederates he continued his retreat.
Arriving on the battlefield south of A.P. Hill, Longstreet saw the difficulty of attacking over open terrain and delayed to wait for Jackson. D.H. Hill attacked the Federal right but was held off by Brigadier General George Sykes; he backed off to await Jackson's arrival. Again Jackson was delayed. Longstreet was ordered to conduct a diversionary attack to stabilize the line while waiting for Jackson to arrive and attack from the north.
Finally, late in the day, Jackson arrived and Lee was able to organize a proper coordinated attack along his entire line. Porter's line was ultimately broken by Brigadier General John Hood's Texans. Magruder continued to distract McClellan south of the river and keep 60,000 Federal troops occupied, while the heavier action was occurring north of the river.
Early on June 28, Porter withdrew across the Chickahominy, burning bridges behind him. McClellan ordered General Erasmus Keyes' corps to move west of Glendale and protect the army's withdrawal while Porter moved to defensive positions on high ground at Malvern Hill.
"If I save this Army now I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you or any other persons in Washington -- you have done your best to sacrifice this Army."
-- McClellan's statement in a telegram to the Secretary of War. The military telegraph department chose to omit this sentence from the copy given to the Secretary.
Gaines' Mill was the only clear Confederate victory during the Seven Days Battles. However, it was won at a heavy cost with casualties of 9,000 on the Confederate side and 6,800 for the Union Army.
Battle of Garnett's Hill and Gouldin's Farm (June 27-June 28):
Continuing the action from Gaines' Mill, the brigades of Colonel George T. Anderson and Brigadier General Robert Toombs engaged in heavy fighting against Federal Brigadier General Winfield S. Hancock's men. The attacks were easily repulsed but served to further unnerve McClellan. Although Toombs resumed the attack the next morning and achieved more success, his men withdrew under intense Union artillery fire.
Day 5: June 29, 1862:
Union morale plummeted. Fed up with the retreat, Major General Edwin V. Sumner tried without success to defend a Union hospital with 2500 wounded Federal soldiers. Confederate troops chased them further towards the James River.
Battle of Savage's Station:
McClellan's lead officers, Brigadier Generals William B. Franklin, Samuel P. Heintzelman, and William F. "Baldy" Smith, along with Sumner, began handling things based on their own divisions' and corps' best interests, not always using the best communication. Heintzelman decided that his corps was not needed to defend Savage's Station and followed the rest of the army without informing his fellow generals. Union morale plummeted, particularly among the wounded, who realized that they were not being evacuated from Savage's Station with the rest of the Army.
It wasn't hard to spot the Union Army -- columns of billowing clouds of black smoke gave away their location. Soldiers were burning everything that could not be carried. "Hard bread, flour, rice, sugar, coffee, salt and pork," wrote one surgeon, "were thrown upon the burning piles and consigned to the flames." Clothing and shoes were torched as well.
The ordnance was handled differently. To the east of Savage's Station was a railroad which dropped 50 feet in under two miles to a bridge over the Chickahominy. The munitions were loaded onto a train, set on fire and pushed enough to begin rolling down the hill. The sound of explosions from the train filled the air and the flaming train set the bridge on fire.
Magruder ran into the rearguard of the Union force at the station. He slowly organized an attack with 14,000 soldiers against Sumner's corps and Baldy Smith's division of about 26,000. The attack was accompanied by the first armored railroad battery -- a 32-pound Brooke naval rifle pushed by a locomotive at about the speed of the marching infantry. Although it outgunned anything the Federal artillerists possessed, the assaults were repulsed and the Union corps escaped. By noon the next day the Army of the Potomac had cleared White Oak Swamp Creek. |