THE REAR-GUARD AT WHITE OAK SWAMP — SHOWING GENERAL W. E. SMITH’S DIVISION, FRANKLIN’S CORPS. Drawn t>y Julian Scott after liis painting owned by tile Union League Club, New York.
He lost 2 killed, 49 wounded, 2 pieces of artillery, and 6 caissons. The guns and caissons, General Porter states, were afterward abandoned by the Federáis. General Holmes occupied the extreme Confederate right the next day, July 1st, but he took no part in the attack upon Malvern Hill, believing, as he says in his official report, “that it was out of the question to attack the strong position of Malvern Hill from that side with my inadequate force.” Mahone’s brigade had some skirmishing with Slocum’s Federal division on the 30th, but nothing else was done on that day by Huger’s division. Thus it happened that Longstreet and A. P. Hill, with the fragments of their divisions which had been engaged at Gaines’s Mill, were struggling alone, while Jackson’s whole corps and the divisions of Huger, Magruder, Holmes, MeLaws, and my own were near by.
Jackson moved over the swamp early on the first of July, Whiting’s division leading. Our march was much delayed by the crossing of troops and trains. At Willis’s Church I met General Lee. He bore grandly his terrible disappointment of the day before, and made no allusion to it. I gave him Mr. Allen’s description of Malvern Hill, and presumed to say, “If General McClellan is there in force, we had better let him alone.” Longstreet laughed and said, “Don’t get scared, now that we have got him whipped.” It was this belief in the demoralization of the Federal army that made our leader risk the attack. It was near noon when Jackson reached the immediate neighborhood of Malvern Hill. Some time was spent in reconnoi-tering, and in making tentative efforts with our few batteries to ascertain the strength and position of the enemy. I saw Jackson helping with his own hands to push Reilly’s North Carolina battery farther forward. It was soon disabled, the woods around us being filled with shrieking and exploding shells. I noticed an artilleryman seated comfortably behind a very large tree, and apparently feeling very secure. A moment later a shell passed through the huge tree and took off the man’s head. This gives an idea of the great power of the Federal rifled artillery. Whiting’s
which in a brief time silenced his own. The audacity of the Federals and the large number of their guns (which had gone in advance of the main body of Porter’s corps) made General Holmes believe that he was about to be attacked, and he called for assistance, and, by Longstreet’s order, Magruder was sent to him. After a weary march, Magruder was recalled to aid Longstreet; but the day was spent in fruitless marching and countermarching, so that his fine body of troops took no part in what might have been a decisive battle at Frayser’s farm. General Holmes was a veteran soldier of well-known personal courage, but he was deceived as to the strength and intentions of the enemy. General Porter says that the force opposed to General Holmes consisted of Warren’s brigade and the Eleventh U. S. Infantry; in all, 1500 infantry and 30 pieces of artillery. Here was afforded an example of the proneness to overestimate the number of troops opposed to us. The Federals reported Holmes to have 25,000 men, and he thought himself confronted by a large part of McClellan’s army. That night he fell back to a stronger position, thinking apparently that there would be an “ on to Richmond ” movement by the River road.
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troops were inexperienced in the wicked ways of war, having never been under fire before. The fright of the fleeing cavalry would have pervaded their ranks also with the same mischievous result but for the strenuous efforts of their officers, part of whom were veterans. Some of the raw levies crouched behind little saplings to get protection from the shrieking, blustering shells. At this juncture General Holmes, who, from his deafness, was totally unaware of the rumpus, came out of the hut, put his hand behind his right ear, and said: “I thought I heard firing.” Some of the pale-faced infantry thought that they also had heard firing.
Part of Wise’s brigade joined Plolmes on the 30th, with two batteries of artillery and two regiments of cavalry. His entire force then consisted of 5820 infantry, 6 batteries of artillery, and 2 regiments of cavalry. He remained inactive until 4 p. M., when he was told that the Federal army was passing over Malvern Hill in a demoralized condition. He then opened upon the supposed fugitives with six rifled guns, and was speedily undeceived in regard to the disorganization in the Army of the Potomac by a reply from thirty guns,
commanding height, the difficulties of approach to it, its amphitheatrical form and ample area, which would enable McClellan to arrange his 350 field-guns tier above tier and sweep the plain in every direction. I became satisfied that an attack upon the concentrated Federal army so splendidly posted, and with such vast superiority in artillery, could only be fatal to us. The anxious thought then was, Have Holmes and Magruder been able to keep McClellan from Malvern Hill ? General Holmes arrived at Malvern at 10 : 30 A. M. on the 30th, with 5170 infantry, 4 batteries of artillery, and 130 improvised or irregular cavalry. He did not attempt to occupy the hill, although only 1500 Federals had yet reached it.
Our cavalry had passed over it on the afternoon of the 29th, and had had a sharp skirmish with the Federal cavalry on the Quaker road.
As General Holmes marched down the river, his troops became visible to the gun-boats, which opened fire upon them, throwing those awe-inspiring shells familiarly called by our men “lamp-posts,” on account of their size, and appearance. Their explosion was very much like that of a small volcano, and had a very demoralizing effect upon new troops, one of whom expressed the general sentiment by saying: “ The Yankees throwed them lamp-posts about too careless like.” The roaring, howling gun-boat shells were usually harmless to flesh, blood, and bones, but they had a wonderful effect upon the nervous system. General Junius Daniel, a most gallant and accomplished officer, who had a brigade under General Holmes, gave me an incident connected with the affair on the 30th, known as the “Battle of Malvern Cliff.” General Holmes, who was very deaf, had gone into a little house concealed from the boats by some intervening woods, and was engaged in some business when the bellowing of the “lamp-posts” began. The irregular cavalry stampeded and made a brilliant charge to the rear. The artillerists of two guns of Graham’s Petersburg battery were also panic-struck, and cutting their horses loose mounted them, and, with dangling traces, tried to catch up with the fleet-footed cavaliers. The infantry
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