The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-07-17

day. but at nigh,fail, Fill and Longsircet
assaulted the position at Deaver Dam, mile
further west, and were repuIsed. These two
were stubborn fights, but not great battles.
On The 9th, at daylight, Hill and Longstreet
renewed tho assault at Beaver DAM but Nc
Cellan had already decided 10 with draw from
the position, as Jackson, coming down on hs
right, was sure 10 turn it, Longstreet and Hill,
therefore, only encountered force placed TO
check and rctard their advance; so they carried
the position, and this made the third Of their
wonderful "victorics"
On the same day came the FIRST great battle
of the series, called by Mcclellan the battle of
Gaines Mill, and by Lee tho battle of tho
Chickahominy. Mcclellan had retired his whole
line from its advanced, posiion, his left being
on the Chickahominy 81 Powhito creek. and his
right swept back SO euat Biz lhe was almost
parallel with the line of the ritsE. Against this
Lee pushed JACKSON who had now arrived
with command of forty thousand men, Long
street, A. p Hill and d. H. Hill. 1t was a
fierce battle and our forces were withdrawn
across the Chickahominy at night. That ended
the fighting north Of the river
On the 28th there was no battle. Our forces
were all south of the river and retreating
through White Oak Swamp, while Lee waited
on the north side of the river, expecting that
Mcclellan would attempt to repass the stream
and fight his way to the White House. ~
On the goth occurred the fights at Aliens
Farm, Peach Orchard, and 80 on, that may
properly be classed under general head as
the battle of Savage Station. None of the
troops that Lee had had north Of the Chicka-
hominy were engaged in this. 1t was the
attempt of the force-under Huger and Ma
gruder-that Lee had left in the lines around
Richmond to storm the position held by our
rear guard. Meantime, however, Jackson was
hurrying across the Chickahominy in rear Of
this position to get at us, and Longstreet and
Hill, who had marched up the Chickahominy
and recrossed it, were hurrying down on the
Richmond side to get at McClellan's flank, or,
it may be, they thought it was to save Rich
mond. But Magruder and Huger were re-
pulsed, and we withdrew from Savage Station
at night.
On June 30 occurred the battle In White
Oak Swamp, and that at Glendale, which the
enemy call the battle of Nelson's farm. We
had gotten through the swamp and burned the
bridges, and now formed line that faced
towards Richmond, its right being in the
swamp, its left at Malvern Hill, on the James.
Glendale was near the centre of this line. Long
street and Hill were trying to force our position
at Glendale, and expecting Jackson to come
through the swamp and help. If he could
have gotten through he would have been in
the rear Of us at Glendale, but he could not get
through. franklin held him all day as giant
would hold an infant. Longstreet and Hill
were consequently held with equal ease.at
Glendale. We withdrew from both positions
at night.
On July was fought the battle at Malvern
HILL Our force was tolerably concentrated.
Jackson, Huger and Magruder assaulted our
position, and were repulsed with very great
loss. We withdrew at night.
Such is the record. It is obvious that the
important battle was the one at Gaines Mill
All that went before was preliminary to that,
and what followed was the necessary conse-
that battle was compelled to relinquish his
position and get new base. Had he won
that battle he would not only have held his
position, but he would have destroyed the force
with which Lee fought it. That it was within
his power to win that battle, to make that day
decisive against the enemy, and to turn their
apparent victory into positive disaster, is obvi-
GUS both from the report OF Mcclellan and the
report of Lee. Mcclellan tells us very clearly
the reason why he lost the battle. 1t was
because he opposed to the seventy thousand
men under Lee only half that number. Lee tells
us that in that battle he moved his whole
line against our position, comprising the com.
mands of Longstreet, Jackson and the two
Hills. Mcclellan estimated that force at seventy
thousand, and that must have been very nearly
right. Mcclellan assures us that Porter only
had thirty-ive thousand, and he wrote to the
President the next day that "a few thousand
more men would have changed this battle from
defeat to victory"
With "a few thousand more men" he could
have turned the tide Of that important hattie
and vet he had on the other side Of the Chicka
homny, hardly half days march away, sixty
thousand men. Why was that force idle! Why
were Hooker and Kearny left at Barker's farm
to listen to the fire and stand still? Why were
the divisions of Sedgwick, Richardson ant
| Couch not put into it? Sumner, Heintzelman
| Keyes and Franklin were all on that day fit Il
| fight for the grandest empire under the sun
and the corps of any one Of these would hav'
changed the result. But these troops were no
used on that day, because General Mcclellan
was the victim of a delusion. He was utterly
and shamefully fooled by the manGuvres
General Lee. He had made up his mind tina
Lee had two hundred thousand men; tina
seventy thousand were pounding Porter, ant
! .hat Tho otl,or hundred and thirty thousan,