The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-02-07
!. 0. 0. HOWARD'S "REMINISCENCES.
TIonfinaed from LIST pace

rear OF the retreating army His FIRST halt, on
thr 2qth. was nc Aliens field or farm. Our
division and that of Sedgwick were placed on
The right hand side of the railroad as you face
howard Richmond.
ALIENS FARM.
ANnel Brooke, with his sd Pennsylvania,
took possession OF log building. French who
commanded the leading brigade, sent him
Hazards battery, which was put on knoll
near the regiment. AT . o'clock Magruder and
Huger forming part of combined movement
to catch and destroy this army, checked by the
trains az the swamp came snrging on, and
opened a furious attack upon Summers com
mand Masr0der, this time, was a little too
eager: for Brooke, with Hazards battery, soon
effectively, aided by Petit's, Mcclellan says,
"kclt up q steady fire on the advancing enc
my. compelling them, at last. to retire in dis
order The enemy renewed the attack three
times. but were rs often repnlsed.p 1t always
appeared to me that Hazard, who was slain
during this retreat, could bring guns into posi-
tion and fire them faster than any artillery
man ever saw j do not wonder that Ma
Eruder stopped awhile TO breathe. Such was
the battle Of Aliens Farm"
Hearing that St0newal Jackson was rebuild
ing Summers old grapevine" bridge, and
aboat to appear behind him. be Sumner drew
back 10 saraee's Station. Only part Of Frank
Inns corps had vet gone across the swamp; the
remainder held the right facing Richmond,
well beyond the railroad. Next came Sum
dc1's corrs. and Oh the left, a little advanced,
running straight across the Williamsburg turn
pike, were Heintzeiman's two divisions
sAyAGE's STATION.
During The engagement which took place in
the afternoon, a strange thing happened-an
entire corps disappeared as il blotted cut of
existence of which disappearance the other
troops. IL tie time, owing TO the thick woods,
had no knowledge whatever. General Sumner,
In u letter to the industrious General Seth
Williams, gives such an interesting and con-
dcnsca account that ] cannot do better than
present il in his own language: " About an
hour after the action ceased at Aliens field
received intelligence from Generals Franklin
and Smith that the enemy WAS crossing the
Chirkah0minv and advancing in large force
upon me- ! saw the necessity al once Of con-
centrating the troops Heintzelman's corps,
Frankiins corps and my own at Savages
Station. and this was speedily done. / ordered
Heintzeinan to hold the Williamsburg road,
on which we had several feld-w0rks, and a
skirt al timber between those works and the
railroad ] then pat Franklin's corps and
my own in order Of battle, Brooke's brigade
holding the wood On the left OF the field, where
he did excellent service, receiving a painful
wound bat kaeping his command till the close
o. the battle. These arrangements were hardly
completed when the enemy came IN upon
INC 1t 4 o'ciDlk p n. in large force, advancing
by the Williamsburg road and through the TIM
Der that I had ordered Heintzeiman 10 hold, at
the same fiTae throwing shells upon my COM
mand with remarkable precision from the rail-
road. Tie assault was met by Burns brigade
iu the most gallant manner. supported and
re-enforcaa by two lines IN reserve. and finally
BY the 69th New York Irish regiment. The
action continued with great obstinacy until
some time after dark, when we drove the en-
envy from the field, and thus closed the battle
of Savage's Station. When the enemy appeared
Oh tie Williamsburg road could not imagine
why General Heintzelman did not attack him,
and not till some time afterwards did / learn.
10 my utter anlazcmenf that General Heint-
zcllnaH had left the field and retreated with
his whole CORPS about fifteen Thousand mem
before the action commenced. This detection
might have been attended with the most disas-
tr0uS censes ucEces, and although we beat the
enemy signaiir and drove him from the field,
we should certainly have given him more
crushing blow il General Heintzelman had
been there with his corps"
aAGRrDER's HARD LUCK
I'm this combat Magruder had been bitterly
disappointed lie pressed along down between
the turnpike and the railway with the diyis-
ions OF AeI.aws and Jones having considcra-
bile artillery, including a fayarite gun, which
was pushed along on the railway track. HUI
ger had come up promptly this time and he
was sure Of Atoaew2ll jackson, who was rap
idly constructing the bridge to his left. But
strange to tell. Hnger's brigades disappeared
like Heintzelnan's corps, though, IN this case
EagTuder was promptly informed of it, and
however zozioas he might he, Stoncwall Jack
son could not now rectify Lees mistakes and
get To Szvage's Station in time for battle. So
poor Magruder could not capture the Army Of
the Potomac but tie pressed in the brigades Of
Griffith Cobb. Hood Kcrshaw, Anderson
Earizsdale and Senmes. sprinkiing their fronts
Nith the artillery OF KeInper and Stephen ID
Lee, The latter was classmate of mine,3 al
the time lientenant-colonel in charge of the
railway battery and what he called Cartons
artillery Maarnder denomiDates him that
pr=rt:sed arfiileristr With these and proba-
bly, some other detached regiments, MagrudeI
made series of assaults. He declares that
Eumlcr was retreating from work TO work
Turs1ed by our linc watch swept through his
camps with little interruption. The enemy
was ~ last driven as far as Savage's Station
where Il stlOBg liue OF battle was formed read
1o receive us."
W. know that Summers men were not really
driven. IagrGaer further declares. ''The bat
Tie on the right ragged with fury for about TIVE
hOnFs aud darkness put an end 70 the conflict
our neD Steering on their arms and in the ad
In the night lie heard from jackson, who prom
Used to join him BY dawn With this good
news his nerves were Quoted, and his hope
hi~h; for Ie writes: : then slept an hour-ths
first III l0rtv-eightH Yet, notwithstanding hi
vigilance and the keeping Of his men close up
MagrRder was obliged to record: Early il
the morning. on Monday the Both Of June.
small party of Texans. Of Hoods brigade, as
ceftained that the enemy THAT is, our whole
force had evacuated their position on the nigh
before" Here it was, at Savage's Station, tlla
twenty-five hundred Of our sick and wounded
with The hospital supplies left for them, fel
into Eagrnders hands This fercely contestet
battlefield, to whose picturesque horrors wer
added enormous piles OF burning hard breal
and burning cars loaded with shells exploding
where the desperate contest continued from
A p rn- till after dark, and from which on
troops retreated simply IN obedience 10 orders
was named and inscribed on all the flags a
the battle Of Savage's Station"
70 BE continued
seed Germ Famine.
Probably nineteen farmers in twenty mus
buy seed corn for next seasons planting, on az
count Of the failure of the S3 crop TO ripper