The National tribune., 1889-05-09

I mere was no uE1tIDE InaL uaV. Lee was
! puzzled as 10 McClellan's intentions, the smoke
still ascending from the burning stores. Sew
] eral of his most prominent Generals were of
4 the opinion that Mcclellan would surely move
on Richmond in Lees absence from his front.
Jackson was holding q religious service, and
I was wanted. To his inefiiciency during the
| retreat the Southern Generals attribute the
/ escape of our great army. During the retreat,
as everybody knows. our men fought with the
/ gallantry beftting their fame whenever their
! General gave them the opportunity, but only
small fractions of the army were engaged,
/ being urged by their General to Celebrity of
notion" With the exception of Porters bat
1 ties Of Gaines's Mill and Malvern Hill,
THE SEVEN DAYS BATTLES
can hardly be called more than affairs. But at
| Malvern Hill July u Lee received repuse
! which was for him next in severity to that of
/ Gettysburg the third day, and consider
/ able part Of his army was actually routed and
I in fight toward Richmond, and pursuit was
( stopped, his army IN no condition to have re-
/ sisted attack had the men made one who were
cautioned against following up any success
/ The loss throughout the seven days was ], ,734
/ killed and :, ,062 wounded, of which Porter lost
/ 4,600 in killed and wounded The Fourth
/ Corps lost in killed 20, and the Third los.
Mcclellan IN person reached the gunboats in
advance under a very strong escort (about
/ 2,500 and without an abrasion Of the skim
and while Porter was fighting at Malvern. he
/ ihowever Tepugnant the statementl was direct
ing in person the fire of their guns, which
! Porter tells Us killed "a few of his men" (Of
course it was unintentional,) "but inflicted
little if any, injury upon the enemy, though
the shells carried great moral influence"
Lee was still greatly inferior in numbers to
Mcclellan, though his force was augmenting in
spite Of his enormous losses, due to the enthu-
siasm created by the retreat. As Lee fought on
81.
all probability, more than doubled ours. The
Confederate returns, which are not pretended
to be complete, show a loss In seven days in
/ killed and wounded according to my additionl
Of the frightful number of 1925. In this
connection, and in view of the proximity of
| the feet of gunbOats, the few sentences which
! follow from McClellan's dispatches after reach
ing the James, indicate somewhat the frame of
mind our General of 100000 brave men was in.
He must have imagined that Lees men were
ironclad. From Turkey Bridge he telegraphed
10 Washington on the 30th at p. m. An
other day Of desperate fighting. We are hard
! pressed by superior numbers. fear / shall be
forced to abandon my material to save my men
under cover of the gunboats You must send
Us very large reinforcements. If none of us
escape We shall at least have done honor TO the
country. shall do my best to save the army
SEND MORE GUNBoATs"
July /, from Turkey Island in the night
where he had established his headquarters, he
sent the following: Another desperate combat
to-day. l was sending orders TO renew the COM
bat tomorrow when learned that the right had
fallen back after dark, and that the center was
following Rodgers navy viii do all that can
be done to cover my hanks. l need 50,000more
men. More would be well. Even few thou
sand fresh men within the next "a hours. In
constant combat for the last i've or six days. /
nE,ofI
this letter" Later, at Haxall's: I" 6Iy whole
army is here with all its guns and material
(He actually lost 80 cannon.l The battle of
yesterday was very severe, but the enemy was
repulsed and severely punished. l dread the
result II we are attacked to-day by fresh troops.
If possible l shall retire tonight to Harrison's
Bar, where the gunboats can render more aid.
Send me fresh troops. More gunboats are much
needed. hope that the enemy was so severely
handled yesterday as to render him careful in
his movements to-day. / now pray for time.
Our loss has been very great. Idoubt whether
severer battles have ever been fought"
His Chief of staff to Gen. Dix: Send all
the reinforcements TO this place, TO be landed
at such places as the commander of the gun
boats may deem appropriate We have had
hard work to get here, and want them as soon
4 as practicable" In InclOsing this TO Washing
1 ton. Gen. Dix, at Norfolk said " Nearly the
! whole power Of the insurgent States is concen-
trated at Richmond" Mcclellan again: :"
would most earnestly request that every gun
boat or other armed vessel be sent to this vi
! cinity-headqnarter the purpose of COW
ering the camps and communication Of this
army" To the President he said If not
attacked during the day, l will have the men
ready to repulse the enemy tomorrow / have
not yielded inch of ground unnecessarily
| thank you for the reinforcements. Every
/ thousand men you send at once will help me
Z Tt,fr-
should be sent 10 me rather much over than
much less than 100000 men. / doubt whether
there are to-day more than $4,000 men with
their colors." The Washington authorities
began TO order troops from Grant in the West,
SO great seemed the emergency; but it becom-
ing manifest that Mcclellan, in his fearful over
anxiety,
HAD EXAGGERATED BOTH HIS LOSSES AND
DANGERS,
the order was countermanded. The evening
that Gen. Lee received the disastrous and
crushing blow at Malvern Hill, (which Porter,
/ only seven days after, said was a blow which
under other circumstances might have been
/ followed up to a decisive victory despondent
as he undoubtedly was, and thinking more Of
! hls own frIghtIul losses aud danger than in
endaEgeriBg our army, Mcclellan sent this to
4 Gen. Keyes, commanding the Fourth Corps
The Army Of the Potomac moves tonight to
! Harrison > bar. your command VIII form the
rear guard, Frauklin's Corps Just preceding
! yours" Neither Of these corps, with another,
could hardly be said TO have been in action
/ during the seven days 1.-The gunboats are
instructed to cover your flank and rear. Bring
! all the wagons you can, but they are to be sac
rifced, Of course, rather than imperil your
/ safety. CELEBRITY Of movement is the sole Sc
curity Of this operation. At HarTison's Bar
additional gunboats, a comfortable position,
and considerable reinforcements under Gen
( Shields.Q) Stimulate your men to fortitude
and renewed courage by knowledge of the
/ fact"
So Shields and his men, after all. having
thrice put jackson to flight, twice driven him
from the Valley, marching in the aggregate
over 400 miles, often sboeless and ragged, ar
rived in time to give Mcclellan no little moral
support in his imaginary peril of Jackson, and
+ enable him 10 use their name TO stimulate an
army corps to fortitude and renewed courage.
+ ] have heard men Of the command say that
they had a great laugh at the frightful condi-
/ ton of things at Turkey Bend, all on account
I OF jackson. Assuredly il was the fault of the
4 General, not Of the men. In sentence of a
letter TO the President Gen. Keyes gives some-
what Of an idea of the situation: will say
that to pen up more than 100000 men and ami
mails IN a space so small that you can find no
point of that space which Is one mile distant
from its outside boundary on the James River,
is 70 secure disease weakness and nostalgia as
a certain crop. Moreover, the enemy being in
( possession of both banks Of the James River
above and below Us, he Will shortly find means
TO cut Us of from our supplies or shut us mp
I bv means of Qualifications and his abundant +