The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-03-30
BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS.
A Comraie says Casey's Division was not
60. Il

A, I0lst Pa, in THE NATIONAL TRIB.
" USE of Jan. 8 makes sosne statements
| in regard to the battjetof Fair Oaks
| or Seven Pines, which he calls history" aud
| which are 1i positive confic; with the official
records and reports made by both Federal and
rebel commanders, and does gross injustice to
| an aged, honorable and patriotic commander,
| who has answered the roll-call upon the other
| shore.
He saws that Casev was surprised at the battle
| of Fair Oaks; says his Orderly was cleaning
| his sword and boots when the Officer of the
! Day approached him and informed him thus:
| General. our picket-line is about to be at
| tackled. We can see the Confederate battle
! flags in our front" Then. and not till then,
did Gen. Casey dispatch an Orderly to mount
| and report, aud that the Orderly fell pierced by
! a cannon ball 200 yards from the place where
| he received the order. and Casey received tie
report frem the Confederate lines less than 100
yards from his Headquarters.
This writer Of history says official figures
| attest that the firing straight and If Casey
and Couch's lines had not been surprised
| the result would have been different; and finally
winds up by calling the aged Gen. Casey an
| imbecile. Will this military critic tell US
what he means by the expression, the firing
was straight?
Gen. Casey in his report of the battle says:
"On the morning of the 31st my Dickets to-
ward the right of my line succeeded in capt1r-
ing Lient. Washington, an Aid of Gen. John
ston, Of the rebel service. This circumstance.
in connection with the fact that Col. Hunt, my
General Officer of the Day, had reported to me
that his outer pickets had heard cars running
nearly all night Oh the Richmond end of the
railroad, led me to exercise increased vigi-
lance
n. II. Davis, Assistant Inspector General, u.
S. A.. was ordered by Gen. Mcclellan to investi.
gate and report upon Casey's Division at the
hot 10 nfE air (aL In Hata 1 at
New Bridge. Va, June 3, 1862, he says: "Casey's
Division at the recent battle Of Fair Oaks was
not surprised"
Reyes and Couch both say that two shots
fred over camp as the signal of the attack
were fred at 1890 p. m. My own recollection
would put it half an hour later, but the com
manders shond know. As soon rs these shots
were fred we fell in and took our position in
the rihe-pits. There was delay in the rebel
troops getting in position, and they did not
com mence their advance in force until D. IN.
Maj .Gen. Hill says: "My forward move
ments began about o'clock, and the entire d.
vision Of Hills became engaged at o'clock"
Gen. Johnston, commanding the entire rebel
army, says: Maj Zen. Longstreet unwilling
to make partial attack, instead of the COM
bined movement which had been planned
waited from hour to hour for Gen. Hugei's Di-
vision flank movement). At length, at 2 y. m,
he determined to attack without these troops.
He accordingly commenced his advance at this
hour opening the engagement with artillery
and skirmishers. By 3 o'clock it became close
and heavy"
Maj.-Gen. Longstreet says 1.-THE forward
movement began about 2 o'clock"
Gen. Casey'5 Headquarters were just at the
right and rear of the redonbt, in plain view
of our rifle-pits, and no rebel was within a
quarter of mile Of his Headquarters within
an hour after the attack, and not until the
arti cry had hpnn ell hair Pail
and Van Falkenburg killed.
Upon the evening of the 29th OF May Casey's
Division was moved three-fourths OF mile in
advance of the general line and encamped in
an open field, with woods about ne-fourth of a
mile in front and left flank. Both our
TANKS were loft unprotected We were ordered
to ntrench and strengthen our lines, which we
proceeded to do by building e-pits and re-
doubt for artillery and by slashng the
timber in our front Whilst busy at this work
during the afternoon of the 30th. we were ill.,
terrupted by that terrific storm which all who
experienced it will remember. The rain filed
our uneompieted works and made intrencfing
very difficult, so that when the attack came we
were unprepared for it.
The 29th and Both our pickets were attacked,
and upon the morning of the 3lst Lieut.. Wash
ington was captured while accommodating our
lines, as above stated.
Every private knew that we were in the i'm
mediate presence of the enemy and liable to
attack at any moment and we were held we'll
in hand for any emergency. About o'clock
p. N. Of the 3fst the two shells came over our
camp from the rebel lines, and fell in the rear
of our brigade. Orders were Immediately given
for lis TO fall in, and we took possession of our
incomplete trenches to the left OF the redoubt
in which was the six guns under command of
Maj. Van Valkenburg. The 1924 Pa. was
ordered to the rear OF the slashing TO support
the pickets, and was in position and ready for
the attack when the piekets fell back.
The rebs came up the Williamsburg road
through the slashing, and though raked in the
road by the artillery and moved down in
swaths, they came steadily forward, and driving
back the picket support formed in double lines
in the edge of the field and advanced across the
field TO the rifepits where they recoiled from
the whitening fire from our guns, and retreated
to the edge OF the slashing, where they reformed
for second aud afterward made third adj
vance, but made no impression upon our lines
After the third retreat word was passed along
our lines that we were being fanked. Our
Colonel gave the order, and we reluctantly
retired from out the rifle pits without excite.
ment or disorder for a short distance, and, find
ing nothing on our tanks. we returned again
upon order of our Colonel to our intrench-
ments, and remained there until the rebs had
turned our TANKS and had possession of Gen.
Casey's Headquarters, when we retired to the
secoHu iIht iHefe was no panic at any time
We were without organization in our retreat
but there was no haste, the men walking to the
rear. This is my vivid, personal remem.
bance of the battle, as my regiment (S5th N.Y.
and brigade tPalmer's) participated in it.
Mcclellan in his report says Casey's Divis- !
ion fell back "unaccountably and discredit-
ably" He afterward modified this statement
somewhat, but did not manfully and gener-
ously acknowledge his error and make due
amends. as Grant or Sherman would have done |
under like circumstances
The publication of the rebel reports made it
possible for US to study this battle from both
sides of the line, and the more light that is |
brought to bear upon the events of that day, |
the greater becomes the crime that branded a |
division Of sturdy, loyal freemen as towards. |
lnspector.General Davis, OF Gen. McClellan's |
staf, before referred to- says that Caseys Di-
vision contained 4,472 men. They were at |
tackled by the divisions of Longstreet and Hill |
by direct front attack and by Huger's Division |
on the flank. Hill says his division contained |
less than 5000 men," Longstreet mentioned |
five brigades as belonging to his division en-
gagged in the battle; of these five brigades only |
one, Anderson, gives the strength of his com |
mand, viz, 1865. Three of those brigades |
were actively engaged in the first hour of the |
fight in our front They must have numb ered |
5000 men, which added to Hills 5000 would |
make $4,000 men in the first direct attack in
front
] cannot say as to the right flank of the divis- |
l,.a H.