The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-06-24

with parapets about six feet above fhe
level of the ground and nine feet thick.
In front Of the main fort was a trench
some eight feet il width and ahont The
same in depth. This trench had been
partly filed with water so as to nravent
the union troops gaining access 10 '' the
fort. On each side of the fort were six
redoubts each about 125 feet in lenoth.
which had been thrown up by the CON
federates to protect the main works.
The approaches to all Of the works were
protected by falling timber. AT about z
a. m. fon the 9th, Gen. Hooker sent for.
ward Gen. Grover, with his brigade con
sisting of the first and eleventh Massa-
chusetts, the second New HAMPSHIRE and
the twenty Pennsylvania. with
| Weber's first U. S. and Bramhall's first
| Rhode Island batteries and drove the
confederate skirmish or picket lines into
their WORKS. The works were held by
Gems. r. H. Anderson's and Roger A.
Pryor's confederate brigades Of Long
was composed Of the fourth fifth and
sixth South Carolina regiments, the
Palmetto Is. G. and Louisiana Rifles
Gen. Roger A. Pryor's brigade was COM
posed of the eighth and fourth Alabama
fourteenth Louisiana, and a detachment
at the .hirty-second Virginia regiments
Goodwin's, Stribling's, Carrots, Nc
| OdiuiJ duu SlUptuu tlFlSulh DaU-
teries occupied Fort Magruder and the
redoubts to the Confederate right of the
| fort. Grover continued the action until
about a. III. when the Confederates
came out of their works and forced
Grover back to the pinewood in front of
and TO the Confederate right of the fort,
| Grover losing Weber's and Bramhall s
batteries. Hooker sent Sickles' "Excel-
sior" Brigade and the Jersey brigade to
| (1rnuar1c or HnoEor "A
the action with his three brigades until
| about 8 p. M, when Kearny came to his
| relief with Birney's, Berrys and Jane
sons brigades. Kearny engaged the
enemy vigorously and was forcing An
derson's and Pryor's men back toward
the Confederate works, when at about
$50 p. M, Gen. Longstreet sent Wiloox's
A. P. Hills and Pieketts brigades to
the support of Anderson's and Pryor s
brigades. The action was continued I'M
til dark. During the battle in the after
noon, BramhalPs battery was recaptured
by Kearny's men. Hooker's and Kearny' g
men bivouacked for the night on the
field in front of the pine wood near the
redoubts and Fort Magruder.
Early on the morning of the 9th Gen.
Jameson advanced the picket line in
front of his brigade consisting of the one
hundred and filth Pennsylvania support
| ed by the Fourth Maine Volunteers and
entered the fort between z and s a. M,
when he found that the confederates were
! leaving their works and retreating
toward Richmond. williamsburg was
was fought principally by the third
| corps, as, out Of the 2239 casualties
which occurred among the union troops
upon the field, 2002 of them occurred
within the ranks of Hooker, 'e and Kear-
ny s divisions. Rockers division alone
sustained a loss of over twelve per cent
of its effective strength upon the field in
killed and wounded. Hooker's loss at
Williamsburg was equal to that Of the
allied armies at thu Battle of A Ina dur
ing the Crimean war. The battle of Will
liamsburg WIS fought by the young
American volunteer soldiers as, at that
time, consoripts and bounty men were
unknown to either the union or COME T.
ate armies. The average ages of tine mon
comprising Hooker's and Kearny's divis-
ions who fought at Williamson were d
little less than twenty three years. In
no battle of the war did the union offic-
ers and men sustain SO large a percentage
of killed to the number wounded as at
Williamsburg, the ratio being one to
three, while at Gettysburg it was one to
four and seven tenths; Antietam, one to
four and FIVE tenths; Shiloh, one to four
and seven tenths and at the battle of the
In Siokles' "Excelsior'' brigade of
Hooker's division at the battle Of Viii
Hamburg the ratio IS unequalled in
military statistics, the ratio being one to
one and one tenth, while in the 72nd
New York regiment of this brigade there
were eighty-four officers and men killed
and died ofSwounds to sixty seven officers
and men wounded, and in the 74,h New
York Of this brigade there were forty
nine officers and men killed or died of
wounds to fOrty-six officers and men
wounded The confederate losses at
Williamsburg were one thousand five
hundred and sixty in killed and wound
ed, of which number there were one
thousand and eighty-two killed and
wounded in the brigades that were in
Hooker's and Kearny's 'front.' The per-
brigade was less than those in the union
army as large portion of the time dur
ing the battle the confederates had the
protection OF their earthworks, while
Hooksr's and Kearny's men fought in
the open field, yet the ratio of killed to
the number wounded among the confed-
crates at Williamsburg was nearly as
large as in the union army, 1t being one
to three and four tenths. Both armies
were equipped with the old fashioned
Springfield and Enfield rifles with the
exception of few companies which were
armed with the breeoh loading rifles.
The corps remained at Williamsburg un-
til May 9th, when it moved south over
the Williamsburg road towards Rich
mond, with tho second and fifth corps,
continuing its march until the afternoon
Of the 30th, when Kearny's division ar
rived and enoamped near Savage's
station and Rockers division went into
| camp to the westward and near Bottom 8
Bridge. During the afternoon of the
3oth the rain fell in torrents and the
officers and men were thoroughly
drenched. The roads and fields were q
mass of mud while the swamps and low
grounds were covered with water.
On the morning of the 31st the corps,
under the command of Gen. Heintzel-
man. was moved forward by order
of Gen. Mcclellan toward Fair Oake.
Kearny's division taking position near
Savage's Station. Hooker's division was
posted to the left of Kearny SO as to
g1ard the approach from White Oak
Swamp. Hooker became engaged with
the enemy about noon but the heavy
fighting fell upon Kearny's division.
While the battle was raging between the
other corps of the union army and the
confederates to the north of the Will
liamsburg road, Keerny's division was
having a most determined ami bloody
L. 1oLk s,vrN r