Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1902-06-21
A FORTICTH (
ANNIVERSARY 3
WAR STORY 3
May 81. June I. 1862 9

| cral brigade the Third and Fifth Mich
igan were sent into piece Of woods
on Gordon's flank. Still fighting mad
and looking for help to come up and
clear the woods of enemies, the Ala
bamans held on In the swamp for an
hour. Gordon bore a charmed life, al
though his clothes were riddlcd with
bullets. and finally his horse was shot
under him. The lientcnant colonel
major and adJutant We're cut down.
and the ranks suffered appalling
slaughter. Finding that no help came
up to drive the Michigan men from
the woods. Gordon ordered Captain
Bell to face his flank company on a
line perpendicular to the woods and
keep the deadly fire down. Bell was
mortally wounded the moment he
changed front. SO close were the
! Michigan men that he emptcd his re-
volvcr among them as he lay dying
Every officer OF the company and for
ty-four out Of flfty-siA of the men In
line were killed or wounded.
Finally word reached Gordon to re.
treat. When the casualties were count
bamians mustered for the fight 81 had
been killed and 217 wounded. 4 battle
loss never exceeded in single fight.
While Gordon and his Alabamlans
struggled ficrcely Mt Seven Pines reg
imcnt Of bluecoats made CORY history
at Fair Oaks. At that point the Fed
eral line was crushed by the onslaught
Of the Palmetto regiment Of South Car
olna. The field was like that ut Seven
Pincs-wOOds. slashings and Clearings
for cannon. The PalmcttOs captured
the ground and stood in their tracks to
hold off two regiments OF Pennsylva
mans which came up much I'm the tenn
per of Gordon's ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
batllcd and mad. In the lead marched
the SiXty-first Pennsylvania. command.
cd by Colonel Oliver Hazard Kippey.
q hero well named for the role he was
to play.
AS the Pcnnsylvanians charged up
at double quick the Carolinians drop
ped to their knees. Keeping up
steady fire. the Yankees chccrcd and
advanced until within thirty PAGES Of
the foe. Firing from shoulder rests.
the cOmbatants kept up the murdcrous
duel for thirty minutes. Colonel Rip
pcy WAS killed. and the flag. torn to
shreds. became his winding sheet. The
lieutenant colonel. major and eleven
other officers were killed or wounded
and 2G3 men out of 5T4 who entered
the fight. Fully One-half OF the Caro-
linians fell. and ten men Of the Pal
mcttO guard were shot down around
the flag
Darkness closed In the night of May
81 with the situation on both sides the
lines very much as it was at Shiloh
the first day. The Confederate leader.
Joe Johnston, had been wounded and
carried from the field before his plan
of battle had been carried out. Prcsi-
dent Davis was OH the ground giving
battle orders in person. The Fcderals
had been overwhelmed all along the
line from Fair Oaks TO Seven Pines
and their batteries and intrenchments
captured. but they had not been driven
into the river.
Warned by the sound of firing that
the enemy had sprung an attack on
McClcllan's isolated left wing. the
troops behind the Chickahominy were
formed in line ready to cross and enter
the fight. hut only a single bridge out
of n half dozen was passablc owing to
the high water. and that only by wad-
ing The sturdy Sumner crossed one
division to the scene Of fighting before
dark. Other troops Of the left wing,
Ii, l,l ;,, l,,t I,1 ,,;.
side some miles from the field, rushed
forward to support tie front line.
General Johnston had surprised the
Army of the Potomac only to arouse it
to the danger of its position astride of
the river. Johnston had supposed that
McDowelrs Federal corps was march
ing down from the Rappahannock to
junction with Mcclellan on the James,
and he hoped TO crush the army OH his
front before re-enfOrcements could
come up and swell the enemy's ranks.
But Mcdowell was at that moment
looking after Stonewall Jackson in the
Shenandoah valley. a hundred miles
away from Richmond.
On the morning Of June / there were
twelve brigades of Confederates on the
ground that had not fir0d a shot the
previous day and eight brigades Of
Fcderals Before he was wounded
Johnston gave orders that his regl-
ments should sleep on their arms ready
to renew the fight early on June 1. All
night May 81 McClellan's generals were
preparing to recover the lost ground.
Early In the morning they took up the
fight and at almost the first shock the
Confederates retreated. There was no
leader to direct the movements until
the afternoon, when General Robert e.
Lee was appointed by Davis to take
the chief command. By that time the
Confcderates had been driven from the
captured works.
1t has been said that the Army OF the
"otomac could have dashed into Rich
;ond during the confusion caused by
the Confederate repulse at Fair Oaks.
but there was no confusion in the Con-
federate ranks. Citizens are always
thrown into a panic at the slightest re-
action on the field. Whole divisions of
Confederates who had not fought on
May 81 held ground of their own
choosing on the best roads from the
river to Richmond. Lee simply sent the
troops back to their camps because
Johnston's auda ciOus blow had failed.