Graham guardian., 1902-07-25
9 = . . . . . Z
A FORTIETH
ANNIVERSARY
WAR STORY
May 81. June 1. 1867
q q q q q q q q

ed blindly into a morass two or three
feet deep. Gordon's men were soon
caught in snare. From a fresh Fed
eral brigade the Third and Fifth Mich
igan were sent into a 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
bamians held on in the swamp for an
hour. Gordon bore a charmed life, al
though his clothes were riddled with
bullets, and finally his horse was shot
under him. The lieutenant colonel,
major and adjutant were 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 emptied his re-
volver among them as he lay dying.
Every officer of the company and for
ty-four out of flfty-six Of the men in
line were killed or wounded.
Finally word reached Gordon to re-
treat. When the casualties were count
cd. it transpired that out Of 632 Ala
bamlans mustered for the fight 81 had
been killed and 277 wounded, a battle
loss never exceeded in single fight.
While Gordon and his Alabamans
struggled fiercely at Seven Pines n reg
iment 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
olina. The field was like that at Seven
| Pines-woods, slashings and clearings
| for cannon. The Palmettos captured
the ground and stood in their tracks to
hold off two regiments of Pennsylva.
mans which came up much in the tenn
| per of Gordon's Alabamians-surprised,
| baffled and mad. In the lead marched
the Sixty-frst Pennsylvania, command.
ed by Colonel Oliver Hazard Rippey,
a hero well named for the role he was
to play.
AS the Pennsylvanians charged up
at double quick the Carolinians drop
| ped to their knees. Keeping up a
steady fire, the Yankees cheered and
advanced until within thirty PAGES Of
the foe. Firing from shoulder rests
the combatants kept up the murderous
duel for thirty minutes. Colonel Rip.
pey 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 263 men out Of ga who entered
the fight Fully one-half of the Caro-.
llnians fell, and ten men of the Pal
! mettO 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. Presi-
dent Davis was on the ground giving
battle orders in person. The Federals
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
McClellan's isolated left wing, the
troops behind the Chickahominy were
formed in line ready to cross and enter
the fight, but only q single bridge out
Of half dozen was passable 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,
which had been in camp by the river
side some miles from the field, rushed
forward to support the front line.
General Johnston had surprised the
| Army Of the Potomac only to arouse it
to the danger OF it's position astride Of
the river. Johnston had supposed that
McDowelrs Federal corps was march
ing down from the Rappahannock to a
| junction with Mcclellan on the James,
and he hoped to crush the army on his
front before re-enforcements could
come up and swell the enemy's ranks.
But Mcdowell was at that moment
looking after StonewalI 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 fired shot the
previous day and eight brigades Of
| Federals. Before he was wounded
Johnston gave orders that his regi-
ments should sleep on their arms ready
to renew the fight early on June /. 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 Z.
Lee was appointed by Davis to take
the chief command. By that time the
Confederates had been driven from the
| captured works.
1t has been said that the Army Of the
Potomac could have dashed into Rich
mond 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 q panic at the slightest re-
action on the field. Whole divisions Of
Confederates who had not fought on