Retreat: Seven Days Battles: Line of Battle, #6

By Nick Vulich

Retreat: Seven Days Battles outlines the battles and explains how they came about. In less than an hour, you will meet the main participants, understand Union and Confederate troop movements, and learn more about the seven battles that were fought at Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill, Garnett's Farm, Savage's Station, Glendale, and Malvern Hill. For those readers who want to know more and understand how contemporary readers learned about the battle, we included the original accounts that were published in the New York Herald.

It's not the complete story, but enough to bring you up to speed, understand the issues of the day, and maybe encourage you to explore more on your own.

Each book includes a timeline to help you see the bigger picture so you can watch events unfold.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Vulich
• Release date: Jun 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223973911

Book preview

Retreat

Seven Days Battles

Copyright © 2019 / 2023 Line of Battle

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Table of Contents

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Forward

Timeline

Participants

Seven Days Battles

Battles of Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

Battles of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday

Robert E. Lee – Official Report

George McClellan – Official Report

Forward

The Seven Days Battles were an extension of General George McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign. The Army of the Potomac battled its way to within five miles of Richmond on June 1st, then settled in and dug entrenchments for nearly a month—as they waited for the Confederates to make the next move.

General Joseph Johnston, the commander of the Army of Virginia, received a severe injury in the fighting at Fair Oaks on May 31st. Jefferson Davis later chose his confidential advisor, Robert E. Lee, to replace Johnston.

That move upset the balance of power in the eastern theater of the war. Johnston and McClellan acted like two peas in a pod. Both men were overly cautious and would go out of their way to avoid fighting a battle they weren’t sure they could win. Both men tested the patience of their commander-in-chief. And yet, both men had the full confidence of their troops.

When Robert E. Lee assumed command of the Confederate forces, everyone thought he was no different than Johnston or McClellan. Lee spent nearly a month checking and double-checking the defenses around Richmond while politicians and patriots scratched their heads and wondered what he had in store for them.

People began calling him Granny Lee (because of his overcautiousness) or the King of Spades (because all he wanted to do was dig entrenchments).

They needn’t have worried. Lee used the time to good advantage—plotting an aggressive push against McClellan’s forces.

Lee explained his reasons for the campaign in his official report: The intention of the enemy seemed to be to attack Richmond by regular approaches. The strength of his left wing rendered a direct assault injudicious, if not impracticable. It was, therefore, determined to construct defensive lines to enable a part of the army to defend the city and leave the other part free to cross the Chickahominy and operate on the north bank. By sweeping down the river on that side and threatening his communications with York River, it was thought the enemy would be compelled to retreat or give battle out of his entrenchments.

It was a long-winded way of saying he intended to push the Army of the Potomac away from the rebel capital while leaving enough troops behind to defend Richmond should McClellan work his way back to the city.

The campaign didn’t go exactly as Lee planned, but he accomplished his goal and pushed the enemy forces away from Richmond.

Under ordinary circumstances, the Federal Army should have been destroyed, said Lee. But, the character of the country enabled General McClellan to skillfully conceal his retreat.

No matter. The siege of Richmond was raised, and the object of a campaign, which had been prosecuted after months of preparation at an enormous expenditure of men and money, completely frustrated.

George McClellan could say the same thing. He didn’t take Richmond but came closer to it than any Federal commander would for the next four years.

As for the Seven Days Battles, the Army of the Potomac gave as good as they got. McClellan whipped Lee in most of the battles, and as for being chased back to Washington—that wasn’t strictly true. McClellan had already determined to change his base to Harrison’s Landing. Lee’s pursuit pushed him in that direction quicker than the naturally slow and cautious McClellan would have traveled.

This book is a quick history of the Seven Days Battles. In less than an hour, you will meet the major players, learn how the battles came about, and understand the significance of Robert E. Lee’s Seven Days Campaign. For readers who want to know more, I’ve included the first complete reports of the battle as they appeared in the New York Herald. While not entirely accurate, they let you experience the war the way contemporary readers learned about it.

Let’s get started ...

Timeline

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March 1.

George McClellan begins his ill-fated Peninsular campaign.

March 8.

Confederate General Joseph Johnson withdraws his troops from Manassas and Centreville.

March 11.

Abraham Lincoln removes General George McClellan as general in chief of the army. Instead of naming a successor, Lincoln orders the department commanders to report to the Secretary of War. Surprisingly, Lincoln lets Little Mac retain command of the Army of the Potomac.

When Union troops reoccupy Manassas, they discover the Confederate forces there are not as strong as General McClellan led them to believe. Many of the guns are Quaker Guns, logs painted black to look like real guns.

March 13.

McClellan’s troops begin boarding transports for the trip to Fortress Monroe.

April 4.

Army of the Potomac marches out of Fortress Monroe.

April 5.

The two armies skirmish at Lee’s Mills, near the junction of the Warwick and Yorktown Roads.

April 16.

The Battle of Lee’s Mill is the first of many confrontations in General George McClellan’s Peninsular campaign. It is more of a skirmish than anything as battles go—the Confederates post seven casualties to the Union’s twelve. The rebels position a three-gun battery upstream from the dam, although only one of the guns (a six-pounder) can be brought to play during the fight. After surveying the site, Brigadier General Erasmus Keyes, IV determines, no part of this line as far as discovered can be taken by assault without an enormous waste of life. McClellan changes his plans and begins a siege on the Warwick-Yorktown line instead.

April 22.

General Franklin arrives at the York River. His army is supposed to make a naval landing near West Point to distract the enemy while the main attack occurs at Yorktown.

May 4.

Confederate troops abandon their fortifications at Yorktown and fall back on Williamsburg.

May 5.

The Battle of Williamsburg (Fort Magruder) is part of McClellan’s Peninsular campaign. Confederate forces abandon the fort and continue their withdrawal to Richmond. Both sides sustain heavy casualties—1682 for the Confederates compared to 2283 for the Union.

May 6.

The nation becomes over-optimistic after the Union victories at Yorktown and Williamsburg. The Muscatine Weekly Journal (Iowa) declares, General McClellan has now got the enemy just where he wants them. Many people think the war will end within a few weeks.

May 8.

Early in 1862, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston sends Stonewall Jackson and his foot cavalry into the Shenandoah Valley with orders to prevent Union soldiers there from reinforcing McClellan’s Peninsular campaign. Edward Alleghany Johnson attacks the Union troops as they climb the western slope of Sitlington’s Hill. Johnson outnumbers the Union forces 2800 to 2300 but forfeits much of that advantage by not realizing his men are in open view—making them sitting ducks for the Yankee sharpshooters.

Jackson marches the Stonewall Brigade the next morning, but it is too late. The Union troops led by Robert H. Milroy slip away overnight.

May 23.

Stonewall Jackson attempts to bring about a battle with General Nathaniel Banks at Strasburg. His troops advance up the main valley, where he can cross into the Luray Valley. His cavalry continues up the main valley. If things work out as Jackson hopes, Banks will stop his army long enough for Jackson to slip around and attack Banks’ command from the rear.

Instead, Jackson bumps into Colonel John Reese Kenly’s force of 1,000 men. Jackson outmans Kenly sixteen to one and soon crushes his small force taking 700 men prisoner.

When Bank learns of the attack, he abandons his position at Strasburg and moves his army toward Winchester. This mini-battle at Front Royal sets Banks up to meet Jackson in a more significant confrontation at Winchester the next day.

May 26.

After retreating to Winchester, General Nathaniel Banks positions his troops along Abram’s Creek. Fighting breaks out at daylight. Stonewall Jackson attacks Bank’s right. When that fails, he moves on the left. The attack breaks Bank’s line. Soon, his men are fleeing through the streets of Winchester, with residents shooting at them as they march by.

Jackson pursues them to Stephenson’s Depot, then stops. His men need to rest and recuperate. They can’t handle any more fighting.

It is a crushing loss for Nathaniel Banks. He outnumbers Jackson’s men almost three to one but suffers more than 2,000 casualties compared to Jackson’s 400.

Worse still, by sending Bank’s troops to pursue Jackson in the Shenandoah, McClellan loses much-needed manpower for his attack on Richmond.

May 31.

Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston takes advantage of a storm to launch his attack on General George McClellan’s troops at Seven Pines (Fair Oaks), Virginia. Union troops stall out on the Chickahominy River, caught in the mud and muck caused by a spring storm.

Johnston attacks McClellan south of the river, but his inexperienced troops get confused, and his plans go awry. Johnston strikes again the next day but makes no progress. He suffers 6,000 casualties to McClellan’s 5,000.

The battle is a turning point in the war, not so much for the fighting, but because Joseph Johnston is injured, and Jefferson Davis appoints Robert E. Lee to take his place as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Before that, Lee served as a military adviser to Jefferson Davis.

The next month, Lee changes the rules of the contest when he goes on the offensive against McClellan during the Seven Days Battles.

June 8.

The Battle of Crosskeys is a minor skirmish fought during the final days of Stonewall Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley campaign. A portion of John C. Freemont’s army tangles with the advance guard of Jackson’s army near Cross Keys Tavern. After exchanging a few volleys, the Union cavalry rejoins their command.

June 9.

The battle at Port Republic (Virginia) is an extension of the Battle of Crosskeys fought the previous day. Stonewall Jackson’s men win the day in heavy fighting, but early in the day, Jackson comes within a hairsbreadth of capture when his men are surprised by advancing Union troops.

Jackson’s victories at Crosskeys and Port Republic ends his Shenandoah Valley campaign and allows him to reinforce Robert E. Lee during the Seven Days Battles.

June 25.

Oak Grove is the transitional battle between the end of McClellan’s Richmond campaign and the start of the Seven Days Battles.

Union troops advance on the enemy early in the day. They halt for over two hours as McClellan moves forward to take command of the battle. At 1:00, McClellan gives the word to resume fighting. His men surge forward to recover the ground