Battle of Gaines' Mill

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Battle of Gaines' Mill
Part of the American Civil War

Battle of Friday on the Chickahominy
Alfred R. Waud, artist, June 27, 1862.
Date June 27, 1862
Location Hanover County, Virginia
Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States United States (Union) Flag of Confederate States of America CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders
George B. McClellan
Fitz John Porter		 Robert E. Lee
Strength
34,214[1] 57,018[1]
Casualties and losses
6,837 (894 killed, 3,107 wounded, 2,836 missing or captured)[1] 7,993 (1,483 killed, 6,402 wounded, 108 missing or captured)[2]
v • d • e
Peninsula Campaign

The Battle of Gaines' Mill, also known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles (Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee renewed his attacks against Union Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps, which had established a strong defensive line behind Boatswain's Swamp north of the Chickahominy River. Porter's reinforced V Corps held fast for the afternoon against disjointed Confederate attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the attackers.

At dusk, the Confederates finally mounted a coordinated assault that broke Porter's line and drove his soldiers back toward the river. The Federals retreated across the river during the night. Defeat at Gaines' Mill convinced Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan to abandon his advance on Richmond and begin the retreat to the James River. Gaines' Mill saved Richmond for the Confederacy in 1862. The battle occurred in almost the same location as the 1864 Battle of Cold Harbor and had similar numbers of total casualties.

Contents

[edit] Background

McClellan's Army of the Potomac had pushed to within a few miles of the Confederate capital of Richmond and had stalled following the Battle of Seven Pines in late May 1862. The Seven Days Battles began with a Union attack in the minor Battle of Oak Grove on June 25, but the first major battle started the next day when Lee launched a large-scale assault against McClellan at the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (or Mechanicsville). Lee attacked Porter's V Corps north of the Chickahominy, while the bulk of the Union Army was relatively unoccupied south of the river. By the next morning, the Union forces were concentrated into a semicircle with Porter collapsing his line into an east-west salient north of the river and the four corps south of the river remaining in their original positions. Porter was ordered by McClellan to hold Gaines' Mill at all costs so that the army could change its base of supply to the James River. Several of McClellan's subordinates urged him to attack the Confederate division of Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder south of the river, but he feared the vast numbers of Confederates he believed to be before him and refused to capitalize on the overwhelming superiority he actually held on that front.[3]

[edit] Battle

On June 27, Lee continued his offensive, launching the largest Confederate attack of the war, about 57,000 men in six divisions.[4] Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill resumed his attack across Beaver Dam Creek early in the morning, but found the line lightly defended. Moving eastward and approaching Gaines' Mill, his lead brigade, under Brig. Gen. Maxcy Gregg, was held up by fierce resistance from the 9th Massachusetts Infantry. By early afternoon, he ran into strong opposition by Porter, deployed along Boatswain's Creek and the swampy terrain was a major obstacle against the attack. Attacks by the brigades of Brig. Gens. Gregg, Dorsey Pender, Joseph R. Anderson, and Lawrence O'Bryan Branch made little headway. As Maj. Gen. James Longstreet arrived to the south of A.P. Hill, he saw the difficulty of attacking over such terrain and delayed until Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson could attack on Hill's left.[5]

Seven Days Battles, June 26 – June 27, 1862.
Seven Days Battles, June 26 – June 27, 1862.

For the second time in the Seven Days, however, Jackson was late. Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill attacked the Federal right and was held off by the division of Brig. Gen. George Sykes; he backed off to await Jackson's arrival. Longstreet was ordered to conduct a diversionary attack to stabilize the lines until Jackson could arrive and attack from the north. In Longstreet's attack, Brig. Gen. George E. Pickett's brigade attempted a frontal assault and was beaten back under severe fire with heavy losses. Jackson finally reached D.H. Hill's position at 3 p.m. and was completely disoriented following a day of pointless marching and countermarching. Believing that Longstreet's attack was underway, he kept his men and those of Hill's out of the fight to avoid friendly fire. Receiving messages from Lee, Jackson began his assault at 4:30 p.m.[6]

Porter's line was saved by Brig. Gen. Henry W. Slocum's division moving into position to bolster his defense. Shortly after dark, the Confederates mounted another attack, poorly coordinated, but this time collapsing the Federal line. Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood's Texas Brigade opened a gap in the line, as did Pickett's Brigade on its second attempt of the day. The brigades of Brig. Gens. Thomas F. Meagher and William H. French arrived, too late to help other than as a rear guard for Porter's retreat. A battalion of the 5th U.S. Cavalry under Captain Charles J. Whiting suffered heavy losses and was forced to surrender. By 4 a.m. on June 28, Porter withdrew across the Chickahominy, burning the bridges behind him.[7]

For the second day, Magruder was able to continue fooling McClellan south of the river by employing minor diversionary attacks. He was able to occupy 60,000 Federal troops while the heavier action occurred north of the river.[8]

[edit] Aftermath

Gaines' Mill was an intense battle, the largest of the Seven Days and the only clear-cut Confederate tactical victory of the Peninsula Campaign.[9] Union casualties from the 34,214 engaged were 6,837 (894 killed, 3,107 wounded, and 2,836 captured or missing). Of the 57,018 Confederates engaged, losses totaled 7,993 (1,483 killed, 6,402 wounded, 108 missing or captured).[10] Since the Confederate assault was conducted against only a small portion of the Union Army (the V Corps, one fifth of the army), the army emerged from the battle in relatively good shape overall. Lee's victory, his first of the war, could have been more complete if it were not for the mishaps of Stonewall Jackson. Historian Stephen W. Sears speculates that it were not for Jackson's misdirected march and his poor staff work, the major assault that Lee unleashed at 7 p.m. could have occurred three or four hours earlier. This would have put Porter in grave jeopardy, without any last-minute reinforcements and the cover of darkness. He quotes Edward Porter Alexander, prominent Confederate artillery officer and postwar historian: "Had Jackson attacked when he first arrived, or during A.P. Hill's attack, we would have had an easy victory—comparatively, & would have captured most of Porter's command."[11]

However, although McClellan had already planned to shift his supply base to the James River, his defeat unnerved him and he precipitously decided to abandon his advance on Richmond and begin the retreat of his entire army to the James. Gaines' Mill and the Union retreat across the Chickahominy was a psychological victory for the Confederacy, signaling that Richmond was out of danger.[12]

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Eicher, p. 288.
  2. ^ Sears, p. 249.
  3. ^ Kennedy, pp. 93-94; Sears, pp. 183-208; Salmon, pp. 99-101.
  4. ^ Time-Life, p. 45.
  5. ^ Sears, pp. 210-26; Kennedy, p. 96; Eicher, p. 285; Salmon, pp. 103-06.
  6. ^ Eicher, p. 285; Kennedy, p. 96; Salmon, pp. 104-06.
  7. ^ Kennedy, pp. 96-97; Sears, pp. 227-42; Salmon, p. 106.
  8. ^ Eicher, p. 287.
  9. ^ Salmon, p. 107.
  10. ^ Eicher, p. 288; Sears, p. 289.
  11. ^ Sears, pp. 249-50.
  12. ^ Sears, pp. 250-51.

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