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WHARF, YORK RIVER. MCCLELLAN’S HEADQUARTERS. NELSON HOUSE.
VIEW OF MAIN STREET, YORKTOWN, THE UNION TROOPS MARCHING IN. FROM A SKETCH MADE MAY 4, 1862.
House, Hooker and Kearny near Roper’s Church, and Richardson and Sedgwicknear Eltham. On the 15th and 16th, in the face of dreadful weather and terri-ble roads, the divisions of Franklin, Porter, and Smith were advanced to WhiteHouse , and a depot established. On the 18th the Fifth and Sixth Corps wereformed, so that the organization of the Army of the Potomac was now as fol-lows : Second Corps, Sumner — Divisions, Sedgwick and Richardson ; ThirdCorps, Heintzelman — Divisions, Kearny and Hooker; Fourth Corps, Keyes— Divisions, Couch and Casey; Fifth Corps, F. J. Porter — Divisions, Morelland Sykes and the Reserve Artillery; Sixth Corps, Franklin — Divisions,Smith and Slocum.
The cavalry organization remained unchanged, and we were sadly deficientin that important arm, as many of the regiments belonging to the Army ofthe Potomac were among those which had been retained near Washington.
The question now arose as to the line of operations to be followed: that ofthe James on the one hand, and, on the other, the line from WTiite House asa base, crossing the upper Chickahominy.
The army was admirably placed for adopting either, and my decision wasto take that of the James, operating on either bank as might prove advisable,but always preferring the southern. I had urgently asked for reenforcementsto come by water, as they would thus be equally available for either line ofoperations. The destruction of the Merrimac on the 11th of May had openedthe James River to us, and it was only after that date that it became availa-ble. My plan, however, was changed by orders from Washington. A tele-gram of the 18th from the Secretary of War informed me that McDowellwould advance from Fredericksburg, and directed me to extend the right of theArmy of the Potomac to the north of Richmond, in order to establish com-munication with him. The same order required me to supply his troops fromour depots at White House . Herein lay the failure of the campaign, as itnecessitated the division of the army by the Chickahominy, and caused greatdelay in constructing practicable bridges across that stream ; while if I had