THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.
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of the task was accomplished, and it only remained for the troops to holdtheir ground until nightfall, and then continue the march to the positionsselected near Malvern Hill.
The fighting on this day (June 30th) was very severe, and extended alongthe whole line. It first broke out between 12 and 1, on General Franklin’scommand, in the shape of a fierce artillery fire, which was kept up throughthe day and inflicted serious losses. The enemy’s infantry made severalattempts to cross near the old bridge and below, but was in every case thrownback. Franklin held his position until after dark, and during the night fellback to Malvern. At half-past 2 Slocum’s left was attacked in vain on theCharles City road. At about 3 McCall was attacked, and, after 5 o’clock,under the pressure of heavy masses, he was forced back; hut Hooker cameup from the left, and Sedgwick from the rear, and the two together not onlystopped the enemy, but drove him off the field.
At about 4 p. m. heavy attacks commenced on Kearny’s left, and threeineffectual assaults were made. The firing continued until after dark. Aboutmidnight Sumner’s and Heiutzelman’s corps and McCall’s division withdrewfrom the positions they had so gallantly held, and commenced their march toMalvern, which they reached unmolested soon after daybreak. Just after therear of the trains reached Malvern, about 4 p. m., the enemy attacked Porter’scorps, but were promptly shaken off.
Thus, on the morning of July 1st, the army was concentrated at Malvern,with the trains at Haxall’s, in rear. The supplies which had been sent fromWhite House on the 18th were at hand in the James.
After consultation with Commodore Rodgers, I decided that Harrison’sLanding was a better position for the resting-place of the army, because thechannel passed so close to City Point as to enable the enemy to prevent thepassage of transports if we remained at Malvern. It was, however, necessaryto accept battle where we were, in order to give ample time for the trains toreach Harrison’s, as well as to give the enemy a blow that would check hisfarther pursuit.
many of the royal families of Europe , always receivedby them as of royal rank, the elder regarded by so manyin France as the rightful heir to the throne, they couldnever lose sight of the dignity of their position, while itwas at the same time necessary for them to performtheir duties in a subordinate grade, and to win the con-fidence and friendship of their new comrades, who weresure to weigh men by their personal qualities and abili-ties, not by their social position across the Atlantic.Their task was accomplished with complete success, forthey gained the full confidence, respect, and regard oftheir commander and their comrades. From the momentthey entered the service, they were called upon to per-form precisely the same duties and in precisely the samemanner as their companions on the personal staff of theircommander. . . .
“ Their conduct was characterized by an innate lovefor a soldier’s life, by an intense desire to perfect them-selves in the profession of arms by actual experience ofwar on a large scale, and by unswerving devotion toduty. Not only this, their heads and hearts were withus in our hour of trial, and I believe that, next to theirown France , they most loved this country, for whichthey so freely and so often exposed their lives on thefield of battle.
“ Soon after the beginning of the peninsular campaign,the Princes were strongly urged by their friends at hometo return at once to England, partly to receive the largenumbers of their adherents expected to attend theExhibition of 1862 , and partly because the French ex-pedition to Mexico had greatly strained the relationsbetween this country and France . They persisted inremaining with the army until the close of the SevenDays, and left only when assured that the immediateresumption of the attack on Richmond was improbable.Had the prompt receipt of reenforcements rendered anew advance practicable, it is certain that no considera-tions would have withdrawn them from the field untilthe completion of the operations against Richmond.Although warmly attached to them and very unwillingto lose their services, their commander fully recognizedthe imperative nature of the reasons for their departure,and entirely acquiesced in the propriety of their promptreturn to Europe .”
Soon after the termination of the war, the Comtede Paris began his extensive “ History of the CivilWar in America,” the first volume of the Americanedition being issued in 1875. — Editors.
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