234
TWO DAYS OF BATTLE AT SEF'EN PINES.
where they now appeared in strong force, ordered General Rains, who wasnear them, “ to move farther to the right,” and adds :
“ I regret that that gallant and meritorious officer did not advance farther in that direction. Hewould have taken the Yankees in flank, and the direct attack of Rodes in front would have beenless bloody. The magnificent brigade of Rodes moved over the open ground to assault the Yan-kees , strongly posted in the woods. He met a most galling Are, and his advance was checked.
A portion of his command met with a disastrous repulse. Kemper’s brigade was now sent meby General Longstreet, and directed by me to move directly to the support of Rodes. Thisbrigade, however, did not engage the Yankees , and Rodes’s men were badly cut up.”
General Rodes was severely wounded, but did not turn over the commandof his brigade to the senior colonel, John B. Gordon , until the firing hadceased. The latter says:
“ Notified that I was placed in command, I reported to Major-General Hill for orders.Under his direction I moved the brigade about half a mile to the rear, and ordered them toencamp on either side of the Williamsburg road.”
General G. B. Anderson says : “After night we were ordered by the major-general commanding the division to take position in the woods, in rear of theclearing ”— that is, in the edge of the wood on the Richmond side of Casey’sline. General Garland says that his brigade bivouacked that night with G. B.Anderson’s. General Rains says that his brigade “ ultimately passed the ;night in line of battle, without fire or light, in another part of the woods, jready to receive and check the enemy, should he advance.” He makes jno mention of any fighting done by his brigade after Casey’s camp was !captured.
Attention will now be called to the Federal movements that caused the jright of D. H. Hill’s division to fall back from the second abatis. j
At 12 m. Berry’s brigade of Kearny’s division, from Bottom’s Bridge, jarrived at the third line of defense; and about the same time Birney’s bri- ' (gade, of the same division, reached the same line, but was near the railroad. 'At 3 r. m. the latter brigade was ordered to move along the railroad and sup- ;port Keyes’s right; but, owing to subsequent conflicting orders, it did not gointo action that day. About 3:30 p. m. Berry’s brigade, now at the third lineof defense, was ordered to Seven Pines to support Keyes ; and, at the sametime, General Kearny “ sent written orders for Jameson’s brigade, camped atthe tete-de-pont , near Bottom’s Bridge (three miles in rear), to come up with-out delay.” It was about 4 p. m. when the advance of Berry’s brigadereached Seven Pines. At that time one regiment of Devens’s brigade hadjust been routed in the second abatis. General Kearny says : “ On arrivingat the field of battle, we found certain zigzag rifle-pits sheltering crowds of ;men, and the enemy firing from abatis and timber in their front.” Berry’s jbrigade was moved forward in the woods on the south side of the Williams- jburg road. That officer says: “We steadily drove the enemy so far that I ;had serious fears of being flanked by the enemy, as they were driving our jtroops down the [Nine-mile] road.” He evidently refers to the effect beingproduced by the advance of the three regiments under Colonel Jenkins.General Berry adds: