248
TWO DAYS OF BATTLE AT SEVEN PINES.
General Johnston says [see p. 214]:
“ It was near half-past 6 o’clock before I admitted to myself that Smith was engaged, notwith a brigade, as I had obstinately thought, but with more than a division.”
It may not be amiss to mention here that Colonel Frobel, in the letter tome above referred to, says :
“ General W. H. C. Whiting was at that time commanding your division, you being in com-mand of the left wing of the army. . . . Whiting was directly under General Johnston ,
who was with the division the whole day until he was wounded, late in the afternoon.”
Without dwelling now upon the persistency with which General Johnston insists that I was then in command of the division which bore my name, it
may be stated here that General Whitingwas clearly of opinion then and ever after,that but for General Johnston ’s determi-nation to press on across the railroad toLongstreet’s assistance, Couch would havebeen beaten and his battery captured beforeSumner ’s leading troops reached the field.
Before describing what occurred on thesecond day, allusion will be made to someof the erroneous views which have beenwidely promulgated in regard to theseoperations. General Johnston , in his of-ficial report, says : “ Major-General G. W.Smith succeeded to the command. He wasprevented from renewing his attack on theenemy’s position next morning by the dis-covery of strong intrenchments not seenon the previous evening.” On page 141 of his published “ Narrative,” hesays: “ Sumner ’s corps at Fair Oaks [June 1st] was six miles from those ofHeintzelman and Keyes, which were near Bottom’s Bridge.” In referenceto the position of the Confederates at that time, he places D. H. Hill’s divis-ion in line of battle across the Williamsburg road, at right angles to it,more than a mile east of Seven Pines, the left of Hill’s line, near the rail-road, facing north; Longstreet’s and Huger’s divisions on Hill’s left, par-allel to the railroad and extending a short distance west of Fair OaksStation, uniting there with the division under Whiting; and says, “Ma-gruder’s division in reserve ” “ was under arms near.” N On the map inhis book he represents Sumner’s corps in one line facing west, its left onthe railroad a little west of Fair Oaks, with Longstreet’s and Huger’s divisionsclose on Sumner ’s left flank and rear. Having thus placed the contendingforces, he adds: “ Such advantage of position and superiority of numberswould have enabled the Confederates to defeat Sumner ’s corps, had theengagement been renewed Sunday morning [June 1st] before any aid couldhave come from Heintzelman, after which his troops could not have made
“ Narrative of Military Operations,” by Joseph E. Johnston , pp. 137, 119.— G. W. S.