2 54
TWO DAYS OF BATTLE AT SEWEN PINES.
About 1 p. m. I received a note from General McLaws , stating: “ Long-street says lie can hold his position with five thousand more men. He hasnow the same ground the enemy held yesterday.” A little after 2 p. m. Ireceived a letter from General Longstreet, dated 1:30 p. m., in which he says:
“ The next attack will be from Sumner’s division. I think that if we can whip it we shall becomparatively safe. ... I sincerely hope that we may succeed against them in their nexteifort. Oh, that I had ten thousand men more! ”
When I received that note from Longstreet there had been little or no fir-ing for several hours, and there was none of any consequence after that time.
On reading in the “Of-l£l ficial Records ” the detail-ed reports of subordinatefighting commanders onboth sides, I asked Gen-eral D. H. Hill what ordershe received from GeneralLongstreet that day. Hisreply, dated June 26tli,1885, authorizes me tostate: “ General Hill says
that he
got
no orders
HYER’S HOUSE, NEAR FAIR OAKS, USED AS A UNION HOSPITAL.BURNED JUNE 29, 1862.
from General Longstreeton Sunday [June 1st]whatever.” This informa-tion was to me like light-ning from a clear sky,and it cleared the murkyatmosphere which hadsurrounded some of therecently published official reports on the Confederate side, and enabled meto comprehend things that appeared to be inexplicable before I knew thatLongstreet had made no attempt to obey my order.
The Federal reports of regimental, brigade, and division commanders oftroops closely engaged the second day are given in such detail in the “ OfficialRecords,” that, by comparing them with the limited number of Confederatereports found there, a clear idea may be formed of what actually occurred.This comparison eliminates nearly all of those exaggerated elements in theaccounts which relate to the wondrous results claimed to have been achievedby so-called “ bayonet-eliarges ” on the one side, and the bloody repulse of“ ten times ” their own numbers on the other.