THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC AT HARRISON’S LANDING. 427
BERKELEY, HARRISON’S LANDING, AS SEEN FROM MCCLELLAN ’S HEADQUARTERS TENTS. FROM A WAR-TIME SKETCH.
This house was the birthplace of General (afterward. President) William Henry Harrison .
During the mouth of July, 18G2, it was used as a hospital and signal station.
■mm
mm
I'fy-C '■
renew the contest from the south hank, for which he had commenced opera-tions. J During this period he omitted nothing which would insure theremoval of the army without loss of men and material. The withdrawal ofthe army changed the issue from the capture of Richmond to the securityof Washington, transferred to the Federals the anxiety of the Confederatesfor their capital, and sounded an alarm throughout the Northern States.
j It was publicly announced that Halleck would assume command and take the field. Pope had reason tobelieve that “he would eventually supersede McClellan, ” and McDowell had been so satisfied of his futuresupremacy that he confided to a friend that “he would be at the highest round of the ladder.”— F. J. P.
THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC AT HARRISON’S LANDING.
BY GEORGE L„ KILMER, CO. D, 27TH NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
rriHE withdrawal of General McClellan ’s army-L from Malvern Hill, a position that seemed tobe impregnable, was a surprise to the men in theranks, and for the first time in the campaign theybecame discouraged. During July 2d rain fell copi-ously, and when the columns arrived at Harrison’sLanding the fields were soaked and the soil wasquickly reduced to paste by the men and trains. Theinfantry and the division wagons and batteries weredrawn up in an immense field of standing wheatnear the Harrison mansion, also called Berke-ley. The grain was trampled into the soil, or laiddown so as to serve under the tents as protectionfrom the wet ground. Neither wood nor boardswere to be had, and the army was exceedinglyuncomfortable. Transports in the James landedrations, which proved a great blessing, since manyof the men had not had food in forty-eight hours.The rain continued all night, and the flimsy wheatfloors were soon floating in pools of water; besides,
the soil would not hold the tent-pins, and in themorning the tents were nearly all down, exposingmen whose beds were sinking deeper and deeperinto the mud to the pelting rain. About 8 o’clock,while some of the men were yet asleep and otherswere attempting to get breakfast, the camp wasstartled by a sudden outburst of artillery fire, andshells came whistling over the plain. The shotswere scattering, and seemed to be directed princi-pally at the shipping. The troops were summonedto arms, but, as very little damage was done bythe shells, the affair was soon turned to account asa joke. General J. E. B. Stuart for some days hadbeen operating in the center of the Peninsula , andlearning of the exposed position of McClellan ’sarmy on the James had hastened there and sta-tioned his battery near West-over Church, acrossHerring Creek, north of the landing. A few shellsfrom our gun-boats caused his guns to speedilyshift their position, and General Nathan Kimball,