WITH THE CAHALKY ON THE PENINSULA.
43 2
Buchanan was met with his staff returning fromthe front on foot, their horses being led. Heinformed me that the enemy was threatening hispickets, and advancing on both flanks. I asked himto halt his command until further orders, andgalloped to the front, where our line of battle hadbeen the night before. I could see nothing, butcould hear shrieks, and groans, and the murmurof a multitude, but no sounds of wheels nor tram-pling horses. I ordered the line reestablished, withskirmishers and a squadron of cavalry on eitherflank. Colonel Hall, with the 2d Regiment Excel-sior Brigade, also reported for duty, and tookposition in the line. The battery not havingreported, some cavalry was organized into squads,resembling sections of artillery, at proper intervalsbehind the crest. By this time the level rays ofthe morning sun from our right were just penetrat-ing the fog, and slowly lifting its clinging shredsand yellow masses. Our ears had been filled withagonizing cries from thousands before the fog waslifted, but now our eyes saw an appalling spectacleupon the slopes down to the woodlands half a mileaway. Over five thousand dead and wounded menwere on tho ground, in every attitude of distress.A third of them were dead or dying, but enoughwere alive and moving to give to the field asingular crawling effect. The different stages ofthe ebbing tide are often marked by the lines offlotsam and jetsam left along the sea-shore. Sohere could be seen three distinct lines of dead andwounded marking the last front of three Confed-erate charges of the night before. Groups of men,some mounted, w r ere groping about the field.
As soon as the woodland beyond, which maskedthe enemy, could be clearly seen, I offered battleby directing the infantry lines to show on thecrest, the sham sections of artillery to executethe movements of going “into battery, actionfront,” and the flank squadrons to move toward theenemy until fired upon. All these details wereexecuted simultaneously at the sound of the trum-pet. The squadrons had not proceeded threehundred yards when they were fired upon andhalted. At the same time, a horseman fromamong those on the field approached our line witha white flag. An aide was sent to meet and halthim. The Confederate horseman, who was anofficer, requested a truce of two hours in which tosuccor their wounded. I was about to send ademand that his request be put in writing, w T henI reflected that it would be embarrassing for meto reply in writing, so word was sent to him todismount and wait until his request had been sub-mitted to the commanding general. In the mean-time the scattered parties of the enemy withdrewhastily from the field to the woods, and there wassome threatening desultory firing on my flanks,killing one man and wounding another. After wait-ing thirty minutes, word was sent to the officerwith the flag that the truce was granted, and thattheir men could come out without arms, and succortheir wounded. I had no idea that the flag wasproperly authorized, else there would have beenno firing on my flanks, but time was the preciousthing I wished to gain for our trains which crowded
the bottom-lands below Malvern. My squadronswere withdrawn to the line, the infantry lay down,while officers took position in front of the line toprevent conversation with the enemy. In a fewminutes thousands of men swarmed from thewoods and scattered over the field. I kept myselfinformed by couriers of the movements of our armyand trains, and had already sent officers to reas-sure our rear of its security, and also to bring meback a battery of artillery. Captain Frank withhis battery responded. I sent a request to GeneralWessells, commanding Keyes’s rear brigade, toselect a good position about two miles in my rearin case I should need a checking force when thetime for withdrawal should come. That excel-lent soldier had already chosen such a positionand established his brigade in line of battle.
When the quasi-truce had expired, at the soundof the trumpet, the line resumed its attitude ofattack, and the officer with the flag again appearedwith a request that the truce be extended twohours. After a reasonable wait, answer wasreturned that the time was extended but that nofurther extension would be granted. I had comeon the line at 4 A. M., and these manoeuvres andtruces had consumed the time until after 9 o’clock.The Army of the Potomac was then at its newbase on the James, and all its trains were safelyon the way there, with Keyes’s corps some milesbelow in my rear awaiting the enemy. So whenthe extended truce had expired, my command, withthe exception of the cavalry', had left the field. Ourdead and wounded, about 2500 in number, hadbeen cared for during the night. Not above adozen bodies could be found on our field during thetruce, and these were buried. Twelve stalled andabandoned wagons were destroyed, and two capt-ured guns which could not be removed werespiked and their carriages were broken. The 3dPennsylvania Cavalry, which had led the Army ofthe Potomac across White Oak Swamp, now saw itslast serviceable man safe beyond Malvern Hill,before it left that glorious field, about 10 a. m.,July 2d. A heavy rainstorm was prevailing. Wheneverything movable was across Turkey Bridge itwas destroyed by my rear squadron. My commandpassed through Wessells’s lines about noon, and thelines of General Naglee a little later. Everythingwas now quiet and in good order, and the 3d Penn-sylvania proceeded to camp at Westover after dark.
The 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry, under ColonelI). McM. Gregg, had scoured the left bank of theChickahominy, on the 28th, and had swum theriver to the right bank, rafting its arms across atLong Bridge. He subsequently picketed the frontof our center and right on the 30th, and on July1st and 2d — an extremely important sei’vice. The4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, after its efficient serv-ice, at and about Gaines’s Mill, during the dayand night of the 27th of June, performed similarduties with General McCall at Charles City road onthe 30th. The 11th Pennsylvania , Colonel Harlan,which, on the 13th, had covered the White HouseLanding during Stuart’s raid, on the 28th, joinedStoneman on similar duty, and retired with him.