Table Of Content^^^
^d^
^^^/T
3HicljLaxdsoTL.TTiiJlialier
C-AMPAIGNS
ARMY OF THE POTOMAC
A CKITICAL HISTORY OF OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA MARYLAND
AND PENNSYLVANIA FROM THE COMMENCEMENT
TO THE CLOSE OF THE WAR
1861-5
WILLIAM SWINTON
NEW YORK
CHAKLES KICHAKDSON
B.
BROADWAY
540
18G6
^^^0
.'d.
^^7
EnteredaccordingtoActofCongress,intheyear1S66,
ByCHARLESB. EICHAEDSON,
In theClerk'sOfficeoftheDistrictCourtof the UnitedStatesfortheSouthern
DistrictofXewYork.
JOHNG.SHEA,
STEKEOTTPEllANDELECTROTTPEB,
N.V.
PREFACE,
Itis not withoutdiflSdence thatI give to the world avolume in
nding-within its single selfthe histoiyof events sovast and coiti-
';ated, so little understood and so greatly misunderstood, as
those that filled up the momentous four j-ears during which the
chiefarmies ofthe North andthe Southfoughtthe war ofsecession
to an issue uponthe soilofVirginia. Yet, I should not have at-
temptedthe task, had Inotbeenmetbothbyaninwardprompting
in the desire to speak trulyof actions andmen whereofthere has
been hitherto little else thanfalse witness, and byoutward solici-
tations, in the possession of such a mass of documentarymaterial
as it seldom falls to the writer of contemporaneous history to
obtain.
While the Armyof the Potomacwas yet inthe field, there were
many who, believing that I would intime make fitter record of the
doings and sufferings of thatarmythan was possible in the brief
chronicles which it was myduty to prepare for the press, began
even then to furnish me with oral and written information. And
no sooner had the w^ar closed, and it was known that I had ad-
4 PREFACE.
dressedmyselftothis workin earnest, than, from all sides, repoi-ts,
dispatches, andmemorials pouredin upon me. Itsoon came about
that,respectingeveryimportantaction ofthe Armyofthe Potomac;,
there were broug-httomyhand, notonlythe manuscript official re-
ports of its corps, division, and brigade commanders, but, for the
illustration of its innerlife and history, a prodigious mass of me-
moirs, private note-books,dispatches,letter-books,etc. In addition,
1 have had the benefitof the memory and judgment of mostof the
chief ofHcers and, both from these and others, havehad so many
;
proofs of their kindly solicitude that nothing which could be of
use to me should be wanting, that I havebeenled tobelieve they
did not regard me as entirely unworthyto record the history of
their army.
For the elucidation of the deeds of the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia, the mightyrival of the Armyof the Potomac, mysources of
information have been scarcely less ample. These embrace the
complete "Reports of the Armyof NorthernVirginia," and many
manuscriptreports anddocumentskindlyforwardedtome. I have
also had the advantageoffullconversations withmostof the chief
commandersofthe Confederate army; and Ithinkthe result cannot
fail to appear in the explanation of manythingshithertowrongly
interpreted, manythingshithertowhollyincomprehensible.
I have seldomneededtoreferforthe corroborationof statements
towhatIpersonallysaw; and indeed the individual knowledge of
anyone manrespectingsuch actions as were wagedinVirginia, is
necessarilyslight. Butthatwhich hasbeen of suchuse thatwith-
outitthehistoryoftheArmyofthePotomacnevercouldhave been
wi-itten,is the power, gainedby personal experiencein thefield, of
PIIBFACE, 5
tcRtinc^ the truth of written evidence bya rcferoiir;«» tothe actual
conditions under which warfarewas made inVirginia. Noris itof
loss value tohaveknowntheprivatejudgmentsuponevents ofthat
great bodyof instructed officers that adorned the Armyof the Po-
tomac. As thesejudgments took shapefromthe deeds themselves
under the verycircumstances of their performance, I hold them to
be sounder than any that are hereafter likely to be rendered.
Hence I have garnered these with care, endeavoringto make this a
record of the ar???j/-verdicts on men andthings. Itwill be safe to
presumethatwhateveris ofworth in thisbookhas this origin.
Itis probable thatthe estimates here rendered of the successive
commanders of the Army of the Potomac, may in some cases be
foundtoruncounterto,andinother cases tobe areversalof, popu-
larestimates. Imustsnj, in justice to myself, that if some com-
manders arehere exalted above the place theyhave hitherto held
in the hierarchy of reputations, and others brought down to a
lowerplace, Idarednotto judge one commander b}-- one standard,
and anotherby another. Whatever criticismI havemade on men
hasresultedfromthereference oftheir actions to the test of tho^
simple principles towhich almost all greatmilitary questions may
bereduced. Those, therefore, who would impugnthese judgments
must in justice first impugn the reasoning on which they are
founded.
Idesire to call attention to the maps andplans, which, though
on a small scale, are entirelyreliable. Theyhave been prepared
with great care, by ColonelW. H. Paine, of the engineer staff of
the Army of the Potomac. I particularly instance those illustra-
tive of Grant's campaign from the Eapidan to Petersburg. The
Q TREFACE.
lines of works marked thereon arc derived from the government
surveys, and the angles indicated are correct. They will prove
highlyinteresting andinstructivetomilitarystudents.
To a distinguished officer I owe a special acknowledgmentfor
theinvaluable giftof the unpublishedconsolidated monthlyreturns
of the Confederate armyfrom the commencement to the close of
the war.
The notes in supportof the textare madevery ample, especially
touching all disputed points. As, with a few well-known excep-
tions, thesources ofinformation areentirelymanuscript, ithas not
beenthoughtnecessary tostate thisfactineach individual case.
W. S.
NewYork, April,1866,
CONTENTS,
I.
Page
THE AEMY OF THE POTOMAC IN HISTORY 13
II.
THE THREE MONTHS' CAMPAIGN 26
I. WarinEmbryo 26
n. McClellaninWesternVirginia 34
III.
THE ARMY BEFORE WASHINGTON 60
I. OrganizationoftlieArmyofthePotomac 60
II. PlansofCampaign 68
IV.
THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN 99
I. BeforeYorktown 99
II. FromYorktownto theCbickahominy 113
HI. Confederate Strategy on the Chickahominy and in theValley of
theShenandoah 121
rV. TheBattleofFairOaks 128
V. TheSevenDays'Retreat 140
CONTENTS.
V.
Page
POPE'S OAMPAIGN IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA 167
I. RemovaloftheArmyfromthePeninsula 1G7
II. Pope'sRetrogradeMovement 175
ni. Jackson'sFlankMarch , 1'77
IV. TheSecondBattleofManassas 183
V. ExitPope 193
VI.
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 194
I. ManoeuvresPrevioustoAntietam 194
II. TheBattleofAntietam 208
III. CloseofMcClellan'sCareer 225
VII.
THE CAMPAIGN ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK 230
I. ChangeofBasetoFredericksburg 230
II. TheBattleofFredericksburg 238
III. AbortiveMovementsontheRappahannock 255
VIII.
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 267
I. TheArmyunderHooker 267
II. ThePassageoftheRappahannock 270
IIIVI.. JAatckCshoann'cselFlloarnskviMlaler—cFhr—idSaayturday 227836
V. Simday'sActionatChancellorsville 293
VI. TheStormingoftheHeights 296
VII. TheCoup dsGrace 299
VIII. ObservationsontheBattleofChancellorsville 303
CONTENTS. J
IX.
Pago
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGIT 308
••
I. TheoryoftheConfederateInvasion 308
II. ManojuvrestoDisengageHooker 312
III. Hooker'sRetrogradeMovement 316
IV. AcrosstheBorder 320
V. ConcentrationonGettysburg 325
VI. Gettysburg—FirstDay 328
VII. Gettysburg—SecondDay 342
VIII. Gettysburg—ThirdDay 356
IX. TheConfederateRetreat 366
X.
A CAMPAIGJT OF MANCEUVRES 373
I. TheMarchtotheEapidan 373
II. TheFlankMarchonCentreville 376
HI. MineRun 390
IV. TheArmyinWinter-quarters 398
XI.
GRANT'S OVERLAND CAMPAIGN 402
I. CombinationsoftheSpringCampaign 402
II. TheBattleoftheWilderness 413
III. TheLinesofSpottsylvania 440
IV. Co-operative MovementsontheJamesand intheShenandoahVal-
ley 4G0
V. FromSpottsylvaniatotheChickahominy 470
VI. TheBattleofColdHarbor 481
VII. ObservationsontheOverlandCampaign 489
XII.
THE SIEGE OF PETERSBURG 497
L TheChangeofBase 497
II. TheArmybeforePetersburg 507
III. TheLinesofPeterisburg 515
