Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/301

Rh as consisting of D. H. Hill's division and two brigades and two regiments of Longstreet's, a total of 14,600. The Federal losses were 5,031 and the Confederate 4,798; figures showing that this contest was a stubborn one on both sides. Longstreet sums up the day's business thus: "Two lines of intrenchments were attacked and carried; six pieces of artillery and several thousand small-arms were captured and the enemy was forced back, by night, to his third line of intrenchments, a mile and a half from the point of its opening."

The second day of the Fair Oaks battle found Confederate troops under a new commander, by no means in accord with his subordinates. Gen. G. W. Smith wished to leave the left wing in position to meet any movement of Federals from north of the Chickahominy, while Longstreet was to push forward as the left of the main attack and D. H. Hill as the right. Hill soon discovered that the enemy along the railroad had been strongly reinforced and instead of attacking he withdrew his advanced brigades to the position from which he had driven Casey the day before. While thus engaged the Federal troops advanced. To check these, Pickett was ordered to attack, and a severe struggle ensued, which lasted for an hour and a half. The Federal line was again reinforced, and in the subsequent struggle Armistead's brigade, on Pickett's left, gave way and retreated in disorder, leaving Pickett to bear the brunt of the battle, which he did stubbornly and successfully, the Federals in his front not making a countercharge. At the same time Wilcox and Pryor, on Pickett's right, but concealed from him by a wood, were actively engaged with Hooker's troops, which boldly pushed into the woods held by the Confederates, and engaged them in a lively fight just at the time when Hill's order came directing Wilcox to retire to the line in his rear. This he did, but Hooker did not follow him; Pickett, thus left alone, asked for supports. Colston was sent to his left and Mahone to his right, and once more there was an hour of fierce contention without special advantage to either side, when the fighting ceased and Pickett removed his wounded, and at about 1 p. m. retired in good order, unmolested, from the field of carnage. During this haphazard fighting Smith did nothing on the left, fearing to provoke McClellan to move across the Chickahominy in force to the assistance of his three