Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/21

* SEVEN PINES. SEVEN WEEKS' WAR. back toward Sumner's bridges across the Cliicka- hoiniiiy. At '2.30 1'. il., under orders from ilc- C'lellan, Sumner crossed the river with a division under Sedgwick and a battery under Kirby, at what later became known as Sumner's Upper Bridge, and at about 5 o'clock, after being de- layed by the rough and muddy roads, reached the vicinity of the Fair Oaks station, jvist in time to intercept and force back Whiting's division (from the Confederate left, where U. W. Smith was in command), then on its way to reinforce Long- street. In this part of the field some of the most stubborn fighting of the day occurred, and it wa« here about 7 1'. M. that General .Johnslon was severely wounded, whereupon General Smith took command of the Confederate army. Early on the following day Longstreet again attacked the Federal left, which had been reinforced by way of Sumner's Lower Bridge, by Richardson's division of Sumner's corps, but he was repulsed and forced back for some distance. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon Gen. R. E. Lee, who had just arrived on the field of battle, superseded Smith in command of the Confederate army, and on the night of the 2d the army was withdrawn to the immediate neighborhood of Richmond. General McClellan did not appear on the field of battle until about noon on the 1st. The loss of the Federals in killed, wounded, and missing was about 5000. that of the Confederates about 5200. Consult the Official Records, vol. xi., parts i. and iii.; Johnson and Buel (ed.). Bat- tles and Leaders of the Cii-il War (New York, 1887); Ropes, Story of the Civil War, vol. ii. (ib., 1808) ; ilichie, General McClellan (ib., 1901), in the "Great Commanders Series;" Webb, The Feninstila (ib., 1881), in the "Campaigns of the Civil War Series;" Johnston, Narrative of Military Operations (ib., 1874) ; Hughes, General Johnston (ib., 1893), in the "Great Commanders Series;" McClellan, ilcClcllan's Oun Story (ib., 1887) ; and Longstreet, From Manassas to Ap- pomattox (Philadelphia, 1896). SEVEN SAGES, The. A collective designa- tion of a number of C^reek sages who lived be- tween B.C. G20 and 550. They were rulers, law- givers, or counselors, distinguished for their practical wisdom, and were believed to be the authors of brief aphorisms expressing the results of their moral and social experiences. There was no unanimity among the ancients with regard to the names, the number, or the sayings of these famous sages. The number seven is as old as Pindar, but the earliest list of the seven is given in Plato's Protagoras (343 p. a.). Those usu- ally included in the number are Solon, the famous law-giver of Athens: Thales of Miletus, the phi- losopher : Pittacus of Jlitylene. the deliverer and magistrate of his native city; Bias of Priene; Chilon of Sparta; Cleolmliis, tyrant of Lindus; and Periander, tyrant of Corinth. The sayings attributed to them were first collected by De- metrius of Phalerum. Various collections of the excerpts have been preserved to us by Stobreus (Floril. 3, 79) and others. On the different names of the sages, consult: Bohren. De Sep- tem Sapicntibus (Bonn. 1867) ; and Wulf, De FaieUis cum CoUefiii Septem Sapientiiim Me- moria Conjunctis Qucestiones Criticw (Halle, 1896). A Greek collection of these aphorisms in iambics was published by WOlfflin in the I'rocecd- ings of the Bavarian Academy (1886), and there are two Latin collections by Brunco (Bayreuth, 1885). SEVEN SLEEPERS, The. The heroes of a celebrated legend, which exists in several Syriac versions, the earliest being that of Jacob of Sarug (451-521). As given in the Latin version by Gregory of Tours they were seven Christians (brothers) of Ephesus, who, during the per- secution of Decius in 250, took refuge in a cave near the citj'. Their retreat was discovered and the entrance walled up. A miracle, however, was interposed in their behalf, and they fell into a preternatural sleep. Two hundred years later, near the end of the reign of Theodosius II. (408- 450), the cave was accidentally opened, and the sleepers awoke. They supposed they had slept for but a single night, and when one of their number went to the city stealthily to pur- chase provisions he was amazed to find his coin no longer current, and the Christian religion hon- ored and accepted by rulers and people. When the wonderful history became known the sleepers were conducted in triumphant procession into the city, but they all died at the same moment. They are honored as saints by the Western and East- ern churches ; in the former their day is July 27th, in the Greek Church August 2d or 4th, and with the JIaronites March 7th. They are also honored by the Mohammedans, their story being found in the Koran (xviii. 8-24). Consult: Koch, Die SiebenschUiferlcgende (Leipzig, 1883); Bar- ing-Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (London, 1881). SEVENTEEN- YEAR LOCUST. See Cicada. SEVENTH. See LxreRVAL. SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. See Ad- VEXTISTS. SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS. See Baptists, Seventh Day. SEVEN WEEKS' WAR. The name given to the brief war in 1866 between Prussia and Italy on the one side and Austria and her German allies on the other. Bavaria, Wiirttemberg, Baden, Sax- ony, Hesse, Hesse-Cassel, Hanover, and Nassau were on the side of Austria. The war was the culmination of Bismarck's plan for forcing Austria out of the German Confederation and making way for a new Germany under Prussian leadership. For an account of the preliminary events which led up to the struggle, see Bismarck; Germany; Prussia ; and Schleswig-Holstein. On April 8, 1866, Prussia had concluded a secret alliance with Italy, and the issue of a federal execution by the Diet against Prussia on June 14th was followed by the declaration of war against Austria, Saxony, Hanover, and Hesse- Cassel. The invasion of Bohemia was immedi- ately begun. The central (First) Prussian army, under Prince Frederick Charles (q.v. ), entered from Eastern Saxony, crossing the frontier range of the Erzgebirge toward Reich- enberg; the western or Elbe (Third) army, under General Herwarth von Bittenfeld. started from Dresden, and entered Bohemia by Neustadt and Schluckenau ; while the eastern or Silesian (Second) army, under the Crown Prince, Frede- rick William (later the German Emperor Fred- erick III.) (q.v.), entered Bohemia from Silesia by the Trautenau and Nachod passes. As the Austrians expected the attack from Silesia, by far the greater portion of their army was sta-