just before the battle of Cross Keys, when he captured Colonel Percy Wyndham, of Fremont's cavalry, and sixty-three of his men. Shortly after, while leading the Fifty-eighth Virginia in a charge, his horse was shot under him. He sprang to his feet, and waving his sword, shouted, "Virginians, charge!" At that moment a bullet pierced his breast and he fell dead. The Confederates greatly mourned his loss as one of the best and most fearless of their cavalry leaders.

By the 25th of May, just before McDowell's corps was ordered back, McClellan had crossed the Chickahominy with two corps, under Keyes and Heintzelman. The Chickahominy rises in the highlands northwest of Richmond, and flowing in a gene

SAMUEL P. HEINTZELMAN.

ral southeasterly direction at last turns south and empties into the James. Its course around Richmond is through a heavily wooded swamp. In dry seasons it is little more than a brook, but in wet weather it overflows its banks and floods all the swamp and bottom land which border it. McClellan at once began to bridge the stream and to build log roads to move his artillery through the swamps,

but heavy rains came on and raised the water to a greater height than had been known for twenty years. The bridges built were carried away and others had to be constructed, higher and stronger than the first. This took much time, and meanwhile, the remainder of the army being prevented by the flood from crossing, the two corps on the Richmond side were in much danger of being cut off by the enemy.

General Johnston, seeing McClellan's error in thus dividing his army, prepared, on the morning of May 31, to attack Keyes and Heintzelman, in hope of defeating them before McClellan could get his other men across the Chickahominy. But rain fell all night and made the roads so muddy that the movement

1862.]

BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS.

257

could not be made until afternoon. The first division of Keyes's corps, commanded by General Casey, was stationed about six miles from Richmond, on the Williamsburg road, in front of Seven Pines, a country tavern near seven large pine trees; and Couch's division of the same corps was at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, the latter a station on the Richmond and York River Railroad. Generals Longstreet and D. H. Hill attacked Casey with a largely superior force, and after a severe fight drove him back, capturing six of his guns. Casey's disordered troops fell back upon Couch's line at Seven Pines, where a stand was made. Some time after four o'clock, part of Kearney's division of Heintzelman's corps came to their aid, but the Confederates again broke their lines and drove them back more than a mile, when night finally ended the fight.

In the meantime General Couch had moved toward Fair Oaks to attack the Confederates on their left. To his surprise he was met by large bodies of fresh troops, who attacked him fiercely and cut him off from the main body of his division at Seven Pines. These were the troops of General G. W. Smith, and General Johnston himself was with them. It seemed then as if the Confederates would succeed in destroying or capturing the whole of the army on that side of the Chickahominy, but when Couch was hardest pressed another force came into the field. General Sumner, whose corps lay on the opposite side of the river, had succeeded in getting part of it over by means of two scarcely finished bridges, and about six o'clock the division of General John Sedgwick reached a place near Fair Oaks where Couch was struggling hard to hold the enemy back. The Confederates made several desperate attempts to break the line, but were each time repulsed, and at last General Sumner ordered a charge, and they were forced back in confusion. This saved the day and the army, for night then put an end to the fighting at this place also.

About seven o'clock General Johnston was wounded by a musket-ball in the right shoulder, and a few minutes afterward a large piece of a shell struck him in the breast and knocked him from his horse. He was carried from the field in an ambulance, and the command of the army fell to Major-General G. W. Smith. The two armies occupied their positions during the next day (Sunday). An attack was made on part of Hill's

line in the morning by some of the Union troops, but it was repulsed, and Hill's men picked up and removed from the field nearly seven thousand muskets and rifles, and a large quantity of tents and stores. At noon of Sunday, General Robert E. Lee was appointed commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, and on Monday morning the troops were all marched back to their camps near Richmond. This battle, which was claimed as a victory by both parties, was called by the Confederates Seven Pines, and by the Unionists Fair Oaks; but there were really two separate engagements, the one at Seven Pines being a Confederate success, and that at Fair Oaks a Union success. The loss of the two in the double battle was about equal,

ROBERT E. LEE.

each having nearly seven thousand killed, wounded, and missing. Among the Union wounded at Fair Oaks was General O. O. Howard, who lost his right arm. As he was being carried from the field he called out to General Kearney, who had no left arm, 66 Kearney, we'll buy our gloves together!"

The first successful experiment of telegraphing from a balloon was made

during this battle. It had been tried near Washington the summer before, but, although the newspapers were filled with accounts of the "wonderful experiment," it was almost a failure. This time, however, Professor Lowe, who had charge of the army balloons, succeeded in sending messages during the battle from his balloon when more than a third of a mile above the heads of the enemy. From that height he could see the Confederate columns moving to the attack, the smoke and confusion of the battle, and the long lines of ambulances, wagons, and carts carrying the dead and wounded into Richmond, the streets and houses of which were plainly visible in the distance. Balloons were much used during McClellan's campaign, but after

1862.1

WAR BALLOONS.

259

ward they fell into disuse. They were kept in position by means of a strong cable held by men, though sometimes several cables were used, as shown in the picture. One day, when General Fitz John Porter was watching the enemy from a balloon, the cable broke and he was carried by the wind over the Confederate lines. By pulling the valve-string he let out some of the gas, and the balloon coming down into a current of air blowing the other way, he landed safe within the Union lines.

After this General McClellan remained in the swamps of the Chickahominy nearly a month, repairing his bridges and making ready to move forward. Rain fell frequently and the whole of the bottom lands were flooded three or four feet deep. On the 15th of June he had with him one hundred and fifteen thousand men fit for duty, but he was still undecided when to move. During all this time the pickets of the two armies were often so near as to talk together. Although generally ready to shoot each other at sight, they often mutually agreed to stop hostilities for a time, and to meet on neutral ground between the lines to exchange newspapers or to talk over the war and the prospects of peace. Some funny stories are told of these picket interviews. On one occasion, while the army was lying in the Chickahominy swamps, some Union pickets were cooking their breakfast, when they were startled by a voice near by:

"How are yees, byes ?"

The men looked up and

ARMY BALLOON.

saw peeping over the bushes the face of a jolly-looking Irishman, enlivened by a broad grin which stretched his mouth almost from ear to ear.

"An' what are yees afther doin', gintlemen?"
"Making coffee. Have some?"

"Yees won't be afther shootin' or captivatin' me?" asked Pat, with a glance at their guns hard by.

"Not a bit of it. Come down."

66

"By me sowl, an' it's very temptin' ye are," he replied, stepping from behind the bushes, and showing one of the raggedest specimens of a Butternut the well-clad Union men had ever put eyes on. "Its ilegant manners ye've got intoirely; an' it's meself that likes the company of gintlemen as can affoord to have their bite an' their sup of the caw-fy ivery day. Sure an' it's beautiful that yees make it."

"Well, take another cup."

"An' I jist will. Sure it's splendid caw-fy. The ribblesbad cess to them! (lowering his voice to a confidential whisper) -don't give me a taste of the stuff."

"Yees won't call it bad manners if I do? Sure an' ye're so polite. Ye seem to be comfortable intoirely—ye've ilegant clothes an' the hoight of good livin'."

"That's so."

"Well, byes (with an insinuating smile), I belave I'll stay by the caw-fy and quit the ribbles intoirely."

Pat was as good as his word: he stayed by the " caw-fy" and the Union and proved himself a good soldier.

In the meantime General Lee had been largely reinforced by troops from Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, so that he had under him then about eighty thousand effective men. He determined not to wait for McClellan to advance, but to attack him where he was. McClellan had all this time been throwing up earthworks, and Lee, desiring to know how far these extended, sent General J. E. B. Stuart, with a body of cavalry, to find out.

Stuart, the most famous of the Confederate cavalry leaders, was familiarly called by his classmates at West Point Jeb Stuart. When his native State, Virginia, seceded, he resigned his position as first lieutenant in the United States army, and soon became a colonel of cavalry in the Confederate army. He was only twenty-seven years old at the time, and full of youthful enthusiasm. Indeed, he was always a boy, ready for fun and mischief, or for reckless adventure, who looked upon war as an exciting game, never giving a thought to the bitter side of the