Background Battle of Glendale
the 7 days battles began union attack in minor battle of oak grove on june 25, 1862, mcclellan lost initiative lee began series of attacks @ beaver dam creek (mechanicsville) on june 26, gaines s mill on june 27, minor actions @ garnett s , golding s farm on june 27 , june 28, , attack on union rear guard @ savage s station on june 29. mcclellan s army of potomac continued retreat toward safety of harrison s landing on james river.
after gaines s mill, mcclellan left army no clear instructions on routes of withdrawal , without naming second-in-command. bulk of v corps (less mccall), under brig. gen. fitz john porter, moved occupy malvern hill, while remaining 4 corps of army of potomac operating independently in fighting withdrawal. elements of army had been able cross white oak swamp creek noon on june 30. 1 third of army had reached james river, remainder still marching between white oak swamp , glendale. (glendale name of tiny community @ intersection of charles city road , quaker road, or willis church road, led on malvern hill james river.) after inspecting line of march morning, mcclellan rode south , boarded ironclad uss galena on james.
lee ordered army of northern virginia converge on retreating union forces, bottlenecked on inadequate road network. army of potomac, lacking overall command coherence, presented discontinuous, ragged defensive line. stonewall jackson ordered press union rear guard @ white oak swamp crossing while largest part of lee s army, 45,000 men, attack army of potomac in mid-retreat @ glendale, 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest, splitting in two. huger s division strike first after three-mile (5 km) march on charles city road, supported longstreet , a.p. hill, divisions 7 miles (11 km) west, in mass attack. holmes ordered cannonade retreating federals near malvern hill.
Comments
Post a Comment