Special Orders, No.22
Headquarters, Richmond,VA., June 1st, 1862.
In pursuance of the orders of the President, General R.E. Lee assumes command of the armies of eastern Virginia and North Carolina. The unfortunate casualty that has deprived the army in front of Richmond of the valuable services of it's able general is not more deeply deplored by any member of the command than by it's present commander. He hopes his absence will be but temporary, and while he will endeavor to the best of his ability to perform his duties, he feels he will be totally inadequate to the task unless he shall receive the cordial support of every officer and man.
By order of General Lee.
W.H. Taylor, Assistant Adjutant General
In the early hours of June 1, General Robert E. Lee took command of the armies in the field. The troops were immediately ordered back to the positions they had occupied prior to the battle at Seven Pines. McClellan had already begun to strengthen his position at Seven Pines. Gen Franklin's US VI Corps was moved from the north to the south side of the Chickahominy River. On the left was Gen Sumner's II Corps and to his left Gen Heintzelman's III Corps which extended as far as White Oak Swamp. Gen Keyes' IV Corps was in reserve leaving only Fitz John Porter's V Corps north of the Chickahominy near Gaines Mill. The Union front thus covered a distance of approx. 10 miles and was as close as five miles to Richmond on the far right flank.
Lee had five divisions facing more than 100,000 Federal troops. Gen A.P. Hill was on the left at Meadow Bridge with Gens Huger and Magruder further to the south supported by Gens Longstreet and D.H. Hill. The Federal entrenchments were too strong for a direct assault and Lee determined that he would need to turn one of the enemy's flanks. The Federal left was most heavily defended by a series of strong fortifications and heavy guns. The Federal right appeared to be less so. However, Lee needed some means of determining whether an assault on the Federal right was practical. He called on the Confederate Calvary under J.E.B. Stuart to perform the reconnaissance.
On the morning of June 12, Stuart, with 1200 calvary and a section of artillery, began the most famous ride of his career. Giving the impression that he was going to join Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, he began heading north, but the next day he veered eastward towards Hanover Court House. In less than a week Gen Stuart rode completely around the Federal Army, located their lines of communication, and determined that the Federal right flank was indeed "in the air". Lee immediately notified Gen Stonewall Jackson to leave the Shenendoah and march with his Army of the Valley so as to attack Porter's Corps north of the Chickahominy.
The US government, and particularly President Lincoln, were concerned about the threat that Jackson posed to Washington, D.C. As McClellan continued to call for reinforcements on the Peninsula, Lincoln vacillated between sending Gen Irvin McDowell's Corps to McClellan or keeping it to guard the capital. Jackson and his army left the valley on June 18 to begin the more than 400 mile journey to Richmond.
On June 24, Lee issued the orders that would set in motion the first of the Seven Day's battles. Believing that Jackson would be in position to fall on the Federal right early on the 26th, he ordered his remaining divisions to begin a general attack on that day. Gen A.P. Hill was directed to capture Mechanicsville enabling Longstreet and D.H. Hill to cross the bridge over the Chickahominy at that point and, in conjunction with Jackson sweeping in from the north, surround and defeat the 25,000 troops of Porter's Corps. Unfortunately, Jackson was one day too slow and the attack began about 2:00 pm on June 26th without him.
McClellan had intended to launch his own attack on the 26th of June but was delayed in doing so and forced to go on the defensive by Lee's attack. Lee had left only a thin line of defense in front of Richmond as he threw his forces across the Chickahominy River. Had McClellan attacked as planned he probably could have been in Richmond by dinnertime. However, being the cautious soul that he was, the attack never came off.
Porter's Corps, although isolated on the Federal right, repulsed the Confederate assault but was ordered by McClellan to pull back some three miles to a strong position at Gaines Mill, where the next day he was hammered again. McClellan, now realizing that Jackson had indeed shown up and fearing that he was greatly outnumbered, ordered a Federal retreat south of the river. During the next three days the typically over-cautious McClellan, shifted his entire army and it's supply base southward to the James River. In a series of battles, June 29th at Savage's Station; June 30th at White Oak Swamp; and culminating July 1st at Malvern Hill, McClellan was able to pull his army to safety.
Despite the great success of Lee's attack in forcing McClellan to retreat, the Army of Northern Virginia was never quite able to defeat the Army of the Potomac. A series of miscommunications and difficult road conditions resulted in attacks which were never as well coordinated as they were planned. Jackson, charged with the largest amount of territory to cross, managed to get entangled and slowed, most significantly in the White Oak Swamp on June 30th. By the time he had extricted his troops, it was too late in the day to continue the attack. Another opportunity had been missed. On July 1st the Federal Army had it's strongest position on Malvern Hill and the toughest fighting yet for the Rebel troops lay ahead.
At Malvern Hill, McClellan concentrated his artillery, supported by masses of infantry, and protected by earthworks. In front of the Federal line, the ground was open and gradually sloped down from the crest of the hill. Gen. Lee observed that "To reach this open ground our troops had to advance through a broken and thickly wooded country, traversed nearly throughout it's whole extent by a swamp passable but few places, difficult at those. The whole was in range of the batteries on the heights and the gunboats on the river, under whose incessant fire our movements had to be executed."
Making one of his few mistakes of the campaign, Lee ordered Jackson's, Hill's, Macgruder's and Huger's divisions to attack the Federal line. As with previous assaults, the attacks came off uncoordinated and when night fell the Rebels were forced to retire. The next day the Federal Army continued it's retreat to Harrison's Landing within range of the heavy guns of the US Navy. Realizing that there was nothing else he could do, Lee directed the Army to return to it's former positions around Richmond on July 8th. The siege of Richmond was raised.
If the Seven Days established the reputation of Robert E. Lee as a field commander, it did quite the opposite for George McClellan. The "Young Napolean" was left dangling at Harrison's Landing on the James River, while the Union Army of Virginia was organized under Major General John Pope. The Peninsula Campaign was over, and Lee, taking the risk that McClellan would not be reinforced, directed first Jackson, then the remainder of his army back into Northern Virginia. General Pope would move south to meet him in the Second Manassas Campaign.
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