Upon General Lee's arrival, General Beauregard, after riding with him towards the right of our line, on an elevation somewhat in advance of the City Reservoir, from whence a very good view was had of the whole field, proposed to him that, as soon as Hill's and Anderson's corps should arrive, an attack should be made upon General Grant's left flank and rear. General Lee refused his assent, on the ground that his troops needed rest, and that the defensive having been thus far so advantageous to him against Grant's offensive, north of the James, and to Beauregard, at Petersburg, he preferred continuing the same mode of warfare.

The Federals, with their ample resources, were so speedily and strongly intrenched against attack-as was foreseen by General Beauregard in his conference with General Lee-that, at any later date, the offensive became impracticable.

Had General Beauregard's warning of the situation and his urgent requisitions been heeded in season, or as late as mid-day of the 16th (that is, twenty-four hours after Grant's whole army had crossed the river), even if no offensive operation had been undertaken by the Confederates, the repulse of the Federals, that afternoon, must have been so severe as to change entirely the face and fortune of the campaign: a repulse far more important than that inflicted at Cold Harbor might then have been given. Or, if General Lee, when informed by General Beauregard that he had taken prisoners from three of the Federal corps, had boldly moved forward, with his whole force, or even with two-thirds of it, he might have crushed one-half of General Grant's army. The failure to attempt such a movement is the more justly subject to criticism, because it could have been effected without in any way uncovering Richmond.

General Beauregard's reports and demands, at that period, were discredited and neglected, even by General Lee. Yet it is known that, on June 14th, the latter was aware, from his own sources of information and he reported the fact to the authorities at Richmond-that General Grant's whole army was inassed at Wilcox Landing and Westover-the very point of its passage from the north to the south side of the James-and that its depot, at the White House, had been broken up, and all its material and stores removed, even including the railroad stock. What else could these facts have been supposed to indicate than an entire change. of base on the part of the enemy?

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Unconquerable Spirit of our Troops around Petersburg. -Tribute to the Ladies of that City.-Southern Women.-Quietude of the Federal Army after June 18th.-General Meade Intrenches.-What General Badeau Says of the Failure to Capture Petersburg. — His Comments upon the Late Arrival of General Lee's Army.-How General Beauregard Saved the City. Inaction of General Meade's Army.-Erroneous Explanation of it by General Badeau.-General Beauregard's Comprehension of the Depression of the Enemy.-He Proposes an Immediate Attack.-General Grant's Words.-The Siege of Petersburg.-Criticism of the Confederate Line of Intrenchments. - Denial that General Lee Consulted General Mahone Concerning the Location of the Line.-Details of General Beauregard's Proposed Attack upon the Federal Army.-General Lee Fears that the Topography of the Country will Interfere with the Movements of the Troops.-Consults General Mahone with Reference to the Position of "Second Swamp" and the Railroad Cuts.-General Lee Refuses to Make the Attack.-Reasons for Holding to the Jerusalem Plank Road Line.That Line Maintained until the Close of the War. Untrustworthiness of Southern Historians on this Point.

BEFORE entering upon the events which followed the arrival of General Lee's forces at Petersburg it is but fair to pay a passing tribute to the handful of heroes who unflinchingly bore "the heat and burden" of the four days of unparalleled fighting which we have just described. The beautiful devotion and patriotism of the women of the beleaguered city, during the whole period of the siege, claim also an honored place in these pages. Equal praise should be meted out to those who never wavered before the overwhelming odds confronting them, and to those who nobly encouraged their valor and attended to their needs. It will also be our object, in this chapter, again to direct the reader's attention to the location of the new Confederate lines, so successfully occupied by our troops on the eventful night of the 17th of June.

Throughout the Confederate war no epoch was more trying to our troops in the field, or more clearly demonstrated their powers of endurance and their unconquerable spirit, than the Petersburg campaign. Reference is here made particularly to the struggle of the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th of June. The exhausting work per

formed, the fatigue endured, night and day, by officers and men, and the knowledge that they were outnumbered seven to one, make the courage and stubborn resolution there displayed truly sublime. It was a great feat in military annals. On the 15th 2200 men defending Petersburg prevented 22,000 from effecting its capture. On the evening of the 16th 10,000 men stood a successful barrier to 66,000. The same 10,000 men, on the 17th, confronted 90,000, and were not defeated. On the 18th our troops, reinforced, first by Kershaw's, then by Field's division, of General Lee's army-making an aggregate of 15,000 in the forenoon, and about 20,000 in the afternoon-not only withstood, but bloodily repulsed, the combined attack of these 90,000 men. The loss of the enemy exceeded ours in more than the proportion of his strength to ours-it was nine times greater. Indeed, it amounted to more than the number of men we had in action.

"In these preliminary operations against Petersburg, which may be brought together under the definition of 'the period of assaults,' though no large action had taken place, the rolls of the army showed a loss of 15,000 men.*

If we cannot here inscribe the names of all those who figured in that bloody drama, we may at least make mention of their commanders and of those whose untiring efforts aided them successfully to maintain their ground. Hoke, Johnson, Wise, Hagood, Colquitt, Gracie, Martin, Dearing, are names that should be remembered. To the men who fought under them the highest praise is due; and whatever of glory belongs to the former belongs also to those whose strong arms and stout hearts so effectually carried out their orders. Nor should the name of Harris, the able Engineer and fearless officer, be omitted from that list of heroes.

When the war-cloud settled upon that part of Virginia, and the fate of Petersburg hung in the balance, the noble women of the besieged city and its environs could be seen, night and day, thronging forth, as far as they were permitted to go, rendering invaluable assistance to the wounded, and breathing words of solace and peace in the ears of the dying. The work performed by them was efficient and intelligent, and not the well-meant but fitful efforts of the favored daughters of fashion. Personal comfort was put aside by them; and many a Confederate soldier, now in

*Swinton, "Army of the Potomac," p. 515.

the enjoyment of full health and strength, may attribute his recovery from illness, from wounds, or from physical exhaustion, to the unremitting attention given him by these patriotic women. During the whole war, and in all parts of the Confederacy, the women of the South were up to this high standard. They never, to our knowledge, in any single instance failed. Their conviction of the justice of the cause was profound, and truly has it been said of them-"their hearts were in the war."

After the total repulse of the Federal army on the evening of the 18th no further effort was made by the enemy to renew the assault upon Petersburg. The musket was replaced by the spade in the hands of the Union soldiers, and nothing of moment occurred between the two armies then confronting each other until the memorable event so appropriately termed by Mr. Swinton "the mine fiasco."* 66 'Being satisfied," says General Meade, in his report, "that Lee's army was before me, and nothing further to be gained by direct attacks, offensive operations ceased, and the work of intrenching a line commenced, which line is part of that at present held."+

In his "Military History of Ulysses S. Grant" (vol. ii., p. 372) General Badeau uses the following language:

"The General-in-chief was greatly chagrined at the failure of Smith to capture Petersburg. The plan of the movement had been to take that place by surprise; and when, on the 15th, Grant ascertained that Lee was still on the northern side of the James, while Smith and Hancock were combined, with nearly forty thousand men, in front of Petersburg, ‡ he looked upon victory as assured. Even after the early success of Smith had been left unimproved, it was still possible, by further attacks, to secure the capture of the place before Lee's entire army could arrive. The assaults of the 16th, 17th, and 18th were all made with this idea; for if the rebels were not at once dislodged, it was apparent that a long and tedious siege must follow; in fact, a new series of combinations would become necessary, and a chilling disappointment fall upon the spirit of the North. Every effort was therefore made south of the Appomattox; and when an unexpected opportunity was offered in front of Bermuda Hundreds, Butler was urged again and again to hold what he had acquired, and even to retake the position, after it had slipped from his grasp. He seemed, indeed, to appreciate the importance of his prize, but did not succeed in retaining it, and, at the end of three days, the rebels again held the railway between Petersburg and Richmond, and all

* "Army of the Potomac," p. 518.

+ General Meade's report bears date November 1st, 1864.

A fact which even President Davis appears not to have known.

the great avenues connecting the Confederacy and its capital were in their control.

"But, if the well-laid plans of the National commander had thus been doubly and trebly foiled, Lee had by no means displayed consummate generalship. He made at the outset the grave mistake, which came so near being fatal, of remaining north of the James till Grant had arrived in front of Petersburg; and, even after starting from Cold Harbor, his alacrity was not conspicuous. It was not until the morning of the 18th that his principal columns again confronted the Army of the Potomac; and he himself only arrived in Petersburg on that day.* It was Beauregard who saved the town. It was he who foresaw the intention of Grant, and brought the troops from Bermuda Hundreds without orders, neglecting or, rather, risking the lesser place, to secure that which was all-important; massing and strengthening the inner works on the night of the 15th, and, afterwards, holding Meade and Smith at bay, until Lee arrived in force. Then the combined rebel army, amounting to sixty thousand men, again on the defensive, and again behind earthworks, was able to withstand the attacks of the wearied veterans who were brought up, after their march of fifty miles, to still renewed assaults."

While noticing the general correctness of this account, so strikingly in contrast with what is said upon this subject by many a Southern writer, including Mr. Davis himself, we deem it necessary to point out a palpable omission on the part of General Badeau.

On the 20th of June, after the arrival of General Lee's forces at Petersburg, the Confederate army was still inferior in number to the Federal army to the extent of 30,000 men; and the "wearied veterans" alluded to by General Badeau had undergone no such fatigue as General Beauregard's troops had borne from the 15th to the 18th, inclusive; nor had they been subjected to more marching than General Lee's two army corps; nor were the breast works they would have assaulted so "formidable" as they are represented to be; for, though begun by General Beauregard during the night of the 17th, they were not completed until days and weeks after General Lee's arrival. Some other reason must be assigned for the inertness and comparative inactivity of the Federal army after the 18th of June, and that reason General Badeau himself finally gives in the following language:

General Badeau quotes General Beauregard's telegram to General Bragg, dated June 18th, wherein it appears that General Lee, in person, reached Petersburg on that day, at 11.30 A. M.