ng with the front of General McClellan. The divisions of
Magruder and Huger, supported by those of Longstreet and D.H. Hill,
were opposite McClellan's left, on the Williamsburg and York River
roads, directly east of the city. From Magruder's left, extended the
division of General A.P. Hill, reaching thence up the river toward
Mechanicsville; and a brigade, under General Branch lay on Hill's left
near the point where the Brook Turnpike crosses the Chickahominy north
of Richmond. The approaches from the east, northeast, and north, were
thus carefully guarded. As the Confederates held the interior line,
the whole force could be rapidly concentrated, and was thoroughly in
hand, both for offensive or defensive movements.

The army thus held in Lee's grasp, and about to assail its great
Federal adversary, was composed of the best portion of the Southern
population. The rank and file was largely made up of men of education
and high social position. And this resulted from the character of the
struggle. The war was a war of invasion on the part of the North;
and the ardent and high-spirited youth of the entire South threw
themselves into it with enthusiasm. The heirs of ancient families and
great wealth served as privates. Personal pride, love of country,
indignation at the thought that a hostile section had sent an army to
reduce them to submission, combined to draw into the Confederate ranks
the flower of the Southern youth, and all the best fighting material.
Deficient in discipline, and "hard to manage," this force was yet of
the most efficient character. It could be counted on for hard work,
and especially for offensive operations. And the officers placed over
it shared its character.

Among these, General A.P. Hill, a Virginian by birth, was soon to be
conspicuous as commander of the "Light Division," and representative
of the spirit and dash and enthusiasm of the army. Under forty years
of age, with a slender figure, a heavily-bearded face, dark eyes, a
composed and unassuming bearing, characterized when off duty by a
quiet cordiality, he was personally popular with all who approached
him, and greatly beloved, both as man and commander. His chief merit
as a soldier was his dash and impetus in the charge. A braver heart
never beat in human breast; throughout the war he retained the respect
and admiration of the army and the country; and a strange fact in
relation to this eminent soldier is, that his name was uttered by bo