treatment
of the subject is left to others, who write under the influence of
partisan afflatus, rather than with the judicious moderation of
the historian. Nor are battles themselves the subjects of greatest
interest to the thoughtful student. The combinations devised by great
commanders are of more interest than the actual struggles. We have
therefore dwelt at greater length upon the plans of Generals Lee
and McClellan than we shall dwell upon the actual fighting of their
armies.

III.

THE BATTLE OF THE CHICKAHOMINY.

On the morning of the 26th of June, 1862, all was ready for the great
encounter of arms between the Confederates and the Federal forces on
the Chickahominy. General Jackson had been delayed on his march from
the mountains, and had not yet arrived; but it was known that he was
near, and would soon make his appearance; and, in the afternoon,
General Lee accordingly directed that the movement should commence.
At the word, General A.P. Hill moved from his camps to Meadow Bridge,
north of Richmond; crossed the Chickahominy there, and moved rapidly
on Mechanicsville, where a small Federal force, behind intrenchments,
guarded the head of the bridge. This force was not a serious obstacle,
and Hill soon disposed of it. He attacked the Federal works, stormed
them after a brief struggle, and drove the force which had occupied
them back toward Beaver Dam Creek, below. The Mechanicsville bridge
was thus cleared; and, in compliance with his orders from Lee, General
Longstreet hastened to throw his division across. Hill had meanwhile
pressed forward on the track of the retreating enemy, and, a mile or
two below, found himself in front of a much more serious obstruction
than that encountered at the bridge, namely, the formidable position
held by the enemy on Beaver Dam Creek.

The ground here is of a peculiar character, and admirably adapted for
a defensive position against an enemy advancing from above. On the
opposite side of a narrow valley, through which runs Beaver Dam Creek,
rises a bold, almost precipitous, bluff, and the road which the
Confederates were compelled to take bends abruptly to the right when
near the stream, thus exposing the flank of the assaulting party to a
fire from the bluff. As Hill's column pushed forward to attack this
position, it was met by a determined fire of artillery and small-arms
from the crest beyond the stream, where a large force of riflemen, in
pits, were posted, wi