The Army of the Potomac was presently separated into two parts; only the Fifth Army Corps and one additional division remained on the north side, or left bank, of the Chickahominy, all the other troops being on the right bank of the river and nearer Richmond. They formed the left wing of the army between the Chickahominy and the James rivers; while we formed the right wing, virtually cut off and liable to be out-flanked by the enemy, for the Chickahominy was bordered by large forest trees and low, marshy bottoms which a single heavy rainstorm would overflow; all bridges had been destroyed and had to be rebuilt and a number of new ones constructed.
General McDowell with the First Army Corps and other troops, to the number of about forty thousand men in all, formed an independent command at Fredericksburg at this time, only a few days' march away from General Porter's Fifth Army Corps. General McClellan had most earnestly requested the authorities at Washington to allow General McDowell to form a junction with him to strengthen the right wing of the Army of the Potomac, but General McDowell did not receive an order to join until it was too late, and we had to pay a fearful price for the delinquency.
At this time there were no less than six independent commands in various parts of Virginia, and even the soldiers in the ranks could understand that the war in that state was being conducted from Washington; no important operations could be undertaken without the approval of the President, Secretary of War Stanton, or the Commander-in-Chief, Halleck. It was not until General Grant's time in 1864 that the commander of this army was given a free hand.
After we had been a few days at this camp it was discovered that two brigades of the enemy, estimated at twelve thousand strong, were at Hanover Court House, between McDowell's army and our own and were threatening our communications with the White House, our base of supplies. A division of the Fifth Corps, together with Warren's brigade and some cavalry and artillery, marched at daylight next morning and encountered the enemy. Next day there was a spirited engagement in which the Rebels lost about a thousand, killed, wounded and prisoners, and were obliged to retreat to Richmond, while the Union loss was less than four hundred. The two regular brigades marched to the field a day later as a support, but we were not called into action. The "Duryee Zouaves" took part in the engagement, sustaining only a trifling loss. The following day the Virginia Central Railroad with its bridges was destroyed by our troops as far as Ashland and we returned to our camp at Gaines's Mill.
We assisted in building approaches across the Chickahominy swamps to the new bridges erected by the engineers and sometimes we worked in mud and water all day. Occasionally the enemy fired some shells at us without much damage and were quickly silenced by some of our batteries posted in a commanding position to protect the bridge.
The Rebels had one very long range gun which they sometimes fired from the other side of the Chickahominy in the direction of our camp. We could not hear the report of the gun but heard the shell pass over us and explode far beyond. This gun was supposed to be of English manufacture—the best type of rifled cannon made at that time.
On one of these working parties we found in a field a tobacco barn in which there was a goodly quantity of dried leaf-tobacco, from which we abstracted as much as the small party in my charge were able to conceal and carry away without being discovered. Next day in camp we made cigars of the stogie shape and enjoyed smoking them.
On the thirty-first of May occurred the very severe battle of Fair Oaks on the right bank of the Chickahominy, in which the Fifth Army Corps took no part, but was kept in readiness to cross the river, if that could have been accomplished. The recent heavy rainstorms had caused such a flood that the bridges had been carried away and the unfinished approaches destroyed. The enemy knew this and no doubt counted on the fact that our army was separated by an impassable river and could not be united at that time. We heard the constant roar of artillery and infantry firing from noon until dark. It recommenced at daylight next morning and lasted for several hours. We learned later that our troops were driven back on the first day, but regained their position the following morning and drove the enemy two miles further in flight towards Richmond, only five miles away. It was a victory for the Union Army, but could not be followed up; the condition of the roads was so bad that artillery could not follow. The troops went back to their former lines and greatly strengthened them. The combined losses of both armies in this battle were upwards of twelve thousand, killed and wounded.
When the month had expired, during which I had been excused from guard and picket, I had to resume those duties again. The guard duty was easy enough as we only maintained a camp guard; but going on picket was a very hard task which happened once a week or oftener, at this camp. Our entire company would march out of camp near evening, leaving our tents standing but taking our knapsacks with us. We would then proceed for a few miles in whatever direction we had been ordered to go, until we arrived at the picket reserve whom we were to relieve. There we were divided into relieves for day and night duties and received our orders and special instructions from the officer in command. When darkness came on we marched out to the picket line in small detachments, were challenged by the sentinels and relieved them consecutively, being informed by the soldier relieved of any suspicious circumstances or points to be especially watched. Then began our lonely vigil through the night until relieved at daybreak, for when near the enemy we had to remain on post all night, or from dawn till dark, as relief detachments were frequently fired on, even though the opposing picket lines did not fire at each other by a sort of mutual understanding during the daytime.
Picket posts were generally within sight or hailing distance of each other; some had the protection of trees or bushes or rising ground, while others were out in the open fields without any protection or concealment. Although I was a corporal, I had to take my place on the picket line with my squad when conditions were such that the pickets could not be relieved at regular hours in front of the enemy. While the daylight tours were much longer at this season of the year, I found the night tours a greater strain on me and more exhausting. There was a continuous strain on the eye and ear, watching for the movement of dark objects or listening for noises; a bird or a small animal moving in the bushes might sound like the stealthy approach of a person; while to fire a shot or to give a false alarm without a good cause meant punishment. We kept our rifles at half-cock, but when hearing a suspicious noise I would stand still and bring mine to a full-cock, waiting until all was quiet again. It was very hard sometimes to fight off sleep. When I felt a drowsy feeling stealing over me, I resorted to all kinds of expedients to keep awake, even to rubbing tobacco into my eyes to make them smart.