[CHAPTER VIII.]
SEVEN DAYS OF FIGHTING.
The chances for taking Richmond became less with each day's delay. While the Army of the Potomac were digging and delving in the swamps, and constructing batteries, their ranks thinning out by disease, the Rebels, also, were hard at work erecting defensive batteries, on firm ground, and mounting guns of large caliber. Their ranks, instead of growing thin, were filling up. Troops were hurried in from all parts of the South. The Conscript law which the Confederate Congress had passed was in operation, and was carried out with remorseless energy. Men were compelled to enter the service.
The Union army in front of Richmond, on the 20th of June, numbered, fit for duty, 115,102 men. There were 12,225 sick, and 20,511 absent. Leaves of absence and furloughs had been granted freely. Officers and men, on a slight pretext, found it not very difficult to obtain leave of absence, and thus this army, through no fault of the government, became greatly depleted.
At this time General Jackson was in the Shenandoah Valley with a large force. By his operations there, it was found necessary to keep General McDowell in position to cover Washington. On the 18th of June, General McClellan informed the Secretary of War that deserters said troops were on their way from Richmond to reinforce Jackson.
On the same day, a man entered the Union lines at Fredericksburg, who pretended to be a Frenchman. He stated that he met from ten to fifteen thousand men on their way to Gordonsville, going to join Jackson.
A despatch was also received from General Sigel, who was in the Valley, that a large body of Rebels had arrived at Gordonsville.
All of this went to show that a grand movement was to be made in the Valley, or upon Washington. Such, undoubtedly, the Rebel commanders intended the government at Washington should understand their plan to be. But they had no intention of marching down the Shenandoah Valley, or of attacking Washington. They wished to prevent any more reinforcements from joining General McClellan, and also to cover their real point of attack.
General McClellan's army was still divided by the Chickahominy. Sumner, Heintzelman, and Keyes were on the south side, and Porter and Franklin, with McCall's newly arrived troops, were on the north bank.