This first clash of arms tested the fighting qualities of the Confederates; but the soil was Virginia, and for them it was to be death or victory.
The close of the battle of the 21st found the Federals beaten and fleeing towards the shelter of their capital. They had fought stubbornly. McDowell made a gallant effort to recover his lost power, riding with his troops and urging them to brave effort. Although his renewed efforts were heroic, his men seemed to have given confidence over to despair when fight was abandoned and flight ensued. Over the contested field of the first battle of the war, Longstreet had borne the victorious banners of the South.
WILLIAMSBURG
“General Longstreet’s clear head and brave heart left no apology for interference at Williamsburg.”—Joseph E. Johnston.
This battle was fairly fought and dearly won by the Confederacy, May 5, 1862. General Joseph E. Johnston was chief in command and General Longstreet had the active direction of the battle.
In his official report upon the battle, General Johnston said,—
“The action gradually increased in magnitude until about three o’clock, when General Longstreet, commanding the rear, requested that a part of Major-General Hill’s troops might be sent to his aid. Upon this I rode upon the field, but found myself compelled to be a spectator, for General Longstreet’s clear head and brave heart left no apology for interference.”
The battle was fought by Sickles’s Federal Third Corps, that heroically contested every inch of the ground.
It was at the close of the battle that General Hancock distinguished himself by holding his position in and about the forts with five regiments and two batteries against the assault of the Fifth North Carolina and Twenty-fourth Virginia Regiments, and it was on this field that he won the title of “The Superb,” given to him by McClellan in his report.