George Right Smith - The Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign

(See also Wikipedia's Peninsula Campaign article)

Battle of Seven Pines (See also Wikipedia's Seven Pines) – From May 7 through June 11, 1862, the Texas Brigade received their first real test in battle around the Richmond area. Their first taste of action was in a small engagement around West Point, VA on May 7. This small holding action was considered a success as a newly landed Union division under General William Franklin was held in check by only three Confederate brigades, including the Texas Brigade and a young Private George R Smith.

Then, on May 24, 1862, there were several skirmishes at Seven Pines, Savage Station, and Chickahominy. These led up to the battle May 31 at Seven Pines, also known as Fair Oaks to the Union soldiers. Seven Pines is the name of an intersection seven miles (11 km) east of Richmond where the Williamsburg "old stage" road intersected with the Nine-mile road. About one mile (1.6 km) from Seven Pines, where the Nine-mile road crossed the Richmond and York River Railroad, there is a station called Fair Oaks.

It was in this area that confederate General Gustavus Smith said:

...was fought the first great contest between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Federal Army of the Potomac.

It was indeed one of the bloodiest to that day.

The Texas Brigade, and the 18th Georgia Regiment, with George Smith was now assigned to General Daniel H. Hill's Division. They were stationed on the Williamsburg road awaiting support troops from Generals Longstreet, Whiting and Huger. However, for many reasons support did not arrive at the appointed time or place.

The night before, a terrific storm lashed the entire area badly. Prior to the battle, General Hill, seeing the rough terrain of the area as a hazard, had his men place a white cloth around their hats as a precaution to serve as a battle-badge. As it turned out, this was a great idea that may have aided immensely in the outcome... All were in dense marshy woods, or on the terribly muddy road wading through water two to three feet deep and through thick underbrush.

At the beginning of the battle, George Smith found himself positioned about 1,000 yards (910 m) west and in front of the Federal picket-line. The federals, novices of Silas Casey's division, were hunkered down in flooded rifle pits. At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the impatient General Hill's signal guns were fired to begin the attack, and Hill's division immediately moved forward unsupported. The union line shuddered under Hill's initial blow. Some units broke and ran... On seeing this, the union put forward one regiment to support the picket-line.

After two hours of close and bloody fighting, Hill's division, unaided, had overrun the entire Federal first line of defense and was closely pressing upon their second line. However, the next day, all of the land gained in the first day's battle was lost. 6100 Confederate and 5000 Federals were killed, wounded, or missing during the 2 day battle.

Of note, here, it was during the Battle of Seven Pines that General Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia after General Joseph Johnston fell wounded on June 1,. Lee officially assumed command June 1, 1862.

Gaines Mill and the Battle of Cold Harbor – On June 11, 1862, the Texas Brigade left the Richmond area near Seven Pines to join Stonewall Jackson's command in the Blue Ridge Gap east of Port Republic. Lee knew that, in order to defend Richmond he MUST attack. Jackson's command was ordered immediately back to Richmond to join in the Peninsula Campaign and what came to be known as the Seven Days Battle, June 25 to July 1.

The Texas Brigade, arriving well ahead of Jackson but a day later than planned, was used as a shock troop unit to break the Federal center at Cold Harbor, northeast of Richmond near the Chickahominy River. It was the second day of battle when General John Hood reported to General Longstreet who was already engaged in battle. With the 18th Georgia Regiment leading the charge, George Smith's unit broke the line.

The 18th was the first unit through the gap, and suffered 146 killed or wounded. George R. Smith was hit in the knee, wounded by a Minié ball. Together, the two armies lost 15,000 men in a single afternoon. According to an article written later by General Longstreet, the Confederates "...captured many thousand stand of arms, 52 pieces of artillery, large quantities of supplies, and General Reynolds." Lee's men continued to pursue the Union soldiers southward.

From June 28 to the 30th, the 18th Georgia Regiment found itself once again engaged in skirmishes and movements around the White Oak Swamp near Fair Oaks and Seven Pines. When they arrived at the swamp, finding the bridge they were to cross destroyed and federal troops on the south bank, Jackson deployed his artillery. They opened fire on the south bank in a terrific bombardment, the sudden furosity of which wreaked havoc on the Union forces there. A Vermont soldier wrote: "It was as if a nest of earthquakes had suddenly exploded under our feet." An artillery duel ensued, and continued through the day.

Battle of Malvern Hill – A Union "victory" finally came on July 1 after a successful general withdrawal of Union forces to Malvern Hill. General McClellan was forced to settle his union soldiers into a battle at Malvern instead of his choice of Harrison's Landing to "give the enemy a blow that would check his further pursuit." He deployed his forces in a U-shaped defense on the hill with more than two dozen cannon overlooking wheat fields to the front. Hood's men, with George Smith, was deployed to the extreme left of the Confederate lines, east of Willis Church Road near Poindexter.

Lee's men were forced to advance across open fields and climb steep slopes to reach the federal positions. The federal cannons rained terror on the advancing Confederates with cruel efficiency. They were further supported by fire from the gunboats Galena and Mahaska in the James River, which lobbed huge shells toward the battlefield. Still, wave after wave of Confederates moved onto the field, "...grim and silent as death itself" mused one federal.

The killing stopped only after the sun fell below the horizon, revealing a horrific sight; hundreds of dead, and thousands of wounded. A Union cavalry officer remarked that the sight gave the field "a gruesome crawling appearance." Even with its sublime position, the federals lost 3000 men at Malvern Hill, while the Confederates lost 5000.

Total losses during the Seven Days Battle included 15,849 Union losses killed, wounded, or missing compared to the Confederate's 19,749 killed, wounded, or missing. At a cost of nearly 20,000 lives, Lee had defended Richmond, pushing the Union Army of the Potomac back to the James River. Later, in August, the Army of the Potomac withdrew from the Peninsula, ending the Peninsula Campaign and the Battle of Seven Days.

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