White Oak Swamp

White Oak Swamp. Controversy for Stonewall Jackson. (preface) , In April 1862, Union forces under Gen. George B. McClellan began a maior campaign to capture Richmond, marching east from Fort Monroe up the Peninsula between the York and James Rivers toward the Confederate capital. Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army, half their number, opposed them. SLowly but inevitably, the Federal juggernaut overcame three Southern defensive lines and was soon camped in Richmond's eastern suburbs. New commander Robert E. Lee, however, led a Confederate offensive that drove the Union army away during the Seven Days' Battles at the end of June., After the twilight battle at Savage's Station on June 29, 1862, the Union Army of the Potomac abandoned the remnants of its line in front of Richmond and retreated south through the darkness toward the James River. Once across White Oak Swamp, it deployed to challenge the Confederate pursuit., Gen. William F. Smith's and Gen. Israel Richardson's divisions occupied the heights in front of you. Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's 25,000 men arrived here, on the north bank of the swamp, at noon on June 30 and found the bridge destroyed. The noise of the heavy fighting three miles southwest at Glendale "made me eager to press forward," Jackson later wrote, but he did not advance, instead settling for an artillery duel. Vague orders, the burned bridge, and the strong Federal position held Jackson back for the remaining eight hours of daylight. The failure to advance robbed Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee of his offensive punch, allowed a successful Union defense of the roads to the James River, and opened Jackson to criticism., (captions) , Union batteries duel with Jackson's artillery on the other side of White Oak Swamp. The road across the swamp is visible in distance above the second gun from the right. , Courtesy Library of Congress , Gen. Thomas J. Jackson Courtesy Library of Congress , Military bridge across Chickahominy River, June 1862, similar to the White Oak Swamp bridge Courtesy Library of Congress , Lee's plan to block the Federal retreat required the successful convergence of four infantry columns failed in large part because of its complexity.