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General Longstreet led the Confederate advance, and fell suddenly upon Casey. A most sanguinary battle ensued. Casey fought valiantly until full one-third of his command  was disabled, and he was driven back by overwhelming numbers. Keyes sent troops to aid him, but they could not withstand the pressure, and the whole body was pushed back to Fair Oaks Station on the Richmond and York Railway. Reinforcements sent by Heintzelman and Kearney were met by fresh Confederates, and the victory seemed about to be given to the latter, when General Sumner appeared with the divisions of Generals Sedgwick and Richardson. Sumner had seen the peril, and without waiting orders from McClellan, had moved rapidly to the scene of action. He was just in time to check the Confederate advance. The battle still raged furiously. General Johnston was severely wounded and borne from the field; and early in the evening, a bayonet charge by the Nationals broke the Confederate line into confusion. The fighting then ceased for the night, but it was resumed in the morning (June 1, 1862), when General Hooker and his troops took a conspicuous part in the struggle, which lasted several hours. Finally, the Confederates withdrew to Richmond, and the Nationals remained masters of the battle-field of Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines, as it is sometimes called. The losses were nearly equal on both sides, and amounted to about seven thousand each. In that conflict General 0. 0. Howard lost his right arm.
The Army of the Potomac lay on the borders of the Chickahominy, in a most unhealthy position, for nearly a month after the battle of Fair Oaks, quietly besieging Richmond; and the public expectation was  continually fed by the frequent announcement that the decisive battle would be fought " to-morrow". General Robert E. Lee had succeeded the wounded Johnston in the command of the Confederate troops, and had been joined by Generals Jackson and Ewell from the Shenandoah Valley. Thus strengthened, Lee prepared to strike the Nationals a deadly blow. A large body of his cavalry under the dashing leader General J. E. B. Stuart, rode all around McClellan's army. He had fifteen hundred mounted men, and four pieces of horse-artillery. He swept around almost to the "White House; " seized and burned fourteen wagons and two schooners laden with forage, in the Pamunkey, above the "White House;" captured and carried away one hundred and sixty-five prisoners and two hundred and sixty mules and horses; rested three hours, and during the night crossed the Chickahominy and returned to Richmond by the Charles City Road, on the morning of the 15th of June. This raid, the first of similar and more destructive ones by both parties during the war, produced great commotion in the Army of the Potomac. In the meantime reinforcements had been called for by McClellan, and sent, yet that commander hesitated to strike.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines's Mill-Transfer of the Army to the James River-Battles at Savage's Station, White-Oak Swamp and Glendale-Battle at Malvern Hill-The Army at Harrison's Landing-" Army of Virginia "Battle of Cedar Mountain-Washington in Danger-McClellan and the Government-Flank Movement-Battles at Groveton, Bull Run and Chantilly-Call for Volunteers-Barbara Frietchie-Battles on South Mountain and Antietam Creek-Burnside Succeeds McClellan-The Army at Fredericksburg and Battle There.
GENERAL LEE put General McClellan on the defensive when, on the 26th of June (1862) , he sent "Stonewall Jackson," with a considerable force from Hanover Courthouse, to turn the right wing of the National army and fall upon their base of supplies at the "White House." Jackson had been quietly withdrawn from the Shenandoah Valley, and at the proper time made the aggressive movement with much celerity. At the same time a heavier force, under General Longstreet and others, crossed the Chickahominy near Mechanicsville, and attacked McClellan's right wing commanded by General Fitz John Porter. Near Ellison's Mill, not
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