May 5th. The drums beat reveille at daybreak, when about four hundred men fell in, the bulk of them having straggled in during the night. They were in a sorry plight, wet through and covered with mud from head to foot. As soon as the roll was called, the men were ordered to prepare breakfast, and immediately afterwards marched forward with the rest of the brigade. I was ordered to remain behind, collect the stragglers as they came along, and when all were up, march them forward to join the colonel in decent order. So when everybody had gone, I posted a man in the road to intercept the men as they came along, and then rode over to a farm house to get something to eat for my horse, as he had not been fed since the previous morning. By ten o’clock, nearly two hundred men having reported, pretty much all that were missing, we marched out in good order and joined the colonel about two o’clock. The regiments of our brigade were in bivouac, resting from their heavy march, enjoying the sunshine which was fast drying up the fields and roads. They gave us a hearty welcome as we came on the ground, and the colonel seemed glad to get the regiment together again. Lieutenant Broome, acting quartermaster in place of McKibbin, sick in hospital, soon afterwards came up in charge of the wagons with full supplies, and so we were all in good humor again. Stoneman with his cavalry caught up with Stuart’s cavalry at the half-way house yesterday and skirmished with them as far as the rebel line of earthworks at Williamsburg, where quite a little fight took place, our men finally withdrawing to await the arrival of the infantry. Hooker and Smith, each in command of his respective division, hurried to the support of the cavalry; Hooker by the route we followed, Smith by a road from Dam No. 1, running by Lee’s mills, which brought him up on our left. Kearny, Couch and Casey followed, we coming last. General Sumner, who is second in command, was sent to the front to assume command, by direction of General McClellan, who remained in Yorktown, we are told, for the purpose of shipping Franklin’s division and Porter’s corps up the York river to West Point to intercept the enemy’s retreat. As soon as Hooker came upon the field he opened the engagement with his own division, without orders from Sumner and without any knowledge of Smith’s whereabouts and succeeded at first in driving the enemy back and capturing some earthworks, but shortly afterwards, when the rebels brought up reinforcements, he was driven back in considerable disorder, losing two of his batteries. About noon of the 5th, he was badly beaten, but luckily for him, Kearny came up just in time, recovering the abandoned batteries and all the ground lost by Hooker during the morning, when darkness put an end to the fighting. In the meantime, Sumner arranged for a general combined attack. There were several unoccupied redoubts that the enemy had built here, and Hancock was sent with his own and another brigade and a battery to occupy them. Hancock took possession, garrisoned the redoubts, and throwing out a line of skirmishers found and took possession of several other works in front of him. The rebels were so fully occupied with the attack made by Hooker that they had entirely neglected their left, and when they found the redoubts in our hands were greatly astonished. A strong infantry force came up to drive Hancock out, forming just at the edge of the woods. Hancock’s command opened upon them when within range and supported by the fire of the redoubts soon threw them into disorder, finally charging them in splendid style, and capturing about four hundred. Amongst the wounded was General Early and several other officers. About four hundred men were killed outright. At night the situation was about the same as at the opening, Hancock holding what he had occupied without resistance, at first, and Kearny occupying the ground Hooker had been driven from early in the day; on the whole it was a failure on our part to make any decided impression, as we ought to have done. About five o’clock in the evening McClellan came on the ground and was loudly cheered. He was disappointed with the management of affairs and came up to arrange for a combined movement the next morning, but during the night the enemy abandoned Williamsburg and got away. We were immediately ordered back to Yorktown to take transports for West Point. It is reported that our loss is over two thousand men killed, wounded, and missing, and five guns, a mighty poor showing for the first attempt of this army. Thus ended the siege of Yorktown without our division firing a shot; every one is criticising every one else, of course. Heintzleman and Sumner are at loggerheads, and all the general officers are united only in disparaging each other. They are so dreadfully jealous that a combined and earnest attack seems almost impossible. The truth is that none of them has had any experience with large bodies of men and must learn by actual experience, as well as the private soldier; until they have done this, we are not likely to have any great success.
