the government had at its disposal. Knowing that this was Grant's argument as well, I have always supposed that his final decision to advance directly from Culpepper Court House against Lee's army, and to retain Meade in immediate command of the Army of the Potomac, while the entire available force of Butler's Department should advance directly from Fort Monroe under the immediate command of General Smith, was due partly to Smith's decided opposition to the overland line of operations, and to his tenacious adherence to the principal features of the plan which he and Franklin had recommended to Lincoln. Meade's approval of the direct line of advance, and his cheerful support of Grant's plans as explained in detail, aided by Butler's assurances of hearty co-operation, doubtless had much to do with the retention of those officers in their respective places, and in the assignment of Smith, much to his disappointment, to a relatively subordinate position on the line he had so openly preferred. It may also account in some degree for the failure of those distinguished generals to work as harmoniously with each other to the common end, as was necessary to ensure success.

Before following this interesting subject to its conclusion, the part actually played by General Smith in McClellan's Peninsular Campaign should be briefly recounted. After the Army of the Potomac had been transferred to the lower Chesapeake, by water, instead of landing at Urbana or on the estuary of the Rappahannock, as was at first intended, out of fear of the Merrimac, which had played such havoc with the wooden frigates of Goldborough's fleet, in Hampton Roads, it was disembarked at Fortress Monroe. It necessarily lost some time here before it could be reunited and begin its march up the Peninsula. It had hardly got well under way, when much to the disappointment of the country it found itself stopped for thirty days, by an insignificant stream and a weak line of entrenchments held by a few guns and a single division of Confederate Infantry, under the command of General Magruder.

The so-called "Siege of Yorktown" followed, and General Smith, chafing at the delay which he conceived to be unnecessary set about studying the situation in his own front, with the keen eye of an experienced engineer. Having the year before familiarized himself with the lay of the land near Fort Monroe, he was quick to grasp every condition which favored an advance. A careful reconnaissance of his immediate front enabled him to surprise a crossing of Warwick River and to carry a section of the fortified line beyond. This as might have been expected was done by a detachment of the Vermont Brigade, which made a gallant effort to maintain the lodgement it had gained, but as it was not supported by McClellan, it was withdrawn after suffering a loss of 165 men killed, wounded and missing. This was the first engagement in a campaign destined to cost the lives of many brave men and to end in a terrible disaster to the national arms.

After making a heroic stand and holding McClellan and his overwhelming force at bay for nearly a month, Magruder abandoned his lines and fell back to Williamsburgh on the road up the Peninsula to Richmond. He was slowly followed by McClellan's army. Smith's division having crossed the Warwick at Lee's mill, led in the pursuit, coming up with the enemy strongly posted in a new line of fortifications covering the town of Williamsburg. Smith's engineering skill and his quick intelligence served him again most fortunately, and with the aid of Captain West of the Coast Survey then serving on his staff, soon enabled him to find the weak spot in the enemy's position. This time it turned out to be on the extreme left, where he had failed, probably through lack of troops, to occupy the extensive works which had been previously constructed. Realizing intuitively the futility of a front attack against such entrenchments, Smith threw Hancock's brigade promptly to the right and under cover of the woods, succeeded without serious loss or delay in occupying one of the works from which, with his division he could easily have swept the whole line had he not been restrained by the presence of his seniors.

Unfortunately McClellan was in the rear, but Sumner and Heintzelman, corps commanders, were soon upon the ground, and with prudent but ill-timed conservatism declined to sanction the proper movement to reinforce Hancock, for fear that it would bring on a general engagement before the army could be properly closed up and placed in position to participate. Smith recognizing, the great advantage certain to arise from pushing promptly through the opening he had already found, besought Sumner for permission to go with the rest of his division to Hancock's assistance, but this was also denied. As other troops arrived on the field, Smith moved to the right to make place for them, with the hope that he might be permitted to continue his march unobserved till he had come up with his advanced brigade, but orders were sent which arrested him before he had accomplished the object he had in view. All day long he was held in the leash with certain victory in sight. McClellan arrived on the field late in the afternoon, but before he could get a satisfactory understanding of the condition of affairs, night came on. Consequently nothing decisive was done that day and a great opportunity was lost. The wily Magruder, seeing that his left had been turned, and that his position was untenable, abandoned his works under cover of darkness and fell back towards Richmond. Obviously this result was due, first, to the fortunate discovery made by General Smith and his engineer, and to the successful turning movement of Hancock, based thereon; and, second, to the certainty that if properly reinforced by the rest of Smith's division, and by other divisions, if necessary, as it surely would be as soon as the national commander had come to comprehend the real condition of affairs, the Confederate forces would be taken in flank and rear and overwhelmed.

This was Smith's last chance at anything like independent action. During the remainder of this ill-starred campaign he played the part of a subordinate division commander, in a large army engaged in a complicated series of movements and battles, and of course had no control over the general plans or operations. There is no evidence that he was ever consulted by anyone except his corps commander Franklin who was himself also a subordinate. The army lacking field experience, did not work well together as a whole. The corps commanders had been selected and appointed by the Secretary of War, without reference to McClellan's wishes or recommendations. Several of them were veterans, who received their assignments because of seniority rather than for special aptitudes, and this naturally begot a disposition on the part of the division commanders, who were generally younger and perhaps more ambitious men, to look carefully after their own troops and leave larger affairs to their seniors. At all events, Smith's principal care henceforth was to handle his own division and look out exclusively for its requirements, and this he did prudently and well, especially during the Seven days' battle, and during the change of base from the York to the James River. His brigades, led as I have pointed out, by very able men, were more or less constantly and successfully engaged. They took a most creditable part in the battles of Golding's Farm, Savage Station and White Oak Swamp.

Throughout the whole of this trying time of incessant marching and fighting Smith remained watchful and wary, directing his division through every peril, and finally conducting it, without material loss, but with increased confidence in itself and in its leader, to the new base which had been selected for the army. His cool and confident bearing, and his skillful conduct throughout this campaign, won for him the brevet of Lieutenant Colonel in the regular army and the rank of Major General of