his
ability. We had much praying at various headquarters, and large reliance
on special providences; but none were vouchsafed, by pillar of cloud or
fire, to supplement our ignorance; so we blundered on like people trying
to read without knowledge of their letters.

To return to the field of Cold Harbor, the morning (Saturday) after the
battle. McClellan had chosen an excellent position, covering his
military bridges over the Chickahominy. His left, resting on the river,
and his center were covered by a small stream, one of its affluents,
boggy and of difficult passage. His right was on high ground, near Cold
Harbor, in a dense thicket of pine-scrub, with artillery massed. This
position, three miles in extent, and enfiladed in front by heavy guns on
the south bank of the Chickahominy, was held by three lines of infantry,
one above the other on the rising ground, which was crowned with
numerous batteries, concealed by timber. McClellan reported thirty-six
thousand men present, including Sykes's and Porter's regulars; but
reenforcements brought over during the action probably increased this
number to fifty thousand. Lee had forty thousand on the field.

Longstreet attacked on our right, near the river, A.P. Hill on his left.
Jackson approached Cold Harbor from the north, his divisions in column
on one road as follows: Ewell's, Whiting's, Lawton's (Georgians), and
Winder's. At Cold Harbor Jackson united with the division of D.H. Hill,
in advance of him, and directed it to _find_ and attack the enemy's
right. His own divisions, in the order above named, were to come up on
D.H. Hill's right and connect it with A.P. Hill's left. Artillery was
only employed by the Confederates late in the day, and on their extreme
left.

D.H. Hill and Ewell were speedily engaged, and suffered heavily, as did
A.P. Hill and Longstreet, all attacking in front. Ignorance of the
ground, densely wooded, and want of guides occasioned confusion and
delay in the divisions to Ewell's rear. Lawton came to Ewell's support,
Whiting to A.P. Hill's; while of the three brigades of the last
division, the second went to Longstreet's right, the third to A.P.
Hill's center, and the first was taken by Winder, with a fine soldierly
instinct, from right to left, across the battle, to reenforce D.H. Hill
and turn the Federal position. This movement was decisive, and if
executed earlier would have saved loss of men and time. So much for
fighting on unknown ground.