rebel capital. The whole plan of Lee had been based upon a false
calculation; and had this mistake been improved by our commanders, the
history of the war would have been entirely changed. Both Lee and Davis
believed that the main body of our army was on the north side of the
Chickahominy; whereas, of the five corps constituting our army, only
one, that of Porter, remained on that side. Under this erroneous
impression, Lee had brought nearly the whole of his army across the
river to assail the Union army on its right. This was known to our
generals, for while positive information had been received that Jackson,
with his large army, was making for our rear, the prisoners taken during
the day were from Hill's command, and from them it was known that the
troops of A. P. Hill, Longstreet and D. H. Hill, were confronting us on
the right. Thus, between our main force, of over seventy-six thousand
men, and Richmond, less than twenty-five thousand rebels guarded their
extensive line of works. A concentrated assault of the four corps on the
south side of the river must have resulted in the utter rout of the
force opposed to them, and the road to Richmond would have been opened.

But the error of General Lee was never suspected, and this grand
opportunity was lost.

During the night of the 26th, the heavy artillery and baggage of
Porter's corps was all sent across the river. McCall's whole division,
except a line of pickets left as a blind, also fell back five miles
below, to the vicinity of the bridge at Gaines' Farm, where the three
divisions of the corps united.

The astonishment of the men on the south side of the river on
discovering, in the morning, that Porter's corps had fallen back, was
only equaled by their mortification and disappointment, as they saw the
long lines of rebels advancing in the gray of the morning against our
retreating column.

They had believed, when night came on, that our arms had achieved the
first of a series of victories which was to give us the rebel capital.
Now they saw that our army was already in retreat, and they gazed at the
long train of artillery and wagons, which had parked near us, with
downcast faces. From our camp, Porter's division could be distinctly
seen, and we could watch the movements of the rebels as they arrived
upon the highlands, formed their line on the range of hills opposite
Porter, and planted their guns near the large barn on Dr. Gaines' farm.

The position of Po