of either Lee or Jackson. They
were not behind the scenes of the Federal administrative system. They
were not aware of the money, labour, and ingenuity which had been
lavished on the business of supply. They had not seen with their own
eyes the fleet of four hundred transports which covered the reaches
of the York. They had not yet realised the enormous advantage which
an army derives from the command of the sea.

Nor were they enlightened by the calmness with which their immediate
adversaries on the field of battle regarded Jackson's possession of
Old Cold Harbour. Still, one fact was manifest: the Federals showed
no disposition whatever to weaken or change their position, and it
was clear that the success was not to be attained by mere manoeuvre.
Lee, seeing Hill's division roughly handled, ordered Longstreet
forward, while Jackson, judging from the sound and direction of the
firing that the original plan had failed, struck in with vigour.
Opposed to him was Sykes' division of regulars, supported by eighteen
guns, afterwards increased to twenty-four; and in the men of the
United States Army the Valley soldiers met a stubborn foe. The
position, moreover, occupied by Sykes possessed every advantage which
a defender could desire. Manned even by troops of inferior mettle it
might well have proved impregnable. The valley was wider than further
west, and a thousand yards intervened between the opposing ridges.
From either crest the cornfields sloped gently to the marshy sources
of the creek, hidden by tall timber and dense undergrowth. The right
and rear of the position were protected by a second stream, running
south to the Chickahominy, and winding through a swamp which Stuart,
posted on Jackson's left, pronounced impassable for horsemen. Between
the head waters of these two streams rose the spur on which stands
McGehee's house, facing the road from Old Cold Harbour, and
completely commanding the country to the north and north-east. The
flank, therefore, was well secured; the front was strong, with a wide
field of fire; the Confederate artillery, even if it could make its
way through the thick woods on the opposite crest, would have to
unlimber under fire at effective range, and the marsh below, with its
tangled undergrowth and abattis, could hardly fail to throw the
attacking infantry into disorder. Along the whole of Sykes' line only
two weak points were apparent. On his left, as already described, a
broad tract of woo