The Battle of White Oak Swamp

June 30th , 1862

The rain fell as the Army of the Potomac retreated from Savage's Station towards the James River and the safety of the heavy guns of the US Major General George B. McClellan's gunboats. On June 30 th , the Union Army had concentrated behind White Oak Swamp. CS General Robert E. Lee was hoping to catch the Federals before they could pass Glendale, near the crossroads that were between Savage's Station and the James River. General Lee ordered CS Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson's four divisions to pursue the Federal rear guard as it retreated on the White Oak Bridge Road and to cross White Oak Swamp. Opposite Jackson's force, of 20,000 men, was the strongly defended position of US Major General William B. Franklin's 17,000 men.

Jackson sent his troops into battle, however, like many of the Confederate attacks, during the Seven Days battles, there was little coordination. This severely hurt Jackson's efforts and Lee's well-laid plans produced little positive outcome. Jackson advanced his men down the road to the bridge across the White Oak Swamp Creek. His lead troops found the bridge destroyed. Jackson did not try to force a crossing at any of the fords.

Instead, he chose to stop and hurl artillery shells across the creek. Jackson concluded that the Union position was to strong to attack with any success so he continued to shell the Union troops. Jackson's infantry was not engaged in this battle and Jackson, himself, simply took a nap during the artillery duel. This left the forces of CS Major General John B. Magruder and CS General James Longstreet to keep up Lee's attack. These Confederate forces, like Jackson's met with little success. As a result, Lee's best chance to cut off the Union army the James River had failed. Worse, the Confederates would face an even tougher challenge on July 1 st – Malvern Hill.

During the afternoon of June 29 th , Rhode Island's Battery B First Light Artillery was trying to keep up with the reserve artillery train. Before being ordered to retire from their current position, at Savage's Station, they witnesses artillery fire in the form of a 32 pound artillery piece mounted on a railroad car. During their retreat, several men were hurt as the Battery pushed ahead to catch up with the artillery reserve. These injuries were typical of the mounted artillerymen with the speed of the horses and rough terrain.

Private David B. Patterson was run over by the left wheel of the gun carriage. His left thigh and right ankle were both broken badly. Patterson would later be taken prisoner then released in July of 1862. Battery B crossed White Oak Swamp Bridge and the men tended to their horses before they slept.

On the morning of June 30 th they were awakened by Rebel artillery fire. Jackson's guns caused some dire confusion for the Rhode Island artillerymen. Fortunately the shelling did not last long and order was soon restored. Only one teamster and two mules were injured by the bursting shells. After the shelling began, Battery B had received orders to hitch up as soon as possible and move down Long Bridge Road. During the Battle of Glendale, Battery B was never called into action. However, it did endure being under fire while in the line of reserve. A number of shells passed over their heads and one caused three men of Battery B to be wounded: Sylvester G. Ide, Daniel Capron, and Harry Pearce. Fortunately their wounds were not severe and they did not require hospitalization. The battery then limbered up and continued Quaker Road towards the James River .