Chapter 6: 1862, Seven Pines and Mechanicsville

William Monroe Hendrix and his wife’s brothers (Thomas, Seaborn and William Lewis Camp) had joined the Alabama Thirteenth Infantry in April, and they were ready to kick some Yankee butt. As May drew to a close, they had an opportunity to do just that. General Joseph E. Johnston decided to attack Union forces on the south side of the Chickahominy River, but nothing went according to plan.

2 General James Longstreet preempted General Huger’s men from reaching their objective, and the opening of the battle was delayed as a consequence. Although General Daniel Harvey “D.H.” Hill had been instructed to wait for Huger’s signal, he lost patience and decided to launch his own attack on the Yankees in front of him. Thus, as his soldiers rushed forward to engage the enemy, William and his brothers-in-law followed their comrades into battle.

3 They waded through swampy places and ran across open ground. The popping sound of muskets filled the air, and people were falling all around them. The Yankees fell back. When the battle was finally over, General Johnston, Colonel Fry and William Crews had been wounded. McAllen Wiggins had been captured, and Private James Black was dead.

4 “Well that was a hell of an affair!” William announced. “Yeah, I’ve never seen nothing like that in my whole life,” Seaborn agreed. Unfortunately, little did they know then, things were going to get much worse before they got better.

5 The Battle of Seven Pines, sometimes referred to as Fair Oaks, was inconclusive - neither side could rightfully proclaim victory, although both would try. The battle, however, was very significant in one respect. General Joseph Johnston’s incapacity due to the wounds which he received there led to the appointment of General Robert E. Lee as commander of Confederate forces in Virginia.

6 In the three weeks that followed, Lee reorganized his forces and summoned General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to his side. Then he launched a series of attacks against the Union Army under General George McClellan that would later be called the Seven Days Battles. Mechanicsville or Beaver Dam Creek was the second battle in this series.

7 William Lewis Camp was sick and in the infirmary near Richmond as the battle opened. Will Hendrix, Seaborn and Thomas were present for the bloody affair; but, fortunately for them, were held in reserve for much of the battle.

8 General A.P. Hill, along with some men supplied by General D.H. Hill, attacked the Yankees and drove them out of Mechanicsville. However, Union forces under General John Porter, who were entrenched in the narrow valley surrounding Beaver Dam Creek, easily repulsed the Confederates. As the Rebels charged down into the valley, Union soldiers on the opposite side of the creek mowed them down with deadly effectiveness. In fact, each time the Rebels attempted the charge, the Yankees stopped them.

9 That night, William, Seaborn and Thomas could not sleep. They could hear the groaning and pleading of the wounded all around them. “Those poor bastards,” Thomas whispered. “Pray that God will be merciful to them,” William offered as he pulled his blanket over his head and tried to shield his ears from the nightmare out there in the darkness.

10 The next morning Captain Stephen Putney approached Captain Elijah Smith and asked about William. “I understand that Private Hendrix can fix shoes,” Putney began. “How’d you know about that?” Captain Smith asked. “I observed him doing just that outside of Richmond a couple of weeks ago,” he replied. “Yeah, I guess he can. He fixed a hole in one of my boots last week,” Smith smiled.

11 “Well Captain, I’ll get to the point. The Army of Virginia is in desperate need of shoes. A good many of our men are marching around barefooted,” Putney continued. “Lord, they’re used to that Captain. Some of these men have never had a pair of shoes on their feet!” Smith chuckled.

12 “Yes, but Virginia’s considerably colder than Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi; and I suspect that most of them will be wanting a pair before winter,” Putney persisted. Smith scratched his chin. “Well, yes sir, I guess that’s so,” he admitted.

13 “President Davis has placed me in charge of supplying this need, and I need skilled men to help me,” Putney finished. “You can have him, Captain. He’s not really cut out for soldiering anyway,” Smith finished.

14 As a consequence, it wasn’t long until William Hendrix was reporting for service at the Shoe Manufactory of the Clothing Bureau in Richmond. While there, he made friends with several of the folks who worked for Mr. Weisiger at the Clothing Manufactory.

15 “Come on over and get your picture made in one of these fancy coats,” his friend had insisted. So, William did just that one day, never imagining that it would one day provide his descendants with a visual record of his service to the Confederacy.