William Swinton, Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac

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[466] James. This great stretch was observed by nothing more than one hundred and fifty colored cavalry. Beauregard's dispositions to attack were well suited to the circumstances, and contemplated a simultaneous onset in front with a thrusting forward of the flanking column, to gain the rear of the Union line by the unguarded interval on its right flank. To make his stroke still more sure, the Confederate commander, while moving up with his main force from Petersburg to Butler's front, had left one of his divisions, under General Whiting, in position at a point on the Petersburg and Richmond Railroad, a considerable distance to the rear of the left of Butler's force. To this division was assigned the duty of moving directly forward simultaneously with the attack in front, and laying hold of the Union line of retreat. Nothing could be more complete than the plan, but its execution was very far from filling the measure of Beauregard's expectations.

The right of Smith's line, where the shock of the turning column was first felt, was held by Heckman's brigade. This was quite overwhelmed by the suddenness of the blow, and as the enemy was then entirely in rear of the right flank, a great disaster seemed imminent. It happened fortunately, however, that the night before General Butler had assigned three regiments of Ames' division of Gillmore's corps to General Smith as a reserve to his line. One of these regiments, the One Hundred and Twelfth New York, happily arrived at this critical juncture, and, being joined by the Ninth Maine Regiment, the two met the Confederates at a point where the transverse road on which they were moving forward crosses the road running back to Bermuda Hundred. This latter road the enemy were aiming to seize, when the purpose was foiled by the stubborn resistance of the two regiments above named. It is probable that the resistance here encountered gave the Confederate commander the impression that he had been mistaken in his notion of the Union dispositions, and caused him to believe that the Union right, instead of resting where it really did, was thrown back