The attack in question had speedily been resolved on by Lee.  Any further advance of the Federal army would bring it up to the very earthworks in the suburbs of the city; and, unless the Confederate authorities proposed to undergo a siege, it was necessary to check the further advance of the enemy by a general attack.

How to attack to the best advantage was now the question.  The position of General McClellan’s army has been briefly stated.  Advancing up the Peninsula, he had reached and passed the Chickahominy, and was in sight of Richmond.  To this stream, the natural line of defence of the city on the north and east, numerous roads diverged from the capital, including the York River Railroad, of which the Federal commander made such excellent use; and General McClellan had thrown his left wing across the stream, advancing to a point on the railroad four or five miles from the city.  Here he had erected heavy defences to protect that wing until the right wing crossed in turn.  The tangled thickets of the White-oak Swamp, on his left flank, were a natural defence; but he had added to these obstacles, as we have stated, by felling trees, and guarding every approach by redoubts.  In these, heavy artillery kept watch against an approaching enemy; and any attempt to attack from that quarter seemed certain to result in repulse.  In front, toward Seven Pines, the chance of success was equally doubtful.  The excellent works of the Federal commander bristled with artillery, and were heavily manned.  It seemed thus absolutely necessary to discover some other point of assault; and, as the Federal right beyond the Chickahominy was the only point left, it was determined to attack, if possible, in that quarter.

An important question was first, however, to be decided, the character of the defences, if any, on General McClellan’s right, in the direction of Old Church and Cold Harbor.  A reconnoissance in force was necessary to acquire this information, and General Lee accordingly directed General Stuart, commanding the cavalry of the army, to proceed with a portion of his command to the vicinity of Old Church, in the Federal rear, and gain all the information possible of their position and defences.

V.

STUART’S “RIDE AROUND McCLELLAN.”

General James E.B.  Stuart, who now made his first prominent appearance upon the theatre of the war, was a Virginian by birth, and not yet thirty years of age.  Resigning his commission of lieutenant in the United States Cavalry at the beginning of the war, he had joined Johnston in the Valley, and impressed that officer with a high opinion of his abilities as a cavalry officer; proceeded thence to Manassas, where he charged and broke a company of “Zouave” infantry; protected the rear of the army when Johnston retired to the Rappahannock, and bore an active part in the conflict on the Peninsula.  In person he was of medium height; his frame was broad and powerful;