Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

[664] the war blame Butler with the severest language, and even now the nation at large call him “Bottled-up-butler.” But the opinions of intelligent officers who fought in the campaign, and who judged it impartially from a military point of view as well as the facts, will rather lay the fault at the door of his corps, commanders, Generals Gillmore and Smith. They did not seem to comprehend what was to be done, and then failed to co-operate in what attempts they did make.

General Heckman also makes some very severe strictures upon the fact that General Butler and his command were around Richmond instead of being around Petersburg.

These are the result of his want of information. I was where I was, in direct obedience to the plan of campaign to which I was confined by the orders of General Grant. After General Heckman was captured and saw the numbers and condition of the rebel troops in front of us, he declared that if Gillmore had made the attack on the left at the time of the rebel attack on the right of our line, he could have gone in and captured the enemy's works.

The rest of the Eighteenth Corps, having been aided by the wire which threw down the enemy as they attempted to rush upon its lines, maintained a steady fire, inflicting upon the enemy a very terrible loss. Meanwhile, having left to General Gillmore's discretion, after several hours' delay,whether he should make an attack, and he having informed me that he was falling back, and for other reasons that I have in part stated, I came to the conclusion that it was my duty, Grant not having met me “in ten days” from the time of his crossing the Rapidan, to proceed to carry out the rest of his instructions by ordering a withdrawal of my force from the enemy's front. This was done leisurely, and without any attack or interference by the enemy.

As soon as we reached our line of intrenchments the most laborious and pressing endeavors were made to strengthen them, and particularly to close up the gap a little north of the centre of our line, where the intrenchments had not been joined on account of the disagreement of Smith and Gillmore as to where the line should be. For that purpose, by a general order, I made General Weitzel chief engineer of my army, putting the whole work under his immediate order and command as representing myself.¹