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his seven regiments average about 600 men to the regiment, a high average for Confederate regiments, and especially for those that had been over as much territory as
Branch's. Even
McClellan, with his fondness for big numbers on the
Confederate side, admits
the regiments (Confederate) will not average over 700 men.
Rebellion Records, XI, I, 271.
Some of the regiments that opposed
Branch that day reported fewer than 600.
Porter does not state his numbers.
General Webb says that
Porter had
about 12,000 men.
Peninsula Campaign.
Probably, as
Porter had one whole division (
Morell's) and one brigade (
Warren's), this is not far wrong.
General Warren gives the number in each of his regiments, and the aggregate is 2,705; his regiments averaging 653 men each.
In
Morell's division there were fourteen regiments (eleven infantry, two cavalry, one sharpshooters), three batteries, and two companies of sharpshooters.
Putting these regiments and batteries at the same as
Branch's (600 to the regiment), they aggregate 8,700, and with
Warren's make a total force of 11,405 at the very least—nearly three times the
Confederate force.
At the approach of the two forces,
General Branch advanced
Colonel Lane with the Twenty-eighth North Carolina, and a section of
Latham's battery, under
Lieutenant Potts, to support his pickets.
The regiment soon became heavily engaged with
Porter's van, the Twenty-fifth New York regiment, and drove it back, inflicting heavy loss.
Pressing the Twenty-fifth they encountered
Butterfield's
1 entire brigade.
Helped by a friendly wood,
Lane maintained his position for some time.
However, in spite of the efforts of his two guns,
Butterfield's force was soon overlapping both his wings, and so
Lane gave orders to retire along a fence.
All the horses of one of
Pott's guns had been disabled, and he was
