Colonel Alexander Hays on the 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry at the Battle of Glendale, or Frazier’s Farm

After the Battle of Savage’s Station on June 29th, 1862, the Union Army of the Potomac continued its withdrawal towards Harrison’s Landing on the James River. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under its new commander, Robert E. Lee, had successfully turned back General George McClellan’s U.S. forces from the outskirts of Richmond, and kept the pressure on in a series of battles called the Seven Days Battles as the Federals engaged in a fighting withdrawal. The two sides would engage in two battles on fields near each other on June 30th; one was the Battle of White Oak Swamp, the other was the Battle of Glendale, or Frazier’s Farm.

Gen. Phil Kearny in 1862

Glendale was an important crossroads that much of the Army of the Potomac would have to pass through on their way to Harrison’s Landing, and there was a great potential for bottlenecks to develop. Lee saw this as an opportunity to attack and cut the Union army in two. The Federals realized they had to defend the crossroads at all hazards to prevent that from happening.

The Union 2nd and 3rd Corps were given the task of holding the Glendale crossroads, with the 3rd Corps on the Union right and the 2nd on the left. The 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry was one of the regiments in Brigadier General John C. Robinson’s 1st Brigade of Brigadier General Philip Kearny’s 3rd Division of the 3rd Corps.

At the Battle of Glendale, the 63rd Pennsylvania, under the command of Colonel Alexander Hays, was ordered to provide infantry support for Captain James Thompson’s Battery G of the 2nd U.S. Artillery. The battery was deployed forward to fire on advancing Confederates troops with cannister and spherical case shot, and would be vulnerable to attack without infantry support. The 63rd saw extensive action in carrying out the assignment, squaring off against units of Major General James Longstreet’s Division as Colonel Hays detailed in his after action report:

Camp of the Sixty-third Regt. Pennsylvania Vols.,
In Bivouac, July 4, 1862.

Sir: I have the honor to report the operations of the Sixty- third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers during the battle of the 30th of June, near Richmond, Va.

Col. Alexander Hays, seem here after his promotion to Brigadier General

Early in the day the regiment of 300 men was detailed to protect the battery commanded by Captain Thompson, Second U. S. Artillery. About 3 o’clock p. m. the enemy opened fire upon one advanced section, in command of Lieutenant Butler, which was soon withdrawn, and with the regiment retired to the rear to join the battery. The battery was placed in position to sweep an extended field, over which it was necessary that the enemy should advance to the attack.In about an hour’s time the enemy opened upon us with shot, shell, and other missiles, to which Captain Thompson replied most gallantly. For the space of an hour the firing was unremitting. In the obscurity of the smoke it was communicated to me that the battery was endangered. I at once gave the order to charge, which was responded to by my men leaping the fence and moving forward at double-quick in better order than at an ordinary drill. The alarm was false, and I withdrew to my original position.

Kearny’s Division at the Battle of Glendale

Very soon afterward General Kearny, as also Captain Thompson, announced danger to the battery. Again the order was given to charge, and again the regiment moved forward, passing the battery,

Lt. David C. Crawford, Co. I, 63rd Pennsylvania. Wounded at Glendale

and were halted 50 feet in front, the enemy retiring to the woods and houses beyond. The order was given to lie down and open spaces for the artillery. Within good range of our “Austrians” and the continued fire of the artillery we hurled into the enemy a perfect storm of shot. The enemy, however, replied vigorously and presented an obstinate resistance. The contest was thus carried on for an hour, when Captain Thompson announced to me that his ammunition was exhausted and the necessity of withdrawing his battery. To cover his withdrawal, as the enemy had been made emboldened by heavy re- enforcements, I ordered again a charge. At once the men sprang to their feet, and with leveled bayonets dashed upon the enemy. The conflict was short, but most desperate, especially around the buildings. It was muzzle to muzzle, and the powder actually burned the faces of the opposing men as they contended through the paling fences. The enemy fled, and I withdrew my force back to the position occupied by the battery—one piece of which still remained upon the field. I was here informed that another force was relieving us, and retired to our original position at the fence. Night was coming on. We had been under fire for five hours, in action half the time, and our loss very heavy.

Map of Battles of Glendale (lower left) and White Oak Swamp (top)

Capt. James F. Ryan Co. I, 63rd Pennsylvania. Wounded at Glendale

We are indebted to a detachment from the Thirty-seventh New York Volunteers for assistance during our last charge, and I would be pleased if I could name the officers in command. At the same time I regret to state that our charge was much impeded by a fire on us from our friends.

The non-commissioned officers and privates whose conduct deserves commendation is too great to enumerate. I will, however, endeavor to keep their conduct in view for reward.

Among my commissioned officers I most especially refer to the Department the names of First Lieut. G. W. Gray and First Lieut. H. P. Fulton, as distinguished for their gallant conduct. First Lieut. and Adjt. George P. Corts was again distinguished and slightly wounded.

The following list of killed and wounded speaks for those enumerated: Killed—enlisted men, 10; wounded, 85; missing, 23. Killed—commissioned officers, 1; wounded, 6. Aggregate—killed, wounded, and missing, 125.

Respectfully submitted.

ALEX. HAYS,
Colonel Sixty-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers.

Lieut. E. E. Robinson,
Acting Assistant Adjutant- General.

One gun of Thompson’s Battery was left behind after its horses were killed, though the artillerymen managed to spike the gun. General Kearny was not happy with that, but blamed Thompson for the loss, believing the gun could have been retrieved. Thompson praised Hays and the 63rd for their support, as did Kearny who wrote:

I have here to call to the attention of my superior chiefs this most heroic action on the part of Colonel Hays and his regiment. The Sixty-third has won for Pennsylvania the laurels of fame. That which grape and canister failed in effecting was now accomplished by the determined charge and rapid volleys of this foot. The enemy at the muzzles of our guns for the first time sulkily retired, fighting. Subsequently, ground having been gained, the Sixty-third Pennsylvania was ordered to “Lie low,” and the battery once more reopened its ceaseless work of destruction.

The U.S. was successful in its delaying action as the Confederates were unable to cut the army in two, and the Federals continued towards Harrison’s Landing. The Glendale fighting had been costly for both sides; the Union army had 297 dead, 1696 wounded, and 1804 missing, while the Confederates suffered 638 killed, 2814 wounded, and 221 missing. Lee and his army were finally stopped at the July 1st Battle of Malvern Hill, and the Army of the Potomac successfully reached Harrison’s Landing, where the fire power of gunboats on the James River secured the position. The Seven Days’ Battles, as well as the Peninsula Campaign, were over.

63rd Pennsylvania Infantry in May 1864

Colonel Hays was wounded at the Battle of Second Manassas in late August 1862, and returned to action in June 1863, in time for the Battle of Gettysburg. In between, he had been promoted to Brigadier General. On May 5th, 1864, Hays was in command of a brigade that included his old 63rd Pennsylvania when he was killed in action at the Battle of the Wilderness.

Sources:

Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders by Ezra J. Warner

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume 11. Part 2

Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up: The Seven Days’ Battles June 25-July 1, 1862 by Doug Crenshaw

To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign by Stephen W. Sears

Under the Red Patch: Story of the Sixty Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1864 by Gilbert Adams Hays