McClellan Snatched Defeat from the Jaws of Victory With Blunder After Blunder
Magruder ordered his men to create a din. With drumrolls and cheers in woods behind the lines, they sought to get their foe to believe that their numbers were far greater than they actual were. Magruder also employed the same column of men over and over. They marched within sight of the federals to take up positions on the defensive line. They then slipped away outside the Union observers’ line of sight, reassembled, and marched back to the defensive line. The theatrics convinced McClellan that the Confederate positions were too strong for a frontal assault. Magruder’s task was made easier by McClellan’s predisposition to take counsel of his fears, and believe himself outnumbered. On April 5th, 1862, the Union commander ordered a halt on his side of the Warwick River, had his men dig in, and set out to conduct a siege.
A less timid commander could have simply bulled through, swatted Magruder aside, and seized a nearly undefended Richmond. In his biggest blunder of the war, McClellan spent a month methodically preparing to break through Magruder’s supposedly “strong defenses”. He concentrated men, guns, and munitions for a massive bombardment scheduled for May 5th, 1862, followed by a massive attack. Magruder, however, had already bought his side a month to prepare Richmond’s defenses. On the night of May 3rd, he slipped away and left behind empty trenches for McClellan’s men to occupy. The Union forces resumed their march on Richmond, but by then the Confederates had gathered enough defenders to thwart them. McClellan was halted at the gates of Richmond, then pushed back with furious attacks in the Seven Days Battles. When the dust settled, the Peninsula Campaign had come to an ignominious end.