This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1862 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XVII. Seven Pines--Shelling Over his Head--Great Losses in his Brigade--Battle of the 25th--Movements of the Rebels--Retreat--Chickahominy Crossed-- White Oak Swamp--Battle of Malvern Hills--His Death--Reports--Letter of Capt. Bliss--Letter of Capt. Sandford--Letter of a Fellow Soldier--Conclusion. About a mile south-east from Fair Oaks, is Seven Pines, on the turnpike leading nearly due east from Richmond to Williamsburg. Here they encamped for the greater part of the month of June, and all his letters after the battle of Fair Oaks bear the date " Camp at Seven Pines." In one of these, he tells us that his regiment was ordered on " picket duty to relieve the 16th Massachusetts on Friday, the 20th of June. They were posted half a mile beyond our rifle-pits in the edge of the woods which were occupied by the enemy. At sunset on that day, and between ten and twelve on Saturday, the rebels and our men amused themselves by shelling each other; the shells passing over our heads. He was lying down in rear of me at the time, and was struck by a solid shot. I happened to be reclining on a rail, and the shot passed over me within a few inches. Had I been sitting up I should have been directly in its path." " But few of the enemy's shells burst; but ours did their work beautifully. We could hear the report near us, the whiz-z of the shell through the air, and a few seconds after, the report of the shell as loud as the cannon itself, over in the enemy's works. It sounded much better than when they replied. There was a large force of the enemy in the woods in front of us, and we could distinctly hear them give orders, such as these, ' Battalion, halt!' ' Deploy as skirmishers !' ' Skirmishers, forward !' ' Skirmishers, halt!' ' Every man lie...