The district commander Orville E. Babcock was aide-de-camp for in 1862 was from what state?
Orville E. Babcock Orville Elias Babcock (December 25, 1835 – June 2, 1884) was an American Civil War General in the Union Army. He graduated third in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1861, and served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers throughout the Civil War. As Assistant Engineer and aide-de-camp for district commander Nathaniel P. Banks, in 1862 Babock worked on fortifications to aid in defending the nation's capitol from Confederate attack. Babcock later served as aide-de-camp for Ulysses S. Grant and participated in the Overland Campaign. He was promoted to Brevet Brigadier General in 1865 and continued on Grant's staff during Reconstruction. After Grant became President in 1869, Babcock was appointed Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds for Washington, DC and Secretary to the President of the United States—in modern terms, the chief of staff—and he served in both posts until 1876. Upon his appointment Babcock was young and ambitious, and considered the Iago of the Grant administration. In 1869, Grant sent Babcock on a mission to explore the possibility of annexing the island nation of Santo Domingo to the United States.
Battle of Gaines's Mill The Battle of Gaines's Mill, sometimes known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles (Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War. Following the inconclusive Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) the previous day, Confederate General Robert E. Lee renewed his attacks against the right flank of the Union Army, relatively isolated on the northern side of the Chickahominy River. There, Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps had established a strong defensive line behind Boatswain's Swamp. Lee's force was destined to launch the largest Confederate attack of the war, about 57,000 men in six divisions. Porter's reinforced V Corps held fast for the afternoon as the Confederates attacked in a disjointed manner, first with the division of Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill, then Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, suffering heavy casualties. The arrival of Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's command was delayed, preventing the full concentration of Confederate force before Porter received some reinforcements from the VI Corps.