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Seven Days Battles

December 13, 2023

The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula. The series of battles is sometimes known erroneously as the Seven Days Campaign, but it was actually the culmination of the Peninsula Campaign, not a separate campaign in its own right.

Seven Days Battles
Part of the American Civil War

George B. McClellan and Robert E. Lee, respective commanders of the Union and Confederate armies in the Seven Days
DateJune 25 – July 1, 1862
Location
Hanover County and Henrico County, Virginia
Result Confederate victory[1] (See Aftermath)
Belligerents
United States (Union) Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee
Units involved
Army of the Potomac Army of Northern Virginia
Strength

101,434 ("present for duty"):[2][3]

  • 105,445 (Army of the Potomac without Dix's Division);
  • 9,246 (Dix's Division at Fort Monroe, Va);
 112,200 "present for duty"[4]
Casualties and losses
15,855
1,734 killed
8,066 wounded
6,055 missing/captured[5][6]		 20,204
3,494 killed
15,758 wounded
952 missing/captured[7]

The Seven Days began on Wednesday, June 25, 1862, with a Union attack in the minor Battle of Oak Grove, but McClellan quickly lost the initiative as Lee began a series of attacks at Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) on June 26, Gaines's Mill on June 27, the minor actions at Garnett's and Golding's Farm on June 27 and 28, and the attack on the Union rear guard at Savage's Station on June 29. McClellan's Army of the Potomac continued its retreat toward the safety of Harrison's Landing on the James River. Lee's final opportunity to intercept the Union Army was at the Battle of Glendale on June 30, but poorly executed orders and the delay of Stonewall Jackson's troops allowed his enemy to escape to a strong defensive position on Malvern Hill. At the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, Lee launched futile frontal assaults and suffered heavy casualties in the face of strong infantry and artillery defenses.

The Seven Days ended with McClellan's army in relative safety next to the James River, having suffered almost 16,000 casualties during the retreat. Lee's army, which had been on the offensive during the Seven Days, lost over 20,000. As Lee became convinced that McClellan would not resume his threat against Richmond, he moved north for the northern Virginia campaign and the Maryland campaign.

Background edit

Military situation edit

Main article: Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
Further information: American Civil War

The Peninsula campaign edit

Main article: Peninsula campaign
 
Map of events during the Peninsula campaign to the Battle of Seven Pines
  Confederate
  Union

The Peninsula campaign was the unsuccessful attempt by McClellan to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond and end the war. It started in March 1862, when McClellan landed his army at Fort Monroe and moved northwest, up the Virginia Peninsula beginning in early April. Confederate Brig. Gen. John B. Magruder's defensive position on the Warwick Line caught McClellan by surprise. His hopes for a quick advance foiled, McClellan ordered his army to prepare for a siege of Yorktown. Just before the siege preparations were completed, the Confederates, now under the direct command of Johnston, began a withdrawal toward Richmond.[9]

The first heavy fighting of the campaign occurred in the Battle of Williamsburg (May 5), in which the Union troops managed some tactical victories, but the Confederates continued their withdrawal. An amphibious flanking movement to Eltham's Landing (May 7) was ineffective in cutting off the Confederate retreat. In the Battle of Drewry's Bluff (May 15), an attempt by the United States Navy to reach Richmond by way of the James River was repulsed.[9]

As McClellan's army reached the outskirts of Richmond, a minor battle occurred at Hanover Court House (May 27), but it was followed by a surprise attack by Johnston at the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks on May 31 and June 1. The battle was inconclusive, with heavy casualties, but it had lasting effects on the campaign. Johnston was wounded and replaced on June 1 by the more aggressive Robert E. Lee. Lee spent almost a month extending his defensive lines and organizing his Army of Northern Virginia; McClellan accommodated this by sitting passively to his front, waiting for dry weather and roads, until the start of the Seven Days.[10] Lee, who had developed a reputation for caution early in the war, knew he had no numerical superiority over McClellan, but he planned an offensive campaign that was the first indication of the aggressive nature he would display for the remainder of the war.[10]

Planning for offensives edit

Lee's initial attack plan, similar to Johnston's plan at Seven Pines, paper was complex and required expert coordination and execution by all of his subordinates, but Lee knew that he could not win in a battle of attrition or siege against the Union Army. It was developed at a meeting on June 23. The Union Army straddled the rain-swollen Chickahominy River, with the bulk of the army, four corps, arrayed in a semicircular line south of the river. The remainder, the V Corps under Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter, was north of the river near Mechanicsville in an L-shaped line facing north–south behind Beaver Dam Creek and southeast along the Chickahominy. Lee's plan was to cross the Chickahominy with the bulk of his army to attack the Union north flank, leaving only two divisions (under Maj. Gens. Benjamin Huger and John B. Magruder) to hold a line of entrenchments against McClellan's superior strength. This would concentrate about 65,500 troops to oppose 30,000, leaving only 25,000 to protect Richmond and to contain the other 60,000 men of the Union Army. The Confederate cavalry under Brig. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart had reconnoitered Porter's right flank—as part of a daring but militarily dubious circumnavigation of the entire Union Army from June 12 to 15—and found it vulnerable.[11]

Lee intended for Jackson to attack Porter's right flank early on the morning of June 26, and A.P. Hill would move from Meadow Bridge to Beaver Dam Creek, which flows into the Chickahominy, advancing on the Federal trenches. (Lee hoped that Porter would evacuate his trenches under pressure, obviating the need for a direct frontal assault.) Following this, Longstreet and D.H. Hill would pass through Mechanicsville and join the battle. Huger and Magruder would provide diversions on their fronts to distract McClellan as to Lee's real intentions. Lee hoped that Porter would be overwhelmed from two sides by the mass of 65,000 men, and the two leading Confederate divisions would move on Cold Harbor and cut McClellan's communications with White House Landing.[12]

McClellan also planned an offensive. He had received intelligence that Lee was prepared to move and that the arrival of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's force from the Shenandoah Valley was imminent (McClellan was aware of Jackson's presence at Ashland Station, but did nothing to reinforce Porter's vulnerable corps north of the river).[13] He decided to resume the offensive before Lee could. Anticipating Jackson's reinforcements marching from the north, he increased cavalry patrols on likely avenues of approach. He wanted to advance his siege artillery about a mile and a half closer to the city by taking the high ground on Nine Mile Road around Old Tavern. In preparation for that, he planned an attack on Oak Grove, south of Old Tavern and the Richmond and York River Railroad, which would position his men to attack Old Tavern from two directions.[14]

Opposing forces edit

The armies that fought in the Seven Days Battles comprised almost 200,000 men, which offered the potential for the largest battles of the war. However, the inexperience or caution of the generals involved usually prevented the appropriate concentration of forces and mass necessary for decisive tactical victories.

The Confederate army was not a proper unified command as the Army of the Potomac was, but simply a thrown-together collection of all the troops that could be gathered for the defense of Richmond. This contributed to the poor coordination of the army during the battles and the inability of Robert E. Lee to destroy the Union army.

The average strength of a division in the Army of the Potomac was about 9000 men (including non-combatants) with Casey's division being the smallest at around 7000 and Morell's being the largest at 11,000 men. The average strength of Confederate divisions varied from 12,000 men (A.P. Hill's division) to 5000 men (Theophilus Holmes's division). Confederate reports listed only combat troops and excluded non-combatants such as couriers, staff officers, and wagon drivers. Jackson's command was severely understrength from the Valley campaign and his own division had less than 2000 men, most of them being in the Stonewall Brigade while the brigades of Samuel Fulkerson and John R. Jones were down to nearly regimental size and were held in reserve for most of the Seven Days Battles. Ewell's three brigades numbered 3000 men total. Jackson was reinforced with the brigade of Alexander Lawton, recently arrived from Georgia, and numbering 3500 men. This brought his total strength to around 8000 men.

D.H. Hill's division numbered around 7700 men, having numbered close to 10,000 before the heavy losses at Seven Pines. They were reinforced with Roswell Ripley's brigade, newly arrived from North Carolina, and numbering 2300 men, bringing the total strength of Hill's command to 10,000 men. James Longstreet's division numbered 9050 men on June 25 according to army ordnance chief Edward P. Alexander. It had numbered close to 12,000 men prior to losses at Seven Pines. Benjamin Huger's division numbered approximately 8600 men. William Whiting had around 4000 men in his two brigades. John Magruder's three divisions numbered about 13,000 men.

Union edit

Further information: Seven Days Battles Union order of battle
Union corps commanders

McClellan's Army of the Potomac, with approximately 105,000 men,[3] was organized largely as it had been at Seven Pines.[15]

Confederate edit

Further information: Seven Days Battles Confederate order of battle
Confederate commanders

Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was larger than the one he inherited from Johnston, and, at about 92,000 men,[4] the largest Confederate army assembled during the war.[16]

Battles edit

 
Overview of the Seven Days Battles
 
Seven Days Battles: map of events (left side)
 
Map of Southeastern Virginia
 
Map of Southeastern Virginia (additional map)

Oak Grove edit

Further information: Battle of Oak Grove

McClellan planned to advance to the west, along the axis of the Williamsburg Road, in the direction of Richmond. Between the two armies was a small, dense forest, 1,200 yards (1,100 m) wide, bisected by the headwaters of White Oak Swamp. Two divisions of the III Corps were selected for the assault, commanded by Brig. Gens. Joseph Hooker and Philip Kearny. Facing them was the division of Confederate Maj. Gen. Benjamin Huger.[17]

Soon after 8 a.m., June 25, the Union brigades of Brig. Gens. Daniel E. Sickles (the Excelsior Brigade), Cuvier Grover, both of Hooker's division, and John C. Robinson stepped off. Although Robinson and Grover made good progress on the left and in the center, Sickles's New Yorkers encountered difficulties moving through their abatis, then through the upper portions of the creek, and finally met stiff Confederate resistance, all of which threw the Federal line out of alignment. Huger took advantage of the confusion by launching a counterattack with the brigade of Brig. Gen. Ambrose R. Wright against Grover's brigade. At a crucial moment in the battle, the 26th North Carolina of Brig. Gen. Robert Ransom's brigade, in their first combat engagement, delivered a perfectly synchronized volley of rifle fire against Sickles's brigade, breaking up its delayed attack and sending the 71st New York into a panicked retreat, which Sickles described as "disgraceful confusion."[18]

Heintzelman ordered reinforcements sent forward and also notified army commander McClellan, who was attempting to manage the battle by telegraph from 3 miles (4.8 km) away. McClellan ordered his men to withdraw back to their entrenchments, mystifying his subordinates on the scene. Arriving at the front at 1 p.m., seeing that the situation was not as bad as he had feared, McClellan ordered his men forward to retake the ground for which they had already fought once that day. The fighting lasted until nightfall.[19]

The minor battle was McClellan's only tactical offensive action against Richmond. His attack gained only 600 yards (550 m) at a cost of over 1,000 casualties on both sides and was not strong enough to derail the offensive planned by Robert E. Lee, which had already been set in motion.[20]

Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) edit

Further information: Battle of Beaver Dam Creek

Lee's plan called for Jackson to begin the attack on Porter's north flank early on June 26. A.P. Hill's Light Division was to advance from Meadow Bridge when he heard Jackson's guns, clear the Union pickets from Mechanicsville, and then move to Beaver Dam Creek. D.H. Hill and Longstreet were to pass through Mechanicsville and support Jackson and A.P. Hill. South of the river, Magruder and Huger were to demonstrate to deceive the four Union corps on their front.[21]

Lee's intricate plan went awry immediately. Jackson's men, fatigued from their recent campaign and lengthy march, ran at least four hours behind schedule. By 3 p.m., A.P. Hill grew impatient and began his attack without orders, a frontal assault with 11,000 men. Porter extended and strengthened his right flank and fell back to concentrate along Beaver Dam Creek and Ellerson's Mill. There, 14,000 well entrenched soldiers, aided by 32 guns in six batteries, repulsed repeated Confederate attacks with substantial casualties.[22]

This was the first of four occasions within the next seven days when Jackson would fail to display initiative, resourcefulness, or dependability—the very qualities that were later to raise him to the stature of one of the foremost military leaders.

Col. Vincent J. Esposito, The West Point Atlas of American Wars[23]

Jackson and his command arrived late in the afternoon and he ordered his troops to bivouac for the evening while a major battle was raging within earshot. His proximity to Porter's flank caused McClellan to order Porter to withdraw after dark behind Boatswain's Swamp, 5 miles (8.0 km) to the east. McClellan was concerned that the Confederate buildup on his right flank threatened his supply line, the Richmond and York River Railroad north of the Chickahominy, and he decided to shift his base of supply to the James River. He also believed that the diversions by Huger and Magruder south of the river meant that he was seriously outnumbered. (He reported to Washington that he faced 200,000 Confederates, but there were actually 85,000.)[24] This was a strategic decision of grave importance because it meant that, without the railroad to supply his army, he would be forced to abandon his siege of Richmond. A.P. Hill, now with Longstreet and D.H. Hill behind him, continued his attack, despite orders from Lee to hold his ground. His assault was beaten back with heavy casualties.[25]

Overall, the battle was a Union tactical victory, in which the Confederates suffered significant casualties and achieved none of their specific objectives due to the seriously flawed execution of Lee's plan. Instead of over 60,000 men crushing the enemy's flank, only five brigades, about 15,000 men, had seen action. Their losses were 1,484 versus Porter's 361. Despite the short-term Union success, however, it was the start of a strategic debacle. McClellan began to withdraw his army to the southeast and never regained the initiative.[26]

Gaines's Mill edit

 
Seven Days Battles, June 26–27, 1862
Further information: Battle of Gaines's Mill

By the morning of June 27, the Union forces were concentrated into a semicircle with Porter collapsing his line into an east–west salient north of the river and the four corps south of the river remaining in their original positions. McClellan ordered Porter to hold Gaines's Mill at all costs so that the army could change its base of supply to the James River. Several of McClellan's subordinates urged him to attack Magruder's division south of the river, but he feared the vast numbers of Confederates he believed to be before him and refused to capitalize on the overwhelming superiority he actually held on that front.[27]

Lee continued his offensive on June 27, launching the largest Confederate attack of the war, about 57,000 men in six divisions.[28] A.P. Hill resumed his attack across Beaver Dam Creek early in the morning, but found the line lightly defended. By early afternoon, he ran into strong opposition where Porter had deployed along Boatswain's Creek; the swampy terrain was a major obstacle to the attack. As Longstreet arrived to the south of A.P. Hill, he saw the difficulty of attacking over such terrain and delayed until Stonewall Jackson could attack on Hill's left.[29]

For the second time in the Seven Days, however, Jackson was late. D.H. Hill attacked the Federal right and was held off by the division of Brig. Gen. George Sykes; he backed off to await Jackson's arrival. Longstreet was ordered to conduct a diversionary attack to stabilize the lines until Jackson could arrive and attack from the north. In Longstreet's attack, Brig. Gen. George E. Pickett's brigade attempted a frontal assault and was beaten back under severe fire with heavy losses. Jackson finally reached D.H. Hill's position at 3 p.m. and began his assault at 4:30 p.m.[30]

Porter's line was saved by Brig. Gen. Henry W. Slocum's division moving into position to bolster his defense. Shortly after dark, the Confederates mounted another attack, poorly coordinated, but this time collapsing the Federal line. Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood's Texas Brigade opened a gap in the line, as did Pickett's Brigade on its second attempt of the day. By 4 a.m. on June 28, Porter withdrew across the Chickahominy, burning the bridges behind him.[31]

For the second day, Magruder was able to continue fooling McClellan south of the river by employing minor diversionary attacks. He was able to occupy 60,000 Federal troops while the heavier action occurred north of the river.[32]

Gaines's Mill was the only clear-cut Confederate tactical victory of the Peninsula Campaign.[33] Union casualties from the 34,214 engaged were 6,837 (894 killed, 3,107 wounded, and 2,836 captured or missing). Of the 57,018 Confederates engaged, losses totaled 7,993 (1,483 killed, 6,402 wounded, 108 missing or captured).[34] Since the Confederate assault was conducted against only a small portion of the Union Army (the V Corps, one fifth of the army), the army emerged from the battle in relatively good shape overall. However, although McClellan had already planned to shift his supply base to the James River, his defeat unnerved him and he precipitously decided to abandon his advance on Richmond.[35]

Union withdrawal edit

The night of June 27, McClellan ordered his entire army to withdraw to a secure base at Harrison's Landing on the James River. His actions have puzzled military historians ever since. The Union army was in a good position, having withstood strong Confederate attacks while only deploying one of its five corps in battle. Porter had performed well against heavy odds. Furthermore, McClellan was aware that the War Department had created a new Army of Virginia and ordered it to be sent to the Peninsula to reinforce him. But Lee had unnerved him, and he surrendered the initiative. He sent a telegram to the Secretary of War that included the statement: "If I save this Army now I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you or any other persons in Washington—you have done your best to sacrifice this Army." (The military telegraph department chose to omit this sentence from the copy given to the Secretary.)[36]

McClellan ordered Keyes's IV Corps to move west of Glendale and protect the army's withdrawal, while Porter was sent to the high ground at Malvern Hill to develop defensive positions. The supply trains were ordered to move south toward the river. McClellan departed for Harrison's Landing without specifying any exact routes of withdrawal and without designating a second-in-command. For the remainder of the Seven Days, he had no direct command of the battles. The Union retreat across the Chickahominy after Gaines's Mill was a psychological victory for the Confederacy, signaling that Richmond was out of danger.[37]

Lee's cavalry reported that Union troops had abandoned their defense of the Richmond and York River Railroad and the White House supply depot on the York River. That information, plus the sighting of large dust clouds south of the Chickahominy River, finally convinced Lee that McClellan was heading for the James. Until this time, Lee anticipated that McClellan would be withdrawing to the east to protect his supply line to the York River and positioned his forces to react to that, unable to act decisively while he awaited evidence of McClellan's intentions.[38]

Garnett's & Golding's Farm edit

Further information: Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farm

While Lee's main attack at Gaines's Mill was progressing on June 27, the Confederates south of the Chickahominy performed a reconnaissance in force to determine the location of McClellan's retreating army. Magruder ordered Brig. Gen. Robert A. Toombs's brigade forward to "feel the enemy." Toombs, a Georgia politician with a disdain for professional officers, instead launched a sharp attack at dusk against Baldy Smith's VI Corps division near Old Tavern at the farm of James M. Garnett. The attack was easily repulsed by the brigade of Brig. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock.[39]

On June 28, Toombs again was ordered to conduct a reconnaissance, but turned it into an attack over the same ground, meeting the enemy at the farm of Simon Gouldin (also known as Golding). Toombs took it upon himself to order his fellow brigade commander, Col. George T. Anderson, to join the assault. Two of Anderson's regiments, the 7th and 8th Georgia, preceded Toombs's brigade into the assault and were subjected to a vigorous Federal counterattack by the 49th Pennsylvania and 43rd New York, losing 156 men.[40]

These were the only attacks south of the Chickahominy River in conjunction with Gaines's Mill, but they helped to convince McClellan that he was being subjected to attacks from all directions, increasing his anxiety and his determination to get his army to safety at the James.[41]

Savage's Station edit

Further information: Battle of Savage's Station

On Sunday, June 29, the bulk of McClellan's army concentrated around Savage's Station on the Richmond and York River Railroad, a Federal supply depot since just before Seven Pines, preparing for a difficult crossing through and around White Oak Swamp. It did so without centralized direction because McClellan had personally moved south of Malvern Hill after Gaines's Mill without leaving directions for corps movements during the retreat nor naming a second in command. Clouds of black smoke filled the air as the Union troops were ordered to burn anything they could not carry. Union morale plummeted, particularly so for those wounded, who realized that they were not being evacuated from Savage's Station with the rest of the Army.[42]

Lee devised a complex plan to pursue and destroy McClellan's army. Longstreet's and A.P. Hill's divisions looped back toward Richmond and then southeast to the crossroads at Glendale, Holmes's division headed farther south, to the vicinity of Malvern Hill, and Magruder's division was ordered to move due east to attack the Federal rear guard. Stonewall Jackson, commanding three divisions, was to rebuild a bridge over the Chickahominy and head due south to Savage's Station, where he would link up with Magruder and deliver a strong blow that might cause the Union Army to turn around and fight during its retreat.[43] McClellan's rear guard at Savage's Station consisted five divisions from Sumner's II Corps, Heintzelman's III Corps, and Franklin's VI Corps. McClellan considered his senior corps commander, Sumner, to be incompetent, so he appointed no one to command the rear guard.[44]

Initial contact between the armies occurred at 9 a.m. on June 29, a four-regiment fight about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Savage's Station, lasting for about two hours before disengaging.[45] Meanwhile, Jackson was not advancing as Lee had planned. He was taking time to rebuild bridges over the Chickahominy and he received a garbled order from Lee's chief of staff that made him believe he should stay north of the river and guard the crossings. These failures of the Confederate plan were being matched on the Union side, however. Heintzelman decided on his own that his corps was not needed to defend Savage's Station, so he decided to follow the rest of the army without informing his fellow generals.[46]

Magruder was faced with the problem of attacking Sumner's 26,600 men with his own 14,000. He hesitated until 5 p.m., when he sent only two and a half brigades forward. Union artillery opened fire and pickets were sent forward to meet the assault.[47] The two brigade front of Kershaw and Semmes began to push the narrow defensive line of one of Sedgwick's brigades. Sumner managed this part of the battle erratically, selecting regiments for combat from multiple brigades almost at random. By the time all of these units reached the front, the two sides were at rough parity—two brigades each. Although Magruder had been conservative about his attack, Sumner was even more so. Of the 26 regiments he had in his corps, only 10 were engaged at Savage's Station.[48]

The fighting turned into a bloody stalemate as darkness fell and strong thunderstorms began to move in. The "Land Merrimack"—the first instance of an armored railroad battery to be used in combat—bombarded the Union front, with some of its shells reaching as far to the rear as the field hospital. The final action of the evening was as the Vermont Brigade, attempting to hold the flank south of the Williamsburg Road, charged into the woods and were met with murderous fire, suffering more casualties of any brigade on the field that day.[49]

There were about 1,500 casualties on both sides, plus 2,500 previously wounded Union soldiers who were left to be captured when their field hospital was evacuated. Stonewall Jackson eventually crossed the river by about 2:30 a.m. on June 30, but it was too late to crush the Union Army, as Lee had hoped. General Lee reprimanded Magruder, but the fault for the lost opportunity must be shared equally with the poor staff work at Lee's own headquarters and a less than aggressive performance by Jackson.[50]

Glendale and White Oak Swamp edit

Further information: Battle of Glendale and Battle of White Oak Swamp
 
Seven Days Battles, June 30, 1862
 
Seven Days Battles, July 1, 1862

Most elements of the Union Army had been able to cross White Oak Swamp Creek by noon on June 30. About one third of the army had reached the James River, but the remainder was still marching between White Oak Swamp and Glendale. After inspecting the line of march that morning, McClellan rode south and boarded the ironclad USS Galena on the James.[51]

Lee ordered his army to converge on the retreating Union forces, bottlenecked on the inadequate road network. The Army of the Potomac, lacking overall command coherence, presented a discontinuous, ragged defensive line. Stonewall Jackson was ordered to press the Union rear guard at the White Oak Swamp crossing while the largest part of Lee's army, some 45,000 men, would attack the Army of the Potomac in mid-retreat at Glendale, about 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest, splitting it in two. Huger's division would strike first after a three-mile (5 km) march on the Charles City Road, supported by Longstreet and A.P. Hill, whose divisions were about 7 miles (11 km) to the west, in a mass attack. Holmes was ordered to capture Malvern Hill.[52]

The Confederate plan was once again marred by poor execution. Huger's men were slowed by felled trees obstructing the Charles City Road, spending hours chopping a new road through the thick woods. Huger failed to take any alternative route, and, fearing a counterattack, failed to participate in the battle. Magruder marched around aimlessly, unable to decide whether he should be aiding Longstreet or Holmes; by 4 p.m., Lee ordered Magruder to join Holmes on the River Road and attack Malvern Hill. Stonewall Jackson moved slowly and spent the entire day north of the creek, making only feeble efforts to cross and attack Franklin's VI Corps in the Battle of White Oak Swamp, attempting to rebuild a destroyed bridge (although adequate fords were nearby), and engaging in a pointless artillery duel. Jackson's inaction allowed some units to be detached from Franklin's corps in late afternoon to reinforce the Union troops at Glendale. Holmes's relatively inexperienced troops made no progress against Porter at Turkey Bridge on Malvern Hill, even with the reinforcements from Magruder, and were repulsed by effective artillery fire and by Federal gunboats on the James.[53]

At 2 p.m., as they waited for sounds of Huger's expected attack, Lee, Longstreet, and visiting Confederate President Jefferson Davis were conferring on horseback when they came under heavy artillery fire, wounding two men and killing three horses. A.P. Hill, the commander in that sector, ordered the president and senior generals to the rear. Longstreet attempted to silence the six batteries of Federal guns firing in his direction, but long-range artillery fire proved to be inadequate. He ordered Col. Micah Jenkins to charge the batteries, which brought on a general fight around 4 p.m.[54]

Although belated and not initiated as planned, the assaults by the divisions of A.P. Hill and Longstreet, under Longstreet's overall command, turned out to be the only ones to follow Lee's order to attack the main Union concentration. Longstreet's 20,000 men were not reinforced by other Confederate divisions of Huger and Jackson, despite their concentration within a three-mile (5 km) radius. They assaulted the disjointed Union line of 40,000 men, arranged in a two-mile (3 km) arc north and south of the Glendale intersection, but the brunt of the fighting was centered on the position held by the Pennsylvania Reserves division of the V Corps, 6,000 men under Brig. Gen. George A. McCall, just west of the Nelson Farm. (The farm was owned by R.H. Nelson, but its former owner was named Frayser and many of the locals referred to it as Frayser's, or Frazier's, Farm.)[55]

Three Confederate brigades made the assault, but Longstreet ordered them forward in a piecemeal fashion,[56] over several hours. Brig. Gen. James L. Kemper's Virginians charged through the thick woods first and emerged in front of five batteries of McCall's artillery. In their first combat experience, the brigade conducted a disorderly but enthusiastic assault, which carried them through the guns and broke through McCall's main line with Jenkins's support, followed up a few hours later by Brig. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox's Alabamians. The Confederate brigades met stiff resistance in sometimes hand-to-hand combat.[57]

On McCall's flanks, the divisions of Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker (to the south) and Brig. Gens. Philip Kearny and Henry W. Slocum (to the north), held against repeated Confederate attacks. Brig. Gen. John Sedgwick's division, which had units both in reserve and around White Oak Swamp, came up to fill a gap after a brutal counterattack. Heavy fighting continued until about 8:30 p.m. Longstreet committed virtually every brigade in the divisions under his command, while on the Union side they had been fed in individually to plug holes in the line as they occurred.[58]

The battle was tactically inconclusive, although Lee failed to achieve his objective of preventing the Federal escape and crippling McClellan's army, if not destroying it. Union casualties were 3,797, Confederate about the same at 3,673, but more than 40% higher in killed and wounded. Although Jackson's wing of the army and Franklin's corps comprised tens of thousands of men, the action at White Oak Swamp included no infantry activity and was limited to primarily an artillery duel with few casualties.[59]

Malvern Hill edit

Further information: Battle of Malvern Hill

The final battle of the Seven Days was the first in which the Union Army occupied favorable ground. Malvern Hill offered good observation and artillery positions, having been prepared the previous day by Porter's V Corps. McClellan himself was not present on the battlefield, having preceded his army to Harrison's Landing on the James, and Porter was the most senior of the corps commanders. The slopes were cleared of timber, providing great visibility, and the open fields to the north could be swept by deadly fire from the 250 guns[60] placed by Col. Henry J. Hunt, McClellan's chief of artillery. Beyond this space, the terrain was swampy and thickly wooded. Almost the entire Army of the Potomac occupied the hill and the line extended in a vast semicircle from Harrison's Landing on the extreme right to Brig. Gen. George W. Morell's division of Porter's corps on the extreme left, which occupied the geographically advantageous ground on the northwestern slopes of the hill.[61]

Rather than flanking the position, Lee attacked it directly, hoping that his artillery would clear the way for a successful infantry assault. His plan was to attack the hill from the north on the Quaker Road, using the divisions of Stonewall Jackson, Richard S. Ewell, D.H. Hill, and Brig. Gen. William H.C. Whiting. Magruder was ordered to follow Jackson and deploy to his right when he reached the battlefield. Huger's division was to follow as well, but Lee reserved the right to position him based on developments. The divisions of Longstreet and A.P. Hill, which had been the most heavily engaged in Glendale the previous day, were held in reserve.[62]

Once again, Lee's complex plan was poorly executed. The approaching soldiers were delayed by severely muddy roads and poor maps. Jackson arrived at the swampy creek called Western Run and stopped abruptly. Magruder's guides mistakenly sent him on the Long Bridge Road to the southwest, away from the battlefield. Eventually the battle line was assembled with Huger's division (brigades of Brig. Gens. Ambrose R. Wright and Lewis A. Armistead) on the Confederate right and D.H. Hill's division (brigades of Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood and Col. Evander M. Law) on the Quaker Road to the left. They awaited the Confederate bombardment before attacking.[63]

Unfortunately for Lee, Henry Hunt struck first, launching one of the greatest artillery barrages in the war from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Union gunners had superior equipment and expertise and disabled most of the Confederate batteries. Despite the setback, Lee sent his infantry forward at 3:30 p.m. and Armistead's brigade made some progress through lines of Union sharpshooters. By 4 p.m., Magruder arrived and he was ordered forward to support Armistead. His attack was piecemeal and poorly organized. Meanwhile, D. H. Hill launched his division forward along the Quaker Road, past Willis Church. Across the entire line of battle, the Confederate troops reached only within 200 yards (180 m) of the Union Center and were repulsed by nightfall with heavy losses.[64] Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill is quoted as saying that, "It wasn't war, it was murder."

Lee's army suffered 5,355 casualties (versus 3,214 Union) in this wasted effort, but continued to follow the Union army all the way to Harrison's Landing. On Evelington Heights, part of the property of Edmund Ruffin, the Confederates had an opportunity to dominate the Union camps, making their position on the bank of the James potentially untenable; although the Confederate position would be subjected to Union naval gunfire, the heights were an exceptionally strong defensive position that would have been very difficult for the Union to capture with infantry. Cavalry commander Jeb Stuart reached the heights and began bombardment with a single cannon. This alerted the Federals to the potential danger and they captured the heights before any Confederate infantry could reach the scene.[65]

Aftermath edit

Our success has not been as great or complete as we should have desired. ... Under ordinary circumstances the Federal Army should have been destroyed.

General Robert E. Lee[66]

My conscience is clear at least to this extent—viz.: that I have honestly done the best I could; I shall leave it to others to decide whether that was the best that could have been done—& if they find any who can do better am perfectly willing to step aside & give way.

Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, letter to his wife[66]

The Seven Days Battles ended the Peninsula Campaign. Malvern Hill was not a tenable position in which to stay, and the Army of the Potomac quickly withdrew to Harrison's Landing, where it was protected by Union gunboats on the James River. The army was in no condition for a renewed offensive; nearly 16,000 men and officers had been killed, wounded, or captured between June 25 and July 1, particularly in the V Corps, which had done the heaviest fighting. Also, the survivors were extremely tired after a week of fighting and marching with little food or sleep, most of the artillery ammunition had been used up, and the summer weather was taking its toll with the army sick lists getting longer and longer. Meanwhile, the equally-exhausted Army of Northern Virginia, with no reason to remain in the James bottomlands, pulled back to the Richmond lines to lick its wounds.

McClellan wrote a series of letters to the War Department to argue that he was facing upwards of 200,000 Confederates and that he needed major reinforcements to launch a renewed offensive on Richmond. McPherson notes that the maximum number of Army of Northern Virginia troops that Lee could bring was in fact 92,000.[67] By giving him the commands in Northern Virginia, troops from the Washington garrison, and whatever forces could be pulled from the West, he argued that he might have a fighting chance. General-in-Chief Henry Halleck replied that McClellan's requests were impossible and that if the Confederate army was really as large as he claimed, trying to reinforce him with Pope and Burnside's commands in Northern Virginia would be suicide since the Confederates could easily crush either Union army with their overwhelming strength. Halleck also pointed out that mosquito season was coming up in August–September, and remaining on the swampy Virginia Peninsula at that time of the year would be inviting a disastrous malaria and yellow fever epidemic. On August 4, the order came down for McClellan to withdraw from the Peninsula and to return to the Aquia Creek area at once.[68]

Both sides suffered heavy casualties. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia suffered about 20,000 casualties (3,494 killed, 15,758 wounded, and 952 captured or missing) out of a total of over 90,000 soldiers during the Seven Days. McClellan reported casualties of about 16,000 (1,734 killed, 8,062 wounded, and 6,053 captured or missing) out of a total of 105,445. Despite their victory, many Confederates were stunned by the losses.[69] The number of casualties in the Seven Days Battles surpassed the total number of casualties in the Western Theater of the war until that point in the year.[70]

The effects of the Seven Days Battles were widespread. After a successful start on the Peninsula, which foretold an early end to the war, Northern morale was crushed by McClellan's retreat. Despite heavy casualties, which the less populated South could ill afford, and clumsy tactical performances by Lee and his generals, Confederate morale skyrocketed, and Lee was emboldened to continue his aggressive strategy through the Second Battle of Bull Run and the Maryland Campaign. McClellan's previous position as general-in-chief of all the Union armies, which had been vacant since March, was filled on July 23, 1862, by Major General Henry W. Halleck, but McClellan retained command of the Army of the Potomac. Meanwhile, Robert E. Lee embarked on a thorough reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia by forming it into two corps, commanded by James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson. Lee also removed several generals, such as John Magruder and Benjamin Huger, who had performed poorly during the Seven Days Battles.[71]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, p.470
  2. ^ Further information: Official Records, Series I, Volume XI, Part 3, page 238.
  3. ^ a b 104,100 according to Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 195: "on June 26, Porter's corps had 28,100; south of the Chickahominy River, the other four corps had 76,000." Rafuse, p. 221, cites 101,434 Union present for duty.
  4. ^ a b Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 195: "on June 26, Magruder and Huger had 28,900 south of the Chickahominy; Longstreet, A.P. Hill, D.H. Hill, Jackson, and part of Stuart's cavalry brigade, 55,800; Holmes in reserve, 7,300." Rafuse, p. 221, cites 112,220 Confederate present for duty after the arrival of Jackson's command.
  5. ^ Further information: Official Records, Series I, Volume XI, Part 2, pages 21-37
  6. ^ 15,855
    1,734 killed
    8,066 wounded
    6,055 missing/captured according to Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 345.
  7. ^ Further information: Official Records, Series I, Volume XI, Part 2, pages 502-510 and pages 973-984
  8. ^ 20,204 total (3,494 killed; 15,758 wounded; 952 missing/captured) according to Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 343.
  9. ^ a b Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. xi; Miller, pp. 8–18; Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, p. 5; Eicher, pp. 268–74.
  10. ^ a b Rafuse, p. 220; Miller, pp. 20–25; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 26; Eicher, pp. 275–80.
  11. ^ Esposito, text to map 45 (called Stuart's raid "of dubious value"); Time-Life, p. 25–30; Rafuse, p. 221; Harsh, pp. 80–81; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 18–23; Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 195–97; Eicher, pp. 282–83.
  12. ^ Eicher, p. 283; Time-Life, p. 31; Rafuse, p. 221.
  13. ^ Salmon, pp. 96–97.
  14. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 183; Esposito, map 44; Time-Life, p. 31; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 41–43; Salmon, p. 97.
  15. ^ Eicher, p. 282; Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 195, 359–63.
  16. ^ Eicher, pp. 281–82; Sears, Gates of Richmond, 195, 364–67.
  17. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 43; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 184.
  18. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 185–87; Time-Life, p. 31; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 45; Salmon, p. 98.
  19. ^ Eicher, p. 283; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 47–48; Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 187–88.
  20. ^ Salmon, p. 98; Eicher, p. 283.
  21. ^ Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, p. 63; Eicher, p. 283; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 194.
  22. ^ Esposito, map 45; Harsh, p. 92; Eicher, p. 284; Salmon, pp. 99–100.
  23. ^ Esposito, map 45.
  24. ^ Sears, Young Napoleon, p. 205.
  25. ^ Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, pp. 66, 88; Time-Life, pp. 34–36; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 62, 80–81; Rafuse, pp. 221–25; Salmon, pp. 100–101; Eicher, pp. 283–84.
  26. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 208–209; Eicher, pp. 284–85; Salmon, p. 101.
  27. ^ Kennedy, pp. 93–94; Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 183–208; Salmon, pp. 99–101.
  28. ^ Time-Life, p. 45.
  29. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 210–26; Kennedy, p. 96; Eicher, p. 285; Salmon, pp. 103–106; Time-Life, p. 45; Harsh, p. 94; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 83.
  30. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 89; Eicher, p. 285; Kennedy, p. 96; Salmon, pp. 104–106.
  31. ^ Kennedy, pp. 96–97; Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 227–42; Salmon, p. 106.
  32. ^ Eicher, p. 287.
  33. ^ Salmon, p. 107.
  34. ^ Eicher, p. 288; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 289.
  35. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 249–51.
  36. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 151; Rafuse, p. 225; Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, p. 88; Esposito, map 46; Time-Life, pp. 47–48.
  37. ^ Sears, Young Napoleon, pp. 213, 219; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 164–65, 200.
  38. ^ Salmon, p. 107; Sears, Young Napoleon, p. 216; Rafuse, p. 225; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 156; Esposito, map 46; Time-Life, p. 49; Harsh, p. 95.
  39. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 247, 258; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 143; Salmon, p. 108.
  40. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 258–59; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 170–74; Salmon, p. 108.
  41. ^ Salmon, p. 108.
  42. ^ Miller, p. 46; Eicher, p. 290; Salmon, p. 111; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 174.
  43. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 261; Salmon, p. 110; Eicher, p. 290.
  44. ^ Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, 90; Eicher, p. 290; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 261; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 179–84; Salmon, p. 111.
  45. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 265–66.
  46. ^ Esposito, map 46; Time-Life, p. 50; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 202; Eicher, p. 291; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 267; Salmon, pp. 111–12.
  47. ^ Salmon, p. 112; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 270.
  48. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 271; Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, p. 93; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 212–20; Salmon, p. 112.
  49. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 269–72; Eicher, p. 291; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 191.
  50. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 222–23; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 274; Salmon, p. 112; Eicher, p. 291.
  51. ^ Time-Life, p. 52; Rafuse, pp. 227–28; Eicher, pp. 290–91; Kennedy, p. 98; Salmon, p. 113.
  52. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 231–35; Esposito, map 47; Eicher, p. 291; Salmon, pp. 113–15.
  53. ^ Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, pp. 97–98; Time-Life, pp. 52, 55; Rafuse, p. 226; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 251–54; Kennedy, p. 100; Salmon, p. 115; Eicher, pp. 291–92.
  54. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 266–67, 275; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 290; Kennedy, p. 100.
  55. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 294; Kennedy, p. 100; Time-Life, p. 56; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 275–80; Salmon, p. 116.
  56. ^ Esposito, map 47.
  57. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 294–99; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 281; Kennedy, p. 100; Salmon, p. 116.
  58. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 300–306; Kennedy, p. 100; Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, pp. 104–105; Time-Life, p. 59; Salmon, p. 116.
  59. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 257, 300; Time-Life, p. 60; Salmon, p. 119; Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 307.
  60. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 307, cites 268 "available for use, not including siege artillery."
  61. ^ Time-Life, p. 63; Eicher, p. 293; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 309–10.
  62. ^ Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, pp. 109–10; Esposito, map 47.
  63. ^ Eicher, p. 293; Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, pp. 110–12.
  64. ^ Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, pp. 116–19; Eicher, p. 293; Time-Life, pp. 63, 87–71.
  65. ^ Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 381–83.
  66. ^ a b Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 391.
  67. ^ McPherson, Tried By War, p.97
  68. ^ Rafuse, p. 231; Burton, Peninsula & Seven Days, p. 121; Time-Life, p. 72; Eicher, p. 296.
  69. ^ Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 343–45; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, p. 387.
  70. ^ McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 471.
  71. ^ Harsh, pp. 96–97; Eicher, p. 304; Burton, Extraordinary Circumstances, pp. 391–98; Time-Life, pp. 90–92.

References edit

  • Burton, Brian K. Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-253-33963-4.
  • Burton, Brian K. The Peninsula & Seven Days: A Battlefield Guide. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8032-6246-1.
  • Editors of Time-Life Books. Lee Takes Command: From Seven Days to Second Bull Run. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1984. ISBN 0-8094-4804-1.
  • Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
  • Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. OCLC 5890637. The collection of maps (without explanatory text) is available online at the West Point website.
  • Harsh, Joseph L. Confederate Tide Rising: Robert E. Lee and the Making of Southern Strategy, 1861–1862. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-87338-580-2.
  • Kennedy, Frances H., ed. The Civil War Battlefield Guide[permanent dead link]. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
  • McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1988.
  • McPherson, James M. Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief. New York, NY: Penguin Press, 2008.
  • Miller, William J. The Battles for Richmond, 1862. National Park Service Civil War Series. Fort Washington, PA: U.S. National Park Service and Eastern National, 1996. ISBN 0-915992-93-0.
  • Rafuse, Ethan S. McClellan's War: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-253-34532-4.
  • Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. ISBN 0-8117-2868-4.
  • Sears, Stephen W. George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon. New York: Da Capo Press, 1988. ISBN 0-306-80913-3.
  • Sears, Stephen W. To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign. Ticknor and Fields, 1992. ISBN 0-89919-790-6.
  • National Park Service battle descriptions

Memoirs and primary sources edit

  • U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

Further reading edit

  • Crenshaw, Doug. Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up: The Seven Days' Battles, June 25–July 1, 1862. Emerging Civil War Series. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2017. ISBN 978-1-61121-355-3.
  • Gallagher, Gary W., ed. The Richmond Campaign of 1862: The Peninsula & the Seven Days. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8078-2552-2.
  • Martin, David G. The Peninsula Campaign March–July 1862. Conshohocken, PA: Combined Books, 1992. ISBN 978-0-938289-09-8.
  • Robertson, James I., Jr. Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0-02-864685-1.
  • Webb, Alexander S. The Peninsula: McClellan's Campaign of 1862. Secaucus, NJ: Castle Books, 2002. ISBN 0-7858-1575-9. First published 1885.
  • Wert, Jeffry D. General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier: A Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-70921-6.
  • Welcher, Frank J. The Union Army, 1861–1865 Organization and Operations. Vol. 1, The Eastern Theater. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-253-36453-1.
  • Wheeler, Richard. Sword Over Richmond: An Eyewitness History of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1986. ISBN 0-06-015529-9.

External links edit

  • Seven Days Campaign of 1862: Maps, histories, photos, and preservation news (Civil War Trust)
  • Animated history of the Peninsula Campaign November 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

December 13, 2023
seven, days, battles, were, series, seven, battles, over, seven, days, from, june, july, 1862, near, richmond, virginia, during, american, civil, confederate, general, robert, drove, invading, union, army, potomac, commanded, george, mcclellan, away, from, ric. The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1 1862 near Richmond Virginia during the American Civil War Confederate General Robert E Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj Gen George B McClellan away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula The series of battles is sometimes known erroneously as the Seven Days Campaign but it was actually the culmination of the Peninsula Campaign not a separate campaign in its own right Seven Days BattlesPart of the American Civil WarGeorge B McClellan and Robert E Lee respective commanders of the Union and Confederate armies in the Seven DaysDateJune 25 July 1 1862LocationHanover County and Henrico County VirginiaResultConfederate victory 1 See Aftermath BelligerentsUnited States Union Confederate States Confederacy Commanders and leadersGeorge B McClellanRobert E LeeUnits involvedArmy of the PotomacArmy of Northern VirginiaStrength101 434 present for duty 2 3 105 445 Army of the Potomac without Dix s Division 9 246 Dix s Division at Fort Monroe Va 112 200 present for duty 4 Casualties and losses15 8551 734 killed8 066 wounded6 055 missing captured 5 6 20 204 3 494 killed15 758 wounded952 missing captured 7 8 The Seven Days began on Wednesday June 25 1862 with a Union attack in the minor Battle of Oak Grove but McClellan quickly lost the initiative as Lee began a series of attacks at Beaver Dam Creek Mechanicsville on June 26 Gaines s Mill on June 27 the minor actions at Garnett s and Golding s Farm on June 27 and 28 and the attack on the Union rear guard at Savage s Station on June 29 McClellan s Army of the Potomac continued its retreat toward the safety of Harrison s Landing on the James River Lee s final opportunity to intercept the Union Army was at the Battle of Glendale on June 30 but poorly executed orders and the delay of Stonewall Jackson s troops allowed his enemy to escape to a strong defensive position on Malvern Hill At the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1 Lee launched futile frontal assaults and suffered heavy casualties in the face of strong infantry and artillery defenses The Seven Days ended with McClellan s army in relative safety next to the James River having suffered almost 16 000 casualties during the retreat Lee s army which had been on the offensive during the Seven Days lost over 20 000 As Lee became convinced that McClellan would not resume his threat against Richmond he moved north for the northern Virginia campaign and the Maryland campaign Contents 1 Background 1 1 Military situation 1 2 The Peninsula campaign 1 3 Planning for offensives 2 Opposing forces 2 1 Union 2 2 Confederate 3 Battles 3 1 Oak Grove 3 2 Beaver Dam Creek Mechanicsville 3 3 Gaines s Mill 3 4 Union withdrawal 3 5 Garnett s amp Golding s Farm 3 6 Savage s Station 3 7 Glendale and White Oak Swamp 3 8 Malvern Hill 4 Aftermath 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 7 1 Memoirs and primary sources 8 Further reading 9 External linksBackground editMilitary situation edit Main article Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Further information American Civil War The Peninsula campaign edit Main article Peninsula campaign nbsp Map of events during the Peninsula campaign to the Battle of Seven Pines Confederate UnionThe Peninsula campaign was the unsuccessful attempt by McClellan to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond and end the war It started in March 1862 when McClellan landed his army at Fort Monroe and moved northwest up the Virginia Peninsula beginning in early April Confederate Brig Gen John B Magruder s defensive position on the Warwick Line caught McClellan by surprise His hopes for a quick advance foiled McClellan ordered his army to prepare for a siege of Yorktown Just before the siege preparations were completed the Confederates now under the direct command of Johnston began a withdrawal toward Richmond 9 The first heavy fighting of the campaign occurred in the Battle of Williamsburg May 5 in which the Union troops managed some tactical victories but the Confederates continued their withdrawal An amphibious flanking movement to Eltham s Landing May 7 was ineffective in cutting off the Confederate retreat In the Battle of Drewry s Bluff May 15 an attempt by the United States Navy to reach Richmond by way of the James River was repulsed 9 As McClellan s army reached the outskirts of Richmond a minor battle occurred at Hanover Court House May 27 but it was followed by a surprise attack by Johnston at the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks on May 31 and June 1 The battle was inconclusive with heavy casualties but it had lasting effects on the campaign Johnston was wounded and replaced on June 1 by the more aggressive Robert E Lee Lee spent almost a month extending his defensive lines and organizing his Army of Northern Virginia McClellan accommodated this by sitting passively to his front waiting for dry weather and roads until the start of the Seven Days 10 Lee who had developed a reputation for caution early in the war knew he had no numerical superiority over McClellan but he planned an offensive campaign that was the first indication of the aggressive nature he would display for the remainder of the war 10 Planning for offensives edit Lee s initial attack plan similar to Johnston s plan at Seven Pines paper was complex and required expert coordination and execution by all of his subordinates but Lee knew that he could not win in a battle of attrition or siege against the Union Army It was developed at a meeting on June 23 The Union Army straddled the rain swollen Chickahominy River with the bulk of the army four corps arrayed in a semicircular line south of the river The remainder the V Corps under Brig Gen Fitz John Porter was north of the river near Mechanicsville in an L shaped line facing north south behind Beaver Dam Creek and southeast along the Chickahominy Lee s plan was to cross the Chickahominy with the bulk of his army to attack the Union north flank leaving only two divisions under Maj Gens Benjamin Huger and John B Magruder to hold a line of entrenchments against McClellan s superior strength This would concentrate about 65 500 troops to oppose 30 000 leaving only 25 000 to protect Richmond and to contain the other 60 000 men of the Union Army The Confederate cavalry under Brig Gen J E B Stuart had reconnoitered Porter s right flank as part of a daring but militarily dubious circumnavigation of the entire Union Army from June 12 to 15 and found it vulnerable 11 Lee intended for Jackson to attack Porter s right flank early on the morning of June 26 and A P Hill would move from Meadow Bridge to Beaver Dam Creek which flows into the Chickahominy advancing on the Federal trenches Lee hoped that Porter would evacuate his trenches under pressure obviating the need for a direct frontal assault Following this Longstreet and D H Hill would pass through Mechanicsville and join the battle Huger and Magruder would provide diversions on their fronts to distract McClellan as to Lee s real intentions Lee hoped that Porter would be overwhelmed from two sides by the mass of 65 000 men and the two leading Confederate divisions would move on Cold Harbor and cut McClellan s communications with White House Landing 12 McClellan also planned an offensive He had received intelligence that Lee was prepared to move and that the arrival of Maj Gen Thomas J Stonewall Jackson s force from the Shenandoah Valley was imminent McClellan was aware of Jackson s presence at Ashland Station but did nothing to reinforce Porter s vulnerable corps north of the river 13 He decided to resume the offensive before Lee could Anticipating Jackson s reinforcements marching from the north he increased cavalry patrols on likely avenues of approach He wanted to advance his siege artillery about a mile and a half closer to the city by taking the high ground on Nine Mile Road around Old Tavern In preparation for that he planned an attack on Oak Grove south of Old Tavern and the Richmond and York River Railroad which would position his men to attack Old Tavern from two directions 14 Opposing forces editThe armies that fought in the Seven Days Battles comprised almost 200 000 men which offered the potential for the largest battles of the war However the inexperience or caution of the generals involved usually prevented the appropriate concentration of forces and mass necessary for decisive tactical victories The Confederate army was not a proper unified command as the Army of the Potomac was but simply a thrown together collection of all the troops that could be gathered for the defense of Richmond This contributed to the poor coordination of the army during the battles and the inability of Robert E Lee to destroy the Union army The average strength of a division in the Army of the Potomac was about 9000 men including non combatants with Casey s division being the smallest at around 7000 and Morell s being the largest at 11 000 men The average strength of Confederate divisions varied from 12 000 men A P Hill s division to 5000 men Theophilus Holmes s division Confederate reports listed only combat troops and excluded non combatants such as couriers staff officers and wagon drivers Jackson s command was severely understrength from the Valley campaign and his own division had less than 2000 men most of them being in the Stonewall Brigade while the brigades of Samuel Fulkerson and John R Jones were down to nearly regimental size and were held in reserve for most of the Seven Days Battles Ewell s three brigades numbered 3000 men total Jackson was reinforced with the brigade of Alexander Lawton recently arrived from Georgia and numbering 3500 men This brought his total strength to around 8000 men D H Hill s division numbered around 7700 men having numbered close to 10 000 before the heavy losses at Seven Pines They were reinforced with Roswell Ripley s brigade newly arrived from North Carolina and numbering 2300 men bringing the total strength of Hill s command to 10 000 men James Longstreet s division numbered 9050 men on June 25 according to army ordnance chief Edward P Alexander It had numbered close to 12 000 men prior to losses at Seven Pines Benjamin Huger s division numbered approximately 8600 men William Whiting had around 4000 men in his two brigades John Magruder s three divisions numbered about 13 000 men Union edit Further information Seven Days Battles Union order of battle Union corps commanders nbsp Brig Gen Edwin V Sumner nbsp Brig Gen Samuel P Heintzelman nbsp Brig Gen Erasmus D Keyes nbsp Brig Gen William B Franklin nbsp Brig Gen Philip St George CookeMcClellan s Army of the Potomac with approximately 105 000 men 3 was organized largely as it had been at Seven Pines 15 II Corps Brig Gen Edwin V Sumner commanding divisions of Brig Gens Israel B Richardson and John Sedgwick III Corps Brig Gen Samuel P Heintzelman commanding divisions of Brig Gens Joseph Hooker and Philip Kearny IV Corps Brig Gen Erasmus D Keyes commanding divisions of Brig Gens Darius N Couch and John J Peck V Corps Brig Gen Fitz John Porter commanding divisions of Brig Gens George W Morell George Sykes and George A McCall VI Corps Brig Gen William B Franklin commanding divisions of Brig Gens Henry W Slocum and William F Baldy Smith Reserve forces included the cavalry reserve under Brig Gen Philip St George Cooke Jeb Stuart s father in law and the supply base at White House Landing under Brig Gen Silas Casey Confederate edit Further information Seven Days Battles Confederate order of battle Confederate commanders nbsp Maj Gen Stonewall Jackson nbsp Maj Gen James Longstreet nbsp Maj Gen John B Magruder nbsp Maj Gen A P Hill nbsp Maj Gen Benjamin Huger nbsp Maj Gen Theophilus H HolmesLee s Army of Northern Virginia was larger than the one he inherited from Johnston and at about 92 000 men 4 the largest Confederate army assembled during the war 16 Maj Gen Thomas J Stonewall Jackson having just arrived from his victories in the Valley campaign commanded a force consisting of his own division now commanded by Brig Gen Charles S Winder and those of Maj Gen Richard S Ewell Brig Gen William H C Whiting and Maj Gen D H Hill Maj Gen A P Hill s Light Division which was so named because it traveled light and was able to maneuver and strike quickly consisted of the brigades of Brig Gens Charles W Field Maxcy Gregg Joseph R Anderson Lawrence O Bryan Branch James J Archer and William Dorsey Pender Maj Gen James Longstreet s division consisted of the brigades of Brig Gens James L Kemper Richard H Anderson George E Pickett Cadmus M Wilcox Roger A Pryor and Winfield Scott Featherston Longstreet also had operational command over Hill s Light Division Maj Gen John B Magruder commanded the divisions of Maj Gen Lafayette McLaws Brig Gen David R Jones and Magruder s own division commanded by Brig Gen Howell Cobb Maj Gen Benjamin Huger s division consisted of the brigades of Brig Gens William Mahone Ambrose R Wright Lewis A Armistead and Robert Ransom Jr Maj Gen Theophilus H Holmes division consisted of the brigades of Brig Gens Junius Daniel John G Walker Henry A Wise and the cavalry brigade of Brig Gen J E B Stuart Battles edit nbsp Overview of the Seven Days Battles nbsp Seven Days Battles map of events left side nbsp Map of Southeastern Virginia nbsp Map of Southeastern Virginia additional map Oak Grove edit Further information Battle of Oak Grove McClellan planned to advance to the west along the axis of the Williamsburg Road in the direction of Richmond Between the two armies was a small dense forest 1 200 yards 1 100 m wide bisected by the headwaters of White Oak Swamp Two divisions of the III Corps were selected for the assault commanded by Brig Gens Joseph Hooker and Philip Kearny Facing them was the division of Confederate Maj Gen Benjamin Huger 17 Soon after 8 a m June 25 the Union brigades of Brig Gens Daniel E Sickles the Excelsior Brigade Cuvier Grover both of Hooker s division and John C Robinson stepped off Although Robinson and Grover made good progress on the left and in the center Sickles s New Yorkers encountered difficulties moving through their abatis then through the upper portions of the creek and finally met stiff Confederate resistance all of which threw the Federal line out of alignment Huger took advantage of the confusion by launching a counterattack with the brigade of Brig Gen Ambrose R Wright against Grover s brigade At a crucial moment in the battle the 26th North Carolina of Brig Gen Robert Ransom s brigade in their first combat engagement delivered a perfectly synchronized volley of rifle fire against Sickles s brigade breaking up its delayed attack and sending the 71st New York into a panicked retreat which Sickles described as disgraceful confusion 18 Heintzelman ordered reinforcements sent forward and also notified army commander McClellan who was attempting to manage the battle by telegraph from 3 miles 4 8 km away McClellan ordered his men to withdraw back to their entrenchments mystifying his subordinates on the scene Arriving at the front at 1 p m seeing that the situation was not as bad as he had feared McClellan ordered his men forward to retake the ground for which they had already fought once that day The fighting lasted until nightfall 19 The minor battle was McClellan s only tactical offensive action against Richmond His attack gained only 600 yards 550 m at a cost of over 1 000 casualties on both sides and was not strong enough to derail the offensive planned by Robert E Lee which had already been set in motion 20 Beaver Dam Creek Mechanicsville edit Further information Battle of Beaver Dam Creek Lee s plan called for Jackson to begin the attack on Porter s north flank early on June 26 A P Hill s Light Division was to advance from Meadow Bridge when he heard Jackson s guns clear the Union pickets from Mechanicsville and then move to Beaver Dam Creek D H Hill and Longstreet were to pass through Mechanicsville and support Jackson and A P Hill South of the river Magruder and Huger were to demonstrate to deceive the four Union corps on their front 21 Lee s intricate plan went awry immediately Jackson s men fatigued from their recent campaign and lengthy march ran at least four hours behind schedule By 3 p m A P Hill grew impatient and began his attack without orders a frontal assault with 11 000 men Porter extended and strengthened his right flank and fell back to concentrate along Beaver Dam Creek and Ellerson s Mill There 14 000 well entrenched soldiers aided by 32 guns in six batteries repulsed repeated Confederate attacks with substantial casualties 22 This was the first of four occasions within the next seven days when Jackson would fail to display initiative resourcefulness or dependability the very qualities that were later to raise him to the stature of one of the foremost military leaders Col Vincent J Esposito The West Point Atlas of American Wars 23 Jackson and his command arrived late in the afternoon and he ordered his troops to bivouac for the evening while a major battle was raging within earshot His proximity to Porter s flank caused McClellan to order Porter to withdraw after dark behind Boatswain s Swamp 5 miles 8 0 km to the east McClellan was concerned that the Confederate buildup on his right flank threatened his supply line the Richmond and York River Railroad north of the Chickahominy and he decided to shift his base of supply to the James River He also believed that the diversions by Huger and Magruder south of the river meant that he was seriously outnumbered He reported to Washington that he faced 200 000 Confederates but there were actually 85 000 24 This was a strategic decision of grave importance because it meant that without the railroad to supply his army he would be forced to abandon his siege of Richmond A P Hill now with Longstreet and D H Hill behind him continued his attack despite orders from Lee to hold his ground His assault was beaten back with heavy casualties 25 Overall the battle was a Union tactical victory in which the Confederates suffered significant casualties and achieved none of their specific objectives due to the seriously flawed execution of Lee s plan Instead of over 60 000 men crushing the enemy s flank only five brigades about 15 000 men had seen action Their losses were 1 484 versus Porter s 361 Despite the short term Union success however it was the start of a strategic debacle McClellan began to withdraw his army to the southeast and never regained the initiative 26 Gaines s Mill edit nbsp Seven Days Battles June 26 27 1862Further information Battle of Gaines s Mill By the morning of June 27 the Union forces were concentrated into a semicircle with Porter collapsing his line into an east west salient north of the river and the four corps south of the river remaining in their original positions McClellan ordered Porter to hold Gaines s Mill at all costs so that the army could change its base of supply to the James River Several of McClellan s subordinates urged him to attack Magruder s division south of the river but he feared the vast numbers of Confederates he believed to be before him and refused to capitalize on the overwhelming superiority he actually held on that front 27 Lee continued his offensive on June 27 launching the largest Confederate attack of the war about 57 000 men in six divisions 28 A P Hill resumed his attack across Beaver Dam Creek early in the morning but found the line lightly defended By early afternoon he ran into strong opposition where Porter had deployed along Boatswain s Creek the swampy terrain was a major obstacle to the attack As Longstreet arrived to the south of A P Hill he saw the difficulty of attacking over such terrain and delayed until Stonewall Jackson could attack on Hill s left 29 For the second time in the Seven Days however Jackson was late D H Hill attacked the Federal right and was held off by the division of Brig Gen George Sykes he backed off to await Jackson s arrival Longstreet was ordered to conduct a diversionary attack to stabilize the lines until Jackson could arrive and attack from the north In Longstreet s attack Brig Gen George E Pickett s brigade attempted a frontal assault and was beaten back under severe fire with heavy losses Jackson finally reached D H Hill s position at 3 p m and began his assault at 4 30 p m 30 Porter s line was saved by Brig Gen Henry W Slocum s division moving into position to bolster his defense Shortly after dark the Confederates mounted another attack poorly coordinated but this time collapsing the Federal line Brig Gen John Bell Hood s Texas Brigade opened a gap in the line as did Pickett s Brigade on its second attempt of the day By 4 a m on June 28 Porter withdrew across the Chickahominy burning the bridges behind him 31 For the second day Magruder was able to continue fooling McClellan south of the river by employing minor diversionary attacks He was able to occupy 60 000 Federal troops while the heavier action occurred north of the river 32 Gaines s Mill was the only clear cut Confederate tactical victory of the Peninsula Campaign 33 Union casualties from the 34 214 engaged were 6 837 894 killed 3 107 wounded and 2 836 captured or missing Of the 57 018 Confederates engaged losses totaled 7 993 1 483 killed 6 402 wounded 108 missing or captured 34 Since the Confederate assault was conducted against only a small portion of the Union Army the V Corps one fifth of the army the army emerged from the battle in relatively good shape overall However although McClellan had already planned to shift his supply base to the James River his defeat unnerved him and he precipitously decided to abandon his advance on Richmond 35 Union withdrawal edit The night of June 27 McClellan ordered his entire army to withdraw to a secure base at Harrison s Landing on the James River His actions have puzzled military historians ever since The Union army was in a good position having withstood strong Confederate attacks while only deploying one of its five corps in battle Porter had performed well against heavy odds Furthermore McClellan was aware that the War Department had created a new Army of Virginia and ordered it to be sent to the Peninsula to reinforce him But Lee had unnerved him and he surrendered the initiative He sent a telegram to the Secretary of War that included the statement If I save this Army now I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you or any other persons in Washington you have done your best to sacrifice this Army The military telegraph department chose to omit this sentence from the copy given to the Secretary 36 McClellan ordered Keyes s IV Corps to move west of Glendale and protect the army s withdrawal while Porter was sent to the high ground at Malvern Hill to develop defensive positions The supply trains were ordered to move south toward the river McClellan departed for Harrison s Landing without specifying any exact routes of withdrawal and without designating a second in command For the remainder of the Seven Days he had no direct command of the battles The Union retreat across the Chickahominy after Gaines s Mill was a psychological victory for the Confederacy signaling that Richmond was out of danger 37 Lee s cavalry reported that Union troops had abandoned their defense of the Richmond and York River Railroad and the White House supply depot on the York River That information plus the sighting of large dust clouds south of the Chickahominy River finally convinced Lee that McClellan was heading for the James Until this time Lee anticipated that McClellan would be withdrawing to the east to protect his supply line to the York River and positioned his forces to react to that unable to act decisively while he awaited evidence of McClellan s intentions 38 Garnett s amp Golding s Farm edit Further information Battle of Garnett s amp Golding s Farm While Lee s main attack at Gaines s Mill was progressing on June 27 the Confederates south of the Chickahominy performed a reconnaissance in force to determine the location of McClellan s retreating army Magruder ordered Brig Gen Robert A Toombs s brigade forward to feel the enemy Toombs a Georgia politician with a disdain for professional officers instead launched a sharp attack at dusk against Baldy Smith s VI Corps division near Old Tavern at the farm of James M Garnett The attack was easily repulsed by the brigade of Brig Gen Winfield S Hancock 39 On June 28 Toombs again was ordered to conduct a reconnaissance but turned it into an attack over the same ground meeting the enemy at the farm of Simon Gouldin also known as Golding Toombs took it upon himself to order his fellow brigade commander Col George T Anderson to join the assault Two of Anderson s regiments the 7th and 8th Georgia preceded Toombs s brigade into the assault and were subjected to a vigorous Federal counterattack by the 49th Pennsylvania and 43rd New York losing 156 men 40 These were the only attacks south of the Chickahominy River in conjunction with Gaines s Mill but they helped to convince McClellan that he was being subjected to attacks from all directions increasing his anxiety and his determination to get his army to safety at the James 41 Savage s Station edit Further information Battle of Savage s Station On Sunday June 29 the bulk of McClellan s army concentrated around Savage s Station on the Richmond and York River Railroad a Federal supply depot since just before Seven Pines preparing for a difficult crossing through and around White Oak Swamp It did so without centralized direction because McClellan had personally moved south of Malvern Hill after Gaines s Mill without leaving directions for corps movements during the retreat nor naming a second in command Clouds of black smoke filled the air as the Union troops were ordered to burn anything they could not carry Union morale plummeted particularly so for those wounded who realized that they were not being evacuated from Savage s Station with the rest of the Army 42 Lee devised a complex plan to pursue and destroy McClellan s army Longstreet s and A P Hill s divisions looped back toward Richmond and then southeast to the crossroads at Glendale Holmes s division headed farther south to the vicinity of Malvern Hill and Magruder s division was ordered to move due east to attack the Federal rear guard Stonewall Jackson commanding three divisions was to rebuild a bridge over the Chickahominy and head due south to Savage s Station where he would link up with Magruder and deliver a strong blow that might cause the Union Army to turn around and fight during its retreat 43 McClellan s rear guard at Savage s Station consisted five divisions from Sumner s II Corps Heintzelman s III Corps and Franklin s VI Corps McClellan considered his senior corps commander Sumner to be incompetent so he appointed no one to command the rear guard 44 Initial contact between the armies occurred at 9 a m on June 29 a four regiment fight about 2 miles 3 2 km west of Savage s Station lasting for about two hours before disengaging 45 Meanwhile Jackson was not advancing as Lee had planned He was taking time to rebuild bridges over the Chickahominy and he received a garbled order from Lee s chief of staff that made him believe he should stay north of the river and guard the crossings These failures of the Confederate plan were being matched on the Union side however Heintzelman decided on his own that his corps was not needed to defend Savage s Station so he decided to follow the rest of the army without informing his fellow generals 46 Magruder was faced with the problem of attacking Sumner s 26 600 men with his own 14 000 He hesitated until 5 p m when he sent only two and a half brigades forward Union artillery opened fire and pickets were sent forward to meet the assault 47 The two brigade front of Kershaw and Semmes began to push the narrow defensive line of one of Sedgwick s brigades Sumner managed this part of the battle erratically selecting regiments for combat from multiple brigades almost at random By the time all of these units reached the front the two sides were at rough parity two brigades each Although Magruder had been conservative about his attack Sumner was even more so Of the 26 regiments he had in his corps only 10 were engaged at Savage s Station 48 The fighting turned into a bloody stalemate as darkness fell and strong thunderstorms began to move in The Land Merrimack the first instance of an armored railroad battery to be used in combat bombarded the Union front with some of its shells reaching as far to the rear as the field hospital The final action of the evening was as the Vermont Brigade attempting to hold the flank south of the Williamsburg Road charged into the woods and were met with murderous fire suffering more casualties of any brigade on the field that day 49 There were about 1 500 casualties on both sides plus 2 500 previously wounded Union soldiers who were left to be captured when their field hospital was evacuated Stonewall Jackson eventually crossed the river by about 2 30 a m on June 30 but it was too late to crush the Union Army as Lee had hoped General Lee reprimanded Magruder but the fault for the lost opportunity must be shared equally with the poor staff work at Lee s own headquarters and a less than aggressive performance by Jackson 50 Glendale and White Oak Swamp edit Further information Battle of Glendale and Battle of White Oak Swamp nbsp Seven Days Battles June 30 1862 nbsp Seven Days Battles July 1 1862Most elements of the Union Army had been able to cross White Oak Swamp Creek by noon on June 30 About one third of the army had reached the James River but the remainder was still marching between White Oak Swamp and Glendale After inspecting the line of march that morning McClellan rode south and boarded the ironclad USS Galena on the James 51 Lee ordered his army to converge on the retreating Union forces bottlenecked on the inadequate road network The Army of the Potomac lacking overall command coherence presented a discontinuous ragged defensive line Stonewall Jackson was ordered to press the Union rear guard at the White Oak Swamp crossing while the largest part of Lee s army some 45 000 men would attack the Army of the Potomac in mid retreat at Glendale about 2 miles 3 2 km southwest splitting it in two Huger s division would strike first after a three mile 5 km march on the Charles City Road supported by Longstreet and A P Hill whose divisions were about 7 miles 11 km to the west in a mass attack Holmes was ordered to capture Malvern Hill 52 The Confederate plan was once again marred by poor execution Huger s men were slowed by felled trees obstructing the Charles City Road spending hours chopping a new road through the thick woods Huger failed to take any alternative route and fearing a counterattack failed to participate in the battle Magruder marched around aimlessly unable to decide whether he should be aiding Longstreet or Holmes by 4 p m Lee ordered Magruder to join Holmes on the River Road and attack Malvern Hill Stonewall Jackson moved slowly and spent the entire day north of the creek making only feeble efforts to cross and attack Franklin s VI Corps in the Battle of White Oak Swamp attempting to rebuild a destroyed bridge although adequate fords were nearby and engaging in a pointless artillery duel Jackson s inaction allowed some units to be detached from Franklin s corps in late afternoon to reinforce the Union troops at Glendale Holmes s relatively inexperienced troops made no progress against Porter at Turkey Bridge on Malvern Hill even with the reinforcements from Magruder and were repulsed by effective artillery fire and by Federal gunboats on the James 53 At 2 p m as they waited for sounds of Huger s expected attack Lee Longstreet and visiting Confederate President Jefferson Davis were conferring on horseback when they came under heavy artillery fire wounding two men and killing three horses A P Hill the commander in that sector ordered the president and senior generals to the rear Longstreet attempted to silence the six batteries of Federal guns firing in his direction but long range artillery fire proved to be inadequate He ordered Col Micah Jenkins to charge the batteries which brought on a general fight around 4 p m 54 Although belated and not initiated as planned the assaults by the divisions of A P Hill and Longstreet under Longstreet s overall command turned out to be the only ones to follow Lee s order to attack the main Union concentration Longstreet s 20 000 men were not reinforced by other Confederate divisions of Huger and Jackson despite their concentration within a three mile 5 km radius They assaulted the disjointed Union line of 40 000 men arranged in a two mile 3 km arc north and south of the Glendale intersection but the brunt of the fighting was centered on the position held by the Pennsylvania Reserves division of the V Corps 6 000 men under Brig Gen George A McCall just west of the Nelson Farm The farm was owned by R H Nelson but its former owner was named Frayser and many of the locals referred to it as Frayser s or Frazier s Farm 55 Three Confederate brigades made the assault but Longstreet ordered them forward in a piecemeal fashion 56 over several hours Brig Gen James L Kemper s Virginians charged through the thick woods first and emerged in front of five batteries of McCall s artillery In their first combat experience the brigade conducted a disorderly but enthusiastic assault which carried them through the guns and broke through McCall s main line with Jenkins s support followed up a few hours later by Brig Gen Cadmus M Wilcox s Alabamians The Confederate brigades met stiff resistance in sometimes hand to hand combat 57 On McCall s flanks the divisions of Brig Gen Joseph Hooker to the south and Brig Gens Philip Kearny and Henry W Slocum to the north held against repeated Confederate attacks Brig Gen John Sedgwick s division which had units both in reserve and around White Oak Swamp came up to fill a gap after a brutal counterattack Heavy fighting continued until about 8 30 p m Longstreet committed virtually every brigade in the divisions under his command while on the Union side they had been fed in individually to plug holes in the line as they occurred 58 The battle was tactically inconclusive although Lee failed to achieve his objective of preventing the Federal escape and crippling McClellan s army if not destroying it Union casualties were 3 797 Confederate about the same at 3 673 but more than 40 higher in killed and wounded Although Jackson s wing of the army and Franklin s corps comprised tens of thousands of men the action at White Oak Swamp included no infantry activity and was limited to primarily an artillery duel with few casualties 59 Malvern Hill edit Further information Battle of Malvern Hill The final battle of the Seven Days was the first in which the Union Army occupied favorable ground Malvern Hill offered good observation and artillery positions having been prepared the previous day by Porter s V Corps McClellan himself was not present on the battlefield having preceded his army to Harrison s Landing on the James and Porter was the most senior of the corps commanders The slopes were cleared of timber providing great visibility and the open fields to the north could be swept by deadly fire from the 250 guns 60 placed by Col Henry J Hunt McClellan s chief of artillery Beyond this space the terrain was swampy and thickly wooded Almost the entire Army of the Potomac occupied the hill and the line extended in a vast semicircle from Harrison s Landing on the extreme right to Brig Gen George W Morell s division of Porter s corps on the extreme left which occupied the geographically advantageous ground on the northwestern slopes of the hill 61 Rather than flanking the position Lee attacked it directly hoping that his artillery would clear the way for a successful infantry assault His plan was to attack the hill from the north on the Quaker Road using the divisions of Stonewall Jackson Richard S Ewell D H Hill and Brig Gen William H C Whiting Magruder was ordered to follow Jackson and deploy to his right when he reached the battlefield Huger s division was to follow as well but Lee reserved the right to position him based on developments The divisions of Longstreet and A P Hill which had been the most heavily engaged in Glendale the previous day were held in reserve 62 Once again Lee s complex plan was poorly executed The approaching soldiers were delayed by severely muddy roads and poor maps Jackson arrived at the swampy creek called Western Run and stopped abruptly Magruder s guides mistakenly sent him on the Long Bridge Road to the southwest away from the battlefield Eventually the battle line was assembled with Huger s division brigades of Brig Gens Ambrose R Wright and Lewis A Armistead on the Confederate right and D H Hill s division brigades of Brig Gen John Bell Hood and Col Evander M Law on the Quaker Road to the left They awaited the Confederate bombardment before attacking 63 Unfortunately for Lee Henry Hunt struck first launching one of the greatest artillery barrages in the war from 1 p m to 2 30 p m The Union gunners had superior equipment and expertise and disabled most of the Confederate batteries Despite the setback Lee sent his infantry forward at 3 30 p m and Armistead s brigade made some progress through lines of Union sharpshooters By 4 p m Magruder arrived and he was ordered forward to support Armistead His attack was piecemeal and poorly organized Meanwhile D H Hill launched his division forward along the Quaker Road past Willis Church Across the entire line of battle the Confederate troops reached only within 200 yards 180 m of the Union Center and were repulsed by nightfall with heavy losses 64 Maj Gen D H Hill is quoted as saying that It wasn t war it was murder Lee s army suffered 5 355 casualties versus 3 214 Union in this wasted effort but continued to follow the Union army all the way to Harrison s Landing On Evelington Heights part of the property of Edmund Ruffin the Confederates had an opportunity to dominate the Union camps making their position on the bank of the James potentially untenable although the Confederate position would be subjected to Union naval gunfire the heights were an exceptionally strong defensive position that would have been very difficult for the Union to capture with infantry Cavalry commander Jeb Stuart reached the heights and began bombardment with a single cannon This alerted the Federals to the potential danger and they captured the heights before any Confederate infantry could reach the scene 65 Aftermath editOur success has not been as great or complete as we should have desired Under ordinary circumstances the Federal Army should have been destroyed General Robert E Lee 66 My conscience is clear at least to this extent viz that I have honestly done the best I could I shall leave it to others to decide whether that was the best that could have been done amp if they find any who can do better am perfectly willing to step aside amp give way Maj Gen George B McClellan letter to his wife 66 The Seven Days Battles ended the Peninsula Campaign Malvern Hill was not a tenable position in which to stay and the Army of the Potomac quickly withdrew to Harrison s Landing where it was protected by Union gunboats on the James River The army was in no condition for a renewed offensive nearly 16 000 men and officers had been killed wounded or captured between June 25 and July 1 particularly in the V Corps which had done the heaviest fighting Also the survivors were extremely tired after a week of fighting and marching with little food or sleep most of the artillery ammunition had been used up and the summer weather was taking its toll with the army sick lists getting longer and longer Meanwhile the equally exhausted Army of Northern Virginia with no reason to remain in the James bottomlands pulled back to the Richmond lines to lick its wounds McClellan wrote a series of letters to the War Department to argue that he was facing upwards of 200 000 Confederates and that he needed major reinforcements to launch a renewed offensive on Richmond McPherson notes that the maximum number of Army of Northern Virginia troops that Lee could bring was in fact 92 000 67 By giving him the commands in Northern Virginia troops from the Washington garrison and whatever forces could be pulled from the West he argued that he might have a fighting chance General in Chief Henry Halleck replied that McClellan s requests were impossible and that if the Confederate army was really as large as he claimed trying to reinforce him with Pope and Burnside s commands in Northern Virginia would be suicide since the Confederates could easily crush either Union army with their overwhelming strength Halleck also pointed out that mosquito season was coming up in August September and remaining on the swampy Virginia Peninsula at that time of the year would be inviting a disastrous malaria and yellow fever epidemic On August 4 the order came down for McClellan to withdraw from the Peninsula and to return to the Aquia Creek area at once 68 Both sides suffered heavy casualties Lee s Army of Northern Virginia suffered about 20 000 casualties 3 494 killed 15 758 wounded and 952 captured or missing out of a total of over 90 000 soldiers during the Seven Days McClellan reported casualties of about 16 000 1 734 killed 8 062 wounded and 6 053 captured or missing out of a total of 105 445 Despite their victory many Confederates were stunned by the losses 69 The number of casualties in the Seven Days Battles surpassed the total number of casualties in the Western Theater of the war until that point in the year 70 The effects of the Seven Days Battles were widespread After a successful start on the Peninsula which foretold an early end to the war Northern morale was crushed by McClellan s retreat Despite heavy casualties which the less populated South could ill afford and clumsy tactical performances by Lee and his generals Confederate morale skyrocketed and Lee was emboldened to continue his aggressive strategy through the Second Battle of Bull Run and the Maryland Campaign McClellan s previous position as general in chief of all the Union armies which had been vacant since March was filled on July 23 1862 by Major General Henry W Halleck but McClellan retained command of the Army of the Potomac Meanwhile Robert E Lee embarked on a thorough reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia by forming it into two corps commanded by James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson Lee also removed several generals such as John Magruder and Benjamin Huger who had performed poorly during the Seven Days Battles 71 See also edit nbsp American Civil War portalArmies in the American Civil War List of costliest American Civil War land battles Troop engagements of the American Civil War 1862Notes edit McPherson Battle Cry of Freedom p 470 Further information Official Records Series I Volume XI Part 3 page 238 a b 104 100 according to Sears Gates of Richmond p 195 on June 26 Porter s corps had 28 100 south of the Chickahominy River the other four corps had 76 000 Rafuse p 221 cites 101 434 Union present for duty a b Sears Gates of Richmond p 195 on June 26 Magruder and Huger had 28 900 south of the Chickahominy Longstreet A P Hill D H Hill Jackson and part of Stuart s cavalry brigade 55 800 Holmes in reserve 7 300 Rafuse p 221 cites 112 220 Confederate present for duty after the arrival of Jackson s command Further information Official Records Series I Volume XI Part 2 pages 21 37 15 8551 734 killed8 066 wounded6 055 missing captured according to Sears Gates of Richmond p 345 Further information Official Records Series I Volume XI Part 2 pages 502 510 and pages 973 984 20 204 total 3 494 killed 15 758 wounded 952 missing captured according to Sears Gates of Richmond p 343 a b Sears Gates of Richmond p xi Miller pp 8 18 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days p 5 Eicher pp 268 74 a b Rafuse p 220 Miller pp 20 25 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 26 Eicher pp 275 80 Esposito text to map 45 called Stuart s raid of dubious value Time Life p 25 30 Rafuse p 221 Harsh pp 80 81 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 18 23 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 195 97 Eicher pp 282 83 Eicher p 283 Time Life p 31 Rafuse p 221 Salmon pp 96 97 Sears Gates of Richmond p 183 Esposito map 44 Time Life p 31 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 41 43 Salmon p 97 Eicher p 282 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 195 359 63 Eicher pp 281 82 Sears Gates of Richmond 195 364 67 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 43 Sears Gates of Richmond p 184 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 185 87 Time Life p 31 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 45 Salmon p 98 Eicher p 283 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 47 48 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 187 88 Salmon p 98 Eicher p 283 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days p 63 Eicher p 283 Sears Gates of Richmond p 194 Esposito map 45 Harsh p 92 Eicher p 284 Salmon pp 99 100 Esposito map 45 Sears Young Napoleon p 205 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days pp 66 88 Time Life pp 34 36 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 62 80 81 Rafuse pp 221 25 Salmon pp 100 101 Eicher pp 283 84 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 208 209 Eicher pp 284 85 Salmon p 101 Kennedy pp 93 94 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 183 208 Salmon pp 99 101 Time Life p 45 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 210 26 Kennedy p 96 Eicher p 285 Salmon pp 103 106 Time Life p 45 Harsh p 94 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 83 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 89 Eicher p 285 Kennedy p 96 Salmon pp 104 106 Kennedy pp 96 97 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 227 42 Salmon p 106 Eicher p 287 Salmon p 107 Eicher p 288 Sears Gates of Richmond p 289 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 249 51 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 151 Rafuse p 225 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days p 88 Esposito map 46 Time Life pp 47 48 Sears Young Napoleon pp 213 219 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 164 65 200 Salmon p 107 Sears Young Napoleon p 216 Rafuse p 225 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 156 Esposito map 46 Time Life p 49 Harsh p 95 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 247 258 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 143 Salmon p 108 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 258 59 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 170 74 Salmon p 108 Salmon p 108 Miller p 46 Eicher p 290 Salmon p 111 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 174 Sears Gates of Richmond p 261 Salmon p 110 Eicher p 290 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days 90 Eicher p 290 Sears Gates of Richmond p 261 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 179 84 Salmon p 111 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 265 66 Esposito map 46 Time Life p 50 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 202 Eicher p 291 Sears Gates of Richmond p 267 Salmon pp 111 12 Salmon p 112 Sears Gates of Richmond p 270 Sears Gates of Richmond p 271 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days p 93 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 212 20 Salmon p 112 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 269 72 Eicher p 291 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 191 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 222 23 Sears Gates of Richmond p 274 Salmon p 112 Eicher p 291 Time Life p 52 Rafuse pp 227 28 Eicher pp 290 91 Kennedy p 98 Salmon p 113 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 231 35 Esposito map 47 Eicher p 291 Salmon pp 113 15 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days pp 97 98 Time Life pp 52 55 Rafuse p 226 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 251 54 Kennedy p 100 Salmon p 115 Eicher pp 291 92 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 266 67 275 Sears Gates of Richmond p 290 Kennedy p 100 Sears Gates of Richmond p 294 Kennedy p 100 Time Life p 56 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 275 80 Salmon p 116 Esposito map 47 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 294 99 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 281 Kennedy p 100 Salmon p 116 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 300 306 Kennedy p 100 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days pp 104 105 Time Life p 59 Salmon p 116 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 257 300 Time Life p 60 Salmon p 119 Sears Gates of Richmond p 307 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 307 cites 268 available for use not including siege artillery Time Life p 63 Eicher p 293 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 309 10 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days pp 109 10 Esposito map 47 Eicher p 293 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days pp 110 12 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days pp 116 19 Eicher p 293 Time Life pp 63 87 71 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 381 83 a b Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 391 McPherson Tried By War p 97 Rafuse p 231 Burton Peninsula amp Seven Days p 121 Time Life p 72 Eicher p 296 Sears Gates of Richmond pp 343 45 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances p 387 McPherson Battle Cry of Freedom p 471 Harsh pp 96 97 Eicher p 304 Burton Extraordinary Circumstances pp 391 98 Time Life pp 90 92 References editBurton Brian K Extraordinary Circumstances The Seven Days Battles Bloomington Indiana University Press 2001 ISBN 0 253 33963 4 Burton Brian K The Peninsula amp Seven Days A Battlefield Guide Lincoln University of Nebraska Press 2007 ISBN 978 0 8032 6246 1 Editors of Time Life Books Lee Takes Command From Seven Days to Second Bull Run Alexandria VA Time Life Books 1984 ISBN 0 8094 4804 1 Eicher David J The Longest Night A Military History of the Civil War New York Simon amp Schuster 2001 ISBN 0 684 84944 5 Esposito Vincent J West Point Atlas of American Wars New York Frederick A Praeger 1959 OCLC 5890637 The collection of maps without explanatory text is available online at the West Point website Harsh Joseph L Confederate Tide Rising Robert E Lee and the Making of Southern Strategy 1861 1862 Kent OH Kent State University Press 1998 ISBN 0 87338 580 2 Kennedy Frances H ed The Civil War Battlefield Guide permanent dead link 2nd ed Boston Houghton Mifflin Co 1998 ISBN 0 395 74012 6 McPherson James M Battle Cry of Freedom The Civil War Era New York NY Oxford University Press 1988 McPherson James M Tried by War Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief New York NY Penguin Press 2008 Miller William J The Battles for Richmond 1862 National Park Service Civil War Series Fort Washington PA U S National Park Service and Eastern National 1996 ISBN 0 915992 93 0 Rafuse Ethan S McClellan s War The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union Bloomington Indiana University Press 2005 ISBN 0 253 34532 4 Salmon John S The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide Mechanicsburg PA Stackpole Books 2001 ISBN 0 8117 2868 4 Sears Stephen W George B McClellan The Young Napoleon New York Da Capo Press 1988 ISBN 0 306 80913 3 Sears Stephen W To the Gates of Richmond The Peninsula Campaign Ticknor and Fields 1992 ISBN 0 89919 790 6 National Park Service battle descriptionsMemoirs and primary sources edit U S War Department The War of the Rebellion a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Washington DC U S Government Printing Office 1880 1901 Further reading editCrenshaw Doug Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up The Seven Days Battles June 25 July 1 1862 Emerging Civil War Series El Dorado Hills CA Savas Beatie 2017 ISBN 978 1 61121 355 3 Gallagher Gary W ed The Richmond Campaign of 1862 The Peninsula amp the Seven Days Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press 2000 ISBN 0 8078 2552 2 Martin David G The Peninsula Campaign March July 1862 Conshohocken PA Combined Books 1992 ISBN 978 0 938289 09 8 Robertson James I Jr Stonewall Jackson The Man The Soldier The Legend New York Macmillan Publishing 1997 ISBN 0 02 864685 1 Webb Alexander S The Peninsula McClellan s Campaign of 1862 Secaucus NJ Castle Books 2002 ISBN 0 7858 1575 9 First published 1885 Wert Jeffry D General James Longstreet The Confederacy s Most Controversial Soldier A Biography New York Simon amp Schuster 1993 ISBN 0 671 70921 6 Welcher Frank J The Union Army 1861 1865 Organization and Operations Vol 1 The Eastern Theater Bloomington Indiana University Press 1989 ISBN 0 253 36453 1 Wheeler Richard Sword Over Richmond An Eyewitness History of McClellan s Peninsula Campaign New York Harper amp Row Publishers 1986 ISBN 0 06 015529 9 External links editSeven Days Campaign of 1862 Maps histories photos and preservation news Civil War Trust Animated history of the Peninsula Campaign Archived November 30 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Seven Days Battles amp oldid 1187097500, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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