Battle of Malvern Hill

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Battle of Malvern Hill

The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state of the United States. The population was 262,300 at the 2000 United States Census....
, was the sixth and last of the Seven Days Battles

Seven Days Battles

The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War....
(Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
) of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Gen. Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
position on Malvern Hill. The Confederates

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
suffered more than 5,300 casualties without gaining an inch of ground. Despite his victory, Maj. Gen.

Major General

Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General....
George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
withdrew to entrench at Harrison's Landing on the James River

James River (Virginia)

The James River in the U.S. state of Virginia is a long river, including its Jackson River source. It drains a Drainage basin comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million people ....
, where his army was protected by gunboats, ending the Peninsula Campaign.

final battle of the Seven Days was the first in which the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
occupied favorable ground.

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Encyclopedia

The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico County, Virginia

Seven Days Battles

The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War....
(Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Gen. Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
position on Malvern Hill. The Confederates

Confederate States Army

Major General

George B. McClellan

James River (Virginia)

Background

The final battle of the Seven Days was the first in which the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
occupied favorable ground. For the preceding six days, McClellan's Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
had been retreating to the safety of the James River, pursued by Lee's Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
. Up to this point, the major battles of the Seven Days had been mostly inconclusive, but McClellan was unnerved by Lee's aggressive assaults and remained convinced that he was seriously outnumbered, although in fact the two armies were roughly equal.

Malvern Hill

Malvern Hill

Malvern Hill stands on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, United States, about eighteen miles southeast of Richmond, Virginia....
offered good observation and artillery positions, having been prepared the previous day by the V Corps

V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War....
, under Brig. Gen.

Brigadier General

Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field....
Fitz John Porter

Fitz John Porter

Fitz John Porter was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer during the American Civil War. He is most known for his performance at the Second Battle of Bull Run and his subsequent Court-martial of Fitz John Porter....
. 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 placed by Col.

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, Colonel is a senior field officer United States Military Officer military rank just above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and just below the rank of Brigadier General ....
Henry J. Hunt, McClellan's chief of artillery. Beyond this space, the terrain was swampy and thickly wooded.

The entire Army of the Potomac occupied the hill, with the exception of Brig. Gen. Silas Casey

Silas Casey

Silas Casey was a career United States Army officer who rose to the rank of Major general during the American Civil War....
's Division, now commanded by Brig. Gen. John J. Peck

John J. Peck

John James Peck was a United States soldier who fought in the Mexican-American War and American Civil War....
, of the IV Corps

IV Corps (ACW)

There were two corps of the Union Army called IV Corps during the American Civil War. They were separate units, one serving with the Army of the Potomac and the Department of Virginia in the Eastern Theater, 1862–1863, the other with the Army of the Cumberland in the Western Theater, 1863–1865....
, which had proceeded to Harrison's Landing and, while not engaged, formed the extreme right of the Federal line. The Federal line extended in a vast semicircle from Harrison's Landing on the extreme right to Brig. Gen. George W. Morell

George W. Morell

George Webb Morell was a civil engineer, lawyer, farmer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War....
's division of Porter's Corps on the extreme left, which occupied the geographically advantageous ground on the northwestern slopes of the hill. Adjoining the right of Morell's command was Brig. Gen. Darius N. Couch

Darius N. Couch

Darius Nash Couch was a United States Army officer, naturalist, and a Union Army Major general in the American Civil War. Couch rose to command a corps in the Army of the Potomac, and led division in both the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War and Western Theater of the American Civil War....
's division, which had been detached from the IV Corps, now at Harrison's Landing, and occupied the effective center of the Federal position. Although Porter commanded the portion of the field on which Couch's troops were positioned, he elected to allow Couch to act in command independently, not bringing his detached division under the command of one of the other corps commanders. Extending the Federal line on Couch's right were the divisions of Brig. Gens. Philip Kearny

Philip Kearny

Philip Kearny, Jr., was a United States Army officer, notably in the Mexican-American War and American Civil War. He was killed in action in the 1862 Battle of Chantilly....
and Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, fought in the Mexican-American War, and was a Major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
of Brig. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman

Samuel P. Heintzelman

Samuel Peter Heintzelman was a United States Army General officer. He served in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, the Cortina Troubles, and the American Civil War, rising to the command of a corps....
's III Corps

III Corps (ACW)

There were four formations in the Union Army designated as III Corps during the American Civil War.Three were short-lived:*Army of Virginia:...
. To the right was Brig. Gen. Edwin Vose Sumner

Edwin Vose Sumner

Edwin Vose Sumner was a career United States Army Commissioned officer who became a Union Army General officer and the oldest field commander of any Army Corps on either side during the American Civil War....
's II Corps

II Corps (ACW)

There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps during the American Civil War.* Army of the Cumberland, II Corps commanded by Thomas L....
, consisting of the divisions of Brig. Gens. Israel B. Richardson

Israel B. Richardson

Israel Bush Richardson was a United States Army officer during the Mexican-American War and American Civil War, where he was a Major general in the Union Army....
and John Sedgwick

John Sedgwick

John Sedgwick was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. His death at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House is often considered a well known tale of irony....
, which were anchored to Peck's Division of the IV Corps at Harrison's Landing.

Rather than flanking the position, Lee attacked it directly, hoping that his artillery would clear the way for a successful infantry assault (just as he would miscalculate the following year in Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee against Major general George G. Meade's Union Army positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War....
at Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
). He also believed that his soldiers were in better fighting shape than their Union counterparts, despite the six preceding days of hard fighting and marching. (A number of the Union Corps had in fact not yet participated in direct combat, which was an indictment of McClellan's generalship, but worked out well for this final battle.) Lee's plan was to attack the hill from the north on the Quaker Road, using the divisions of Maj. Gens. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson

Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
, Richard S. Ewell

Richard S. Ewell

Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate States Army General officer during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E....
, D.H. Hill, and Brig. Gen. William H.C. Whiting. Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder

John B. Magruder

John Bankhead Magruder was a career military officer who served in the armies of three nations. He was a United States Army officer in the Mexican-American War, a Confederate States Army General officer during the American Civil War, and a postbellum general in the Imperial Mexican Army....
was ordered to follow Jackson and deploy to his right when he reached the battlefield. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Huger

Benjamin Huger

Benjamin Huger was a career United States Army ordnance officer and a Confederate States Army General officer in the American Civil War....
's division was to follow as well, but Lee reserved the right to position him based on developments. The divisions of Maj. Gens. James Longstreet

James Longstreet

James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate States Army General officers of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E....
and A.P. Hill, which had been the most heavily engaged in the Battle of Glendale

Battle of Glendale

The Battle of Glendale, also known as the Battle of Frayser's Farm, Frazier's Farm, Nelson's Farm, Charles City Crossroads, New Market Road, or Riddell's Shop, took place on June 30, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as the fifth of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War....
the previous day, were held in reserve.

Battle

As with most of the battles in the Seven Days, 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

Ambrose R. Wright

Ambrose Ransom Wright was a lawyer, Georgia politician, and a Confederate States Army general in the American Civil War....
and Lewis A. Armistead) on the Confederate right and D.H. Hill's division (brigades of Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood

John Bell Hood

John Bell Hood was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness....
and Col. Evander M. Law

Evander M. Law

Evander McIvor Law was an author, teacher, and a Confederate States Army general in the American Civil War....
) on the Quaker Road to the left. They awaited the Confederate bombardment before attacking.

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, which were concentrated on a hill 1,200 yards north of the Crew House and at Poindexter's farm to the northeast. 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 of the Union Center and were repulsed by nightfall with heavy losses.

Aftermath

D.H. Hill wrote afterwards, "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

Edmund Ruffin

Edmund Ruffin was born in Prince George County, Virginia. He was a descendant of William Randolph, the progenitor of the Randolph family. Ruffin was a farmer and slaveholder, a Confederate Army soldier, and an 1850s political activist....
, 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 Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart

J.E.B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names....
reached the heights and began bombardment with a single cannon from Capt. John Pelham's artillery. This alerted the Federals to the potential danger and they captured the heights before any Confederate infantry could reach the scene.

Malvern Hill ended the Peninsula Campaign. When McClellan's army ceased to threaten Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
, Lee sent Jackson to operate against Maj. Gen. John Pope's

John Pope (military officer)

John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
army along the Rapidan River

Rapidan River

The Rapidan River is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River in North-central Virginia. The two rivers converge just west of the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia....
, thus initiating the Northern Virginia Campaign

Northern Virginia Campaign

}|-||}The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
.

External links

at the Civil War Preservation Trust
Civil War Preservation Trust

The Civil War Preservation Trust is a charitable organization whose primary focus is in the preservation of American Civil War battlefields. The Civil War Preservation Trust also promotes educational programs and heritage tourism initiatives to inform the public of the war's history and the fundamental conflicts that sparked it....
by Herman Melville
Herman Melville

Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet. His first three books gained much attention, the first becoming a bestseller, but after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime....
.