SEVEN DAYS' BATTLES

The end of Union General George B. McClellan’s “Peninsula Campaign” in the summer of 1862 was brought about by a number of engagements called the “Seven Days’ Battles”. A series of events, on both the Union and Confederate sides, proceeded this decisive week of fighting.

McClellan had landed his 100,000 soldiers at Fort Monroe in the Spring and fought his way up the Virginia Peninsula to the outskirts of the Confederates’ Capitol – Richmond. By early June, his army was close enough to the city to hear the church bells tolling in the steeples every day. He seemed poised to take the city and hopefully end the Civil War. Then a blessing in disguise happened for the Rebels. Their General in charge, Joseph E. Johnston, was wounded in the Battle of Seven Pines, just east of Richmond, and was replaced by Robert E. Lee.

Lee, taking control of the Army of Northern Virginia, took a different tactic than Johnston in his attempt to defend Richmond and push McClellan out of the area. Lee immediately began to construct earthen fortifications encircling Richmond. His intent was that with these fortifications, Lee could defend Richmond with a minimal number of troops and, with pulling “Stonewall” Jackson’s Corps from the Shenandoah Valley, he would be nearer the same size Army as McClellan had. He could then go on the offensive.

Jackson’s success in various battles in “The Valley” secured that portion of Virginia and allowed Jackson to move toward Richmond to assist Lee. As Jackson’s troops arrived on June 26, both by rail and on foot, Lee added his troops and attacked the Union at Beaver Dam Creek. Interestingly, though Lee could not defeat the Union Army here, McClellan retreated and continued his run to eventually get to Harrison’s Landing on the James River.

 Following this unsuccessful conflict, the Rebels pursued the Union Army and, again, fought a major battle at Gaines’ Mill the next day. This time the Confederates were able to break through the Yankee lines, led by troops from Texas and Georgia. By nightfall, both sides contributed to over 15,000 casualties in some of the heaviest fighting during the Seven Days’ Battles.

Pursuing the retreating Union Army, Lee attacked the Yankee rear guard at Savage’s Station on the 29^th of June. Confusion reigned supreme this day as Lee’s orders were misunderstood and therefore not carried out properly. Likewise, McClellan, who was far ahead of his troops in their retreat, left no one in charge of the army guarding the rear. This, too, added to the confusion. By nightfall, this battle ended in a stalemate.

From here, the fighting continued at Frayser’s Farm, also known as Glendale.  On June 30 as Lee’s Army attacked the Union rear that was protecting a vital crossroads, McClellan continued his flight south toward the James River and away from his initial goal of Richmond. Once again the Confederates were not able to carry the day and the Union forces were able to regroup at Malvern Hill, just a short distance south.

At Malvern Hill the Union Army, although it did not dig in, was able to form a formidable defensive line composed of both artillery and infantry on the ridge top. Thus, as they possessed the better field position, McClellan’s Army of the Potomac just waited for the Rebels to attack. And attack they did.  Lee believed that if his artillery could render McClellan’s artillery useless, the Rebel infantry would surely whip the Union infantry. This never happened. The Union artillery controlled the battle and controlled the day. After a series of attempted bombardments, the Southern Army attacked. On the Union left, the Southerners had to traverse a quarter mile open field, sloping upward toward the Army of the Potomac. This bore no success for the Rebels as the brigades were mowed down by the Union cannon. On the Union right, the Rebels had to deal with a swampy front in order to attack the Union lines. This, too, failed. As it turned out, very few Union infantry was used in this battle, although there were thousands held in reserve. The Union line was composed of mostly artillery supported by infantry. They would charge periodically to fire a few volleys at the oncoming Rebels, and then return to the cover of the cannon.  This battle ended as the previous ones, due to darkness. The casualty count for the Confederates was a bit more than 5,000, while the Union incurred around 3,000 killed or wounded.

This ended the “Seven Days’ Battles” – five major conflicts with a number of smaller encounters, all within seven days. McClellan was able to retreat to Harrison Landing on the James River using the Berkeley Plantation as his headquarters, troop encampment, and hospital (see previous blog). He also used the Shirley Plantation grounds, a neighboring plantation, as a hospital (see previous blog). And Lee accomplished most of his objective – to drive the Yankees from the doorstep of his Capitol, Richmond. He also wanted to destroy the Army of the Potomac, but did not succeed.

On my tour of these sites, it was a bit disappointing. Starting with Beaver Dam Creek, there was a little bit to see. A portion of the creek area was accessible, but not much else. The old road that the Union marched in their retreat was identified as was their battle line. Gaines’ Mill was interesting, although like other battle sites, the tree growth over the last 150 years greatly alters the battlefield. It is always difficult to know which tree area was in existence at the time of the battle, and which tree area is “new”.  At both Savage’s Station and Frayser’s Farm, there were interpretive signs but not much else. Malvern Hill is the gem of this week of conflict. It is nearly as it was on July 1, 1862. There are cannon to identify both Confederate and Federal cannon positions. A 1-1/2 mile walking trail loops behind the Confederate lines, giving a great visual of what they were facing with their numerous unsuccessful infantry charges. A ravine the Confederates hid in until it was time to charge is also identified. The trail starts behind the Union cannon and to see from that vantage point is also very interesting. It is looking down a sloped hill across a completely open field. Walking this trail and reading the interpretive signs gave me a real feel and understanding of what these soldiers experienced on this battlefield. The Rebels never had a chance.