Magruder would begin his advance on the right with Huger’s men. Armistead and Mahone’s brigades were quickly pinned down as they advanced along with Wright. Rather than launch a coordinated assault Magruder was feeding regiments into the action as soon as they came up. Robert Ransom’s brigade of 3,000 men lost 499 men. The Union artillery fire was continuous with Lieutenant Adelbert Ames Battery A of the 5th US Light Artillery firing almost 1,400 rounds. There was only one swale on the western side of the road and Union artillery played a major role here. The ground on the east side was a more favorable to the Confederates with several swales. General Darius Couch recognized this and moved his three brigades forward under Albion Howe, Innis Palmer and John Abercrombie to prevent the Rebels from reaching them. D. H. Hill moved forward after Magruder with his five brigades suffering heavy casualties in the process. The 3rd Alabama in Rodes’ brigade under the temporary command of Colonel John Gordon lost 56% of their men. Colquit and Ridley’s brigade lost more than 600 men.
Couch’s men were low on ammunition but reinforcements from the Excelsior Brigade under Sickles, and the 5th NH and 61st NY commanded by Francis Barlow stabilized the line. Hill lost 1,756 men from his 8,200 man division.
The furthest Confederate advance of the day occurred on their right by the brigades of Robert Ransom and Paul Semmes, shown in the map below. They used the slave cabins for cover but were forced back by Brigadier General Thomas Meagher’s Irish Brigade. The Union line held.
At the end of the day’s fighting the Confederates suffered 869 killed, 4,241 wounded and 540 missing for a total of 5,650 casualties. The Federals had 314 killed, 1,875 wounded and 818 missing for a total of 3.007 casualties. General D.H. Hill, never one to mince words, summed up the Confederate effort accurately with two observations, first noting that their forces did not move together cohesively but in a piecemeal fashion and were beaten in detail (sequentially) and second “It was not war. It was murder.” That evening Fitz John Porter sent word to McClellan that the enemy had been driven from the battlefield and that once the army was reinforced and resupplied he would counterattack the next day. He conveyed his opinion in person that the army should move on Richmond. McClellan continued his retreat toward the James River and Harrison’s Landing. Phil Kearny one of the most aggressive Union generals is reported to have said regarding the order to retreat that it “can only be prompted by cowardice or treason.”
The Battlefield Walking Tour (white trail)
Parking is available in two locations. Near the Confederate line where the parsonage is located- 37.4180775, -77.2468237, and near the Union line- 37.4128385, -77.2500101.
The Green Stops interpret the Methodist Parsonage and were covered in the previous post- Malvern Hill the Forces Align. See that post for photographs: Green 1- Methodist Parsonage Freeman- 37.4183611; -77.2471111; Green 2- The Battle Commences- 37.4184722, -77.2470556; and Green 3- The Gathering Storm- 37.4186389, -77.2471111.
The Blue Stops- I did these first by car and then walked the loop from the Union side of the field parking lot in a counterclockwise fashion doing Red stops 12-14 first, then the Black stops in reverse order, followed by the Green parsonage stops and finishing with Red stops 1-11.
The Black Stops
Text-Against the Federals holding this eminence, the Confederates delivered repeated assaults from the North on July 1, 1862 and lost about 5,000 men in the final, indecisive Battle of the Seven Days’ Campaign. That night McClellan withdrew to Harrison’s Landing, near Westover.
The six guns located here, shown below, are in the approximate location of Adelbert Ames battery during the battle.
The Red Stops
The sign above was severely damaged on the day I visited. The images of it below are from the Historical Marker Database.
Red 6- The Grandest Sean of All- 37.4130556, -77.2518611
Text-Up the face of this ridge and through the meadow to the left J.B. Magruder’s troops charged the Federal positions on the crest, around the Crew House, July 1, 1862. D.H. Hill’s charge was to the right, on both sides of the Willis Church Road.
The Field of Battle from the Union perspective, looking toward the Confederate line- images from left to right.
Walking trails at Malvern Hill- there is also a blue walking trail at Malvern Hills, shown below, which I have not yet walked (link to brochure). The images above are all from the white trail.
Next- The Retreat to Harrison’s Landing
Sources
To the Gates of Richmond The Peninsula Campaign by Stephen W. Sears
Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up The Seven Days’ Battles June 25- July 1, 1862 by Doug Crenshaw
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