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U. S. CIVIL WAR
PHOTOGRAPHS
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MALVERN HILL
(PAGE 1 OF 4)
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July 1, 1862
Estimated Casualties: 8,500 total
At Malvern Hill Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a series of assaults on a
nearly unbreakable Union position. Fought on July 1, 1862, Malvern Hill was the
sixth and last of the Seven Days's Battles.
After Glendale (Frayser's Farm) the Union,
battered and in retreat, took up a position on the high ground of Malvern Hill.
The steep slopes/cliffs on the Union left and the swampy bottoms on the right
forced the main southern advance to cross the open ground on the Union front.
The Federals did not use trenches, instead, they stood in line-of-battle
formation. Backed by over 100 cannon in front and another 100 plus on the
flanks, Brig. Gen. Henry Hunt, Union, opened a murderous fire that few
Confederate units could survive. The Confederate batteries were silenced and
their brigades cut to ribbons as
they advanced. The Confederates suffered more
than 5,300 casualties without gaining an inch of ground. As one Confederate
officer said, "It was not war, it was murder."
Other Confederate attacks up the cliff near the Crew house were also repelled by
the Federals.
Despite this victory, McClellan withdrew to Harrison's Landing on James River,
where his army was protected by gunboats.
This ended the Peninsula Campaign. When McClellan's army ceased to threaten
Richmond, Lee sent Jackson to operate against Maj. Gen. John Pope's army along
the Rapidan River, thus initiating the Northern Virginia Campaign.
(Sources: Various, including the U.S. Gov't, National Park Service)
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PAGE TWO
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Civil War Photos
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Richmond - Outlying
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Malvern Hill
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Page 2
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3
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4
Notes
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