McClellen and Lee. 
Malvern Hill
The actual Malvern Hill didn't really figure into the battle, the fighting took place on a ridge to the north.
Malvern Hill, oh goody, finally, now finally I get to rant!
I know, Lee is supposed to be the greatest general ever, even greater that that famous Russian, Gen. Winter, who defeated Napoleon and that German Paulus; if that's true, then explain Malvern Hill to me. George McClellan was clearly the worst general ever or at least in the running for the title, but he whipped Lee’s butt at Malvern Hill. Spanked actually, if it had have been anyone in charge of the Union Army except McClellan, Lee would have been done for that very day and Richmond would have been occupied by nightfall. If you think about it, Lee had been throwing his army against the Union cannon for a week. Fortunately for the rebels McClellan was the man in charge, so in a situation where anyone, I mean anyone, else would have attacked, he marched his army back to the James, boarded boats and sailed away.
At the bottom of this page is a letter writen by Dan Luke to his sister Mary. The letter shows that even a private realized they had won the battles of the Seven Days.
Union - Army of the Potomac 80,000 strong / 3,200 casualties
Maj. Gen. George McClellan
Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter
Brig. Gen. Darius Couch
Brig. Gen. Morell
Brig.Gen. Sykes
Brig. Gen. McCall
250 cannon on the line plus two gunboats.
Confederate - Army of Northern Virginia 80,000 strong / 5,300 casualties
Gen Robert E. Lee
Maj. Gen. Jackson
Maj. Gen. Ewell
Maj. Gen. Magruder
Maj. Gen. Huger
Maj. Gen. Longstreet (in reserve)
Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill (in reserve)
The blue dots are Union artillery and the red dot are Confederate. The flags are the relative positions of the units involved.
Click the map for a link to DeLorme.
View of the Parsonage from the Union guns.
Two view of the Confederate Guns. The guns were so over matched they had to be rolled back down the hill to be reloaded then rolled back up to fire.
Two view from the Confederate Guns of the Union position. The white house cenetr right is the West House.
I’ve never heard anybody else say it, but Malvern Hill was the Army of Virginia’s Fredericksburg. Lee threw his army against the Army of the Potomac entrenched upon the high ground and covered by artillery and his men were slaughtered. They didn’t get any closer than 200 yards of the main Union line.
There isn’t a lot of strategy to talk about here, Lee ordered everyone to attack straight ahead and they did. You can see in the pictures that the Confederates had to advance over 800 yards of wide open ground. It’s not surprising that they couldn’t pull it off. I’m just shocked they tried; I’m even more shocked that Lee tried the same move again at Gettysburg to no better effect. You would think that after Malvern Hill and Fredericksburg Lee would have looked out across the field at Gettysburg and said, ‘I don’t think so.’ Longstreet did.
I will say though that between Malvern Hill and Gettysburg Lee did change his strategy, he became an expert at arriving to the battlefield early, picking his spot, and digging in. The string of victories that would establish Lee reputation and place in history were all fought that way. In those battles Lee positioned himself in such a way that the Army of the Potomac attacked him in fortified his positions.
The only exception was Chancelorsville where Hooker came up against Lee's trenches and froze. Hooker sat there long enough that Lee sent Jackson out to flank the Federal position. But that was the exception not the rule.
Who would order men to advance over this open ground into the teeth of artillery? The Union artillary was in a line along the top of the ridge mid-picture.
The West House. Seen in the two pictures above.
The Union artillery.
I like the way this shot and the one bellow show the rolling nature of the ground.
That little hill out there is the Confederate atillery position.
All they had to do was sit up here and wait, the Confederates marched right up and were slaughtered.
What was Lee thinking?
Philip Pringle
In 1950, a box of long-forgotten letters, written from 1859 -1865, was discovered in the attic of the home of Frank Wicksʼ grandparents, John S. Wicks and Sadie Pringle Wicks, in South Fork, Pennsylvania. The younger Frank Wicks fashioned these letters into a play called Soldier, Come Home and he has given me permission to use sections from the original letters on this site.
Philip Pringle served from July 1863 on in:
Co. E. 102nd Pennsylvania Regiment
First Brigade, 2nd Division
6th Corps
Army of the Potomac
Included in the Pringle letters were letters from other family members who served in the Civil War. Mary Pringle was Philip's wife and Dan Luke was her brother. The following letter was writen by Dan to Mary after Malvern Hill, probably on July 5th, 1862.
Camp at Harrison Landing
Mary Dear Sister,
I am seated this afternoon to answer your letter which I received some time ago. I was glad to hear from you and to know how you were all getting along.
I am middling well today with the exception of diarrhea which is a very common disease in the army. I would have written to you sooner but circumstances would not allow me an opportunity. For six long days and nights I was under arms. All the time without sleep, and nothing to eat but crackers and meat. Traveling at night and fighting (all day). I was almost ready to lie down and give up the ghost - altogether give out. But I am glad I endured the hardships of that week. That I still have the opportunity to converse with my old friends at home. We hold a very strong position now. We are at the Rebbles defense in this position, if they double our number. Although we retreated, we whipped the enemy at every point and drove them off the field at the point of the bayonets. But oh! what a sight. All over the field lay the dead and dying - smothering in their own blood crying for water in some places. They lay 4 or 5 deep where our grape and shell cut them down like grass. Their loss is fearful. The scene is too terrible to talk about.
Martin Pringle is still safe. I saw him the other day - he looks well. Molly, I could tell you many little acts that fell under my own observation but I expect to see you some time when I will have more time and a better way of conveying thoughts. What has become of Phil? All I get to hear or see of him is the writing on the envelopes. I should like to see you all very much and hope I will have that privilege but while I still stay away I love to hear from them and to get letters. I don’t think we will have another fight for some time unless the rebbles commences. Mac won’t commence till he has all things ready. After we landed where we are now General McClellan rodealong our lines and he was just as muddy as some old grave digger. As he rode along with his bare head, every man that could speak yelled out at the top of his voice. Napoleon never was received with more enthusiasm than was he after the conflict. Now I am going to send this in Pa’s letter and I don’t want you to be affronted. Give my love to all and don’t delay writing and write more at a time.
As ever, Dan W. Luke.
Soldier, Come Home
It is interesting to note that even this private soldier, Dan Luke, realized that they had defeated the Confederates at every turn. He still shows the unbounded faith that the Army of the Potomac had in General McClellan and trusts that there is some big plan up Little Macs sleeve. While I am not a big McClellan fan he did have one, he wanted to cross the James and attack Petersburg; exactly what Grant would do three years later: Lincoln ordered the Army back to Washington.
McCellan, harrumph.