Battle of Malvern Hill

General Robert E. Lee hoped that a crossfire of Confederate artillery directed against the crest of Malvern Hill might silence the powerful array of Union guns and clear the way for an infantry charge. Generals Longstreet and Jackson established clusters of cannon at two places, on opposite ends of the Confederate line. This is one of those spots.

Parts of several Virginia batteries fought on this ridge. Usually no more than six cannon were in position here at any one time, only about 950 yards from the line of Federal guns on Malvern Hill. These little clumps of artillery proved no match for the more powerful and accurate Union pieces. By twilight the edge of the field was littered with dead horses and men.

The failure of the Confederates to mass their artillery at any one place together with the superior range and precision of the Union guns, ensured the failure of Lee's plan.

"We only saved the battery from utter destruction by loading the guns low down on the slope and running them up near enough to the crest of the rise to fire them, and the [recoil] would run them back into a sheltered position."
Capt. Greenlee Davidson, Letcher Artillery

The Purcell Battery composed mostly of men from Richmond, was one of the Virginia units that absorbed terrific punishment here. Its captain was Willy Pegram, who had celebrated his 21st birthday only days earlier. His battery had three of its four cannon disabled, and lost twenty horses killed and twenty men injured. By the end of the battle, Captain Pegram was helping to operate the one remaining gun himself.

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Confederate Futility
Malvern Hill
Confederate Futility
"Madness"
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Historic Farm Road
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Seven Days Battles
Willis Church Parsonage
The Gathering Storm

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