Existing comment:
A Costly Error:
After a week of unprecedented success, the Confederate army arrived at Malvern Hill riding a wave of momentum. That ended abruptly with a resounding Union victory on July 1. Poorly written orders, bad maps, and a lack of coordinated control all contributed to the Confederate defeat.
Lee's initial idea called for an artillery bombardment to silence the Union guns atop the hill, followed by an infantry charge. But it proved impossible to bring up enough cannon to make any difference. The plan ended in failure.
But the army attacked anyway. Some officers thought the original plan remained in effect, while others knew it had been cancelled. As fresh units arrived, Confederate leaders sent them up the hill individually. They were defeated time after time.
General Lee was not even present when the battle began; the fact that the attacks started in his absence offers further illustration of the confusion that surrounded the Confederate management of this final battle of the Seven Days.
Sketch by Alfred Waud titled, Battle of Malvern hills fou[ght] on Tuesday July 1st in which the federal forces gained a complete victory over the rebel army, led by Genl's Magruder and Jackson.
The army's chief of the Reserve Artillery, Gen. William N. Pendleton -- derisively called "Old Mother Pendleton" by some of his detractors -- could not even be found on July 1, and the cannon under his control (about 75 guns) did not participate in the battle.
These are the attack orders issued from Lee's headquarters on July 1. If you received these orders, how would you have executed them?
"Batteries have been established to rake the enemy's lines. If it is broken, as it probably, [General] Armistead, who can witness the effect of the fire, has been ordered to charge with a yell. Do the same, By order of General Lee:"
-- R.H. Chilton, Assistant Adjutant-General
Confederate maps mistakenly called the Willis Church Road the "Quaker Road." When Lee issued orders based on his erroneous map, local guides piloted part of his army down the real Quaker Road and away from the battlefield. |