The Gathering Storm

Atop this knoll Confederate General D. H. Hill had an unobstructed view to the crest of Malvern Hill, where the West farm house and fields held Union batteries ready to contest any Southern advance. By early afternoon Hill’s five brigades, about 6,500 men, had formed under cover of the surrounding woods and slopes along Western Run. As they waited, artillery shells burst in the treetops, showering the troops with iron fragments and falling limbs. At 1:30 General Lee gave the order that transformed a one-sided artillery exchange into one of the war’s largest frontal assaults, and for Hill’s men the moment to advance had come. Lieutenant Charles Haydon of the 2nd Michigan Infantry recalled cultivated fields broken by belts and clusters of timber, dotted with residences, with high hills whose slopes were gradual and smooth, while wheat stood in shock, oats awaited harvest, and corn was waist high.

Virginia · United States