On July 1, 1862, Porter positioned artillery seemingly hub to hub across this half-mile crest. In front, fields sloped down to woods and swamp, a tough place to form a charge. As Confederates launched disjointed assaults, Federal cannon like giant shotguns saturated the open ground with canister and grapeshot. “Over five thousand dead and wounded men were on the ground,” a Union officer reported the next dawn, “but enough were alive and moving to give the field a singular crawling effect.” Malvern Hill was the last of the Seven Days. After successfully defending their ground, Federal troops continued their withdrawal to Harrison’s Landing.