Union commanders chose an ideal location for their last battle of the Seven Days, holding a one-half-mile front with as many as 40 cannon stretching from the slopes of Crew’s Run to a similar drop to Western Run and nearly 80,000 soldiers spread out behind or supporting the guns across open cultivated fields dotted by shocks of harvested wheat. It was one of the strongest positions held by either army during the war. Throughout July 1, Lee gathered his reduced army of 70,000 out of sight in the distant woods, and by late afternoon only scattered artillery fire broke the quiet. Then poor communication and misunderstanding of orders led to repeated Confederate attacks, funneling Southern troops together and forcing them to charge straight into the Federal batteries. More than 30,000 Confederates took part in the advances, and by day’s end the battle had claimed 8,000 casualties, with over half of them Confederate.
