The American Civil War - This Mighty Scourge of War

The fighting 53

poorest tactical decisions. Southern division
commander Daniel Harvey Hill said of the
action on 1 July, 'It was not war, it was
murder.' As evening fell, more than
5,000 Confederate casualties littered the
slopes of Malvern Hill. Some of McClellan's

The Confederate attacks at Gaines's Mill involved

roughly 50,000 men. dwarfing in size the far more

famous Pickett-Pettigrew assault at Gettysburg on

3 July 1863. In this crude post-war engraving, the

artist attempted to suggest the magnitude and fury

of the attacks. (Author's collection)