Not with so many Confederates at his back. The Army of the Potomac had to stand and fight, and thanks to numerous heroics on the part of individual soldiers and regiments, it played its part quite well.

The Seven Days’ Battles resumed on June 29, 1862, with furious Confederate attacks in and around Savage’s Station. A pattern had now developed. When the Confederates unleashed their attacks, usually at midday, they often made significant progress, pushing the Federals back. But by midafternoon, the federal defenses had usually stiffened, and when the Confederates came for one last charge, in the early evening, they were usually repulsed. Nowhere was this more true than at the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862.