Seven Days Battles

When General Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy was in crisis. Lee changed all that in a brilliant weeklong campaign. On 26 June the Confederates struck, fighting two hard-fought battles in two days; Mechanicsville and Gaine's Mill. Although there were heavy casualties, the ferocity of the Confederate assaults convinced McClellan that he was outnumbered. He duly retreated, Lee's men pursued, and McClellan was forced to retreat. Unable to keep the Confederates at bay, the Union army was recalled to Washington. Despite losing a quarter of his men, Lee had saved Richmond, and inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Army of the Potomac. This book traces the course of this short yet crucial campaign.