Malvern Hill Battlefield: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Richmond National Battlefield Park

Hammond, John

Malvern Hill Battlefield is located at 9175 Willis Church Road, Virginia, approximately thirteen miles southeast of Richmond. The site is part of Richmond National Battlefield Park, a unit of the National Park System comprised of eleven Civil War battlefields and engagement sites and related resources around Virginia’s capital city. These sites are variously associated with the events of the Civil War, including the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, 1864 Overland Campaign, naval operations along the James River, and the 1864-65 Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. The July 1, 1862, Battle of Malvern Hill was the final battle of Gen. George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, marking the effective end of Union efforts to reach Richmond in 1862. Malvern Hill Battlefield is located south of, and adjoining, Glendale Battlefield, also a unit of Richmond National Battlefield Park. The Union army established a strong defensive position across the high ground of Malvern Hill, anchoring its left flank on the steep western slopes and gullies of the hill. From there, Federal artillery and infantry successfully repulsed repeated assaults from the Confederate units from the north and west, inflicting considerable casualties. The tight Union formation, superior artillery position, and support from Union gunboats on the James River two miles to the south proved too strong for the somewhat uncoordinated Confederate attacks. As night fell, the Union position held, and the route south to the Union base of Harrison’s Landing was secure. Malvern Hill Battlefield lies in the southeastern corner of Henrico County, a predominantly rural and agricultural region that also includes several thickly-settled towns and communities and industrial complexes. The park-owned battlefield landscape comprises approximately 343 acres of open fields and 650 acres of forest and wetland, representing the core area of the Battle of Malvern Hill. The landscape incorporates the primary Union line of defense that stretched from the Crewes house westward across the West/Binford farm fields. The landscape also includes large areas of the Confederate approach from the north, important circulation routes, and natural features that influenced the course of the battle. Contributing features include the West house, Willis Methodist Church Parsonage ruins, historical markers, and roads and road traces.

Malvern Hill Battlefield: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Richmond National Battlefield Park

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