eBook coming soon!
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The Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862, marked the climax of the Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond, Virginia. For the first time since the Civil War began, the full might of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Union Army of the Potomac and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia met. The world watched and wondered as this high-stakes combat played out on the doorstep of the Confederate capital. McClellan’s army emerged victorious with its superior positions and overwhelming artillery firepower. Yet, McClellan retreated from victory to establish a safe base on the James River. Lee’s army secured a default victory simply by holding the battlefield and saving Richmond from capture. Francis Augustín O’Reilly’s long-awaited Retreat from Victory: The Battle of Malvern Hill and the End of the Seven Days, July 1, 1862, is the first book-length treatment of this critical and pivotal battle.
O’Reilly examines the singular struggle at Malvern Hill in depth and from a wide variety of perspectives, including its implications for the war, the armies, the opposing governments, the people, and slavery. He pieces together the tactical movements of troops on the battlefield and the intentions of leaders on the front lines and in the halls of government in Washington, D.C., and Richmond. Above all, he gives voice to the soldiers, sharing their experiences in combat and on campaign.
Two decades in the making, Retreat from Victory draws on hundreds of primary sources—many previously unused—including official records, diaries, newspapers, and regimental histories. O’Reilly’s sound and reasoned conclusions are grounded in his deep archival research and keen understanding of the complex terrain.
This climactic Civil War battle elevated General Lee’s career and marked the beginning of the end of General McClellan’s. It was a watershed moment when the Civil War transformed from a rebellion into a revolution. The war grew exponentially larger and more brutal—and ultimately doomed slavery in America. O’Reilly’s Retreat from Victory provides a definitive account of the Battle of Malvern Hill, setting a standard that will endure for the foreseeable future.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“Someone has at last stepped forward to close a yawning gap in Civil War historiography by producing a study of the Battle of Malvern Hill. Frank O’Reilly is among the Civil War’s finest historians, so it is no surprise that Retreat from Victory: Malvern Hill has it all: gripping writing, thorough research, and thoughtful analysis. This will stand as the definitive account of the bloody, confusing, and desperate battle that closed the Seven Days’ Battles. I can’t recommend Malvern Hill highly enough.” - Chris J. Hartley, author of Confederate General D. H. Hill: A Military Life
“With his latest work on Malvern Hill, historian Frank O’Reilly—through some marvel of historical alchemy—has once again brought order to a widely diverse range of sources and conjured yet another gold standard for battle studies.” - Edward J. Hagerty, author of Soldier of the South: Lieutenant General Richard H. Anderson at War and Peace
“Frank O’Reilly’s book does justice to a battle that has never had an in-depth study. Like all of the Seven Days’ Battles, Malvern Hill is often lost in the shuffle, just one more combat in a series of them. Readers will never think of the battle the same way again.” - Robert M. Dunkerly, author of Embattled Capital and To the Bitter End
