A decisive series of battles of the American Civil War, in which the Confederate captial of Richmond, Virginia was successfuly defended against a strong union force under General George B. McClellan and his Army of the Potomac.
After a march up the Virgnina Peninsula and a long seige, of the Confederate army, McClellan was under immense pressure from Lincoln to attack. McClellan was reluctant, given the vastly inflated estimates of Confederate strength he had received. Just as he was finally ready to move, Robert E. Lee struck first. A series of disjointed and confused battles followed from June 26 to July 3, 1862. Although the South lost over 20,000 men in these battles, the Union army was driven back in defeat.
On to Second Manassas.