Willis Church Parsonage

Frustrated by his failure at Glendale, Robert E. Lee gathered his army on July 1, 1862, for a final effort to destroy the Union army. But on this day, unlike his previous efforts during the Seven Days, Lee did not have a Union flank or a strung-out marching column to attack. Before him stood the powerful Union rear guard, arrayed on the plateau of Malvern Hill, about a half mile in front of you.<br><br>The Willis Church parsonage (the ruins behind you) became an important landmark on July 1. Before the attacks, division commander D.H. Hill met with his officers near the house. Colonel W. Gaston Meares of North Carolina was killed by a shell in the yard. Confederate artillery attempted to take position in nearby fields. Lee watched from a blacksmith shop that stood across the Willis Church from you.