VA-W5 McClellans First Line

Marker text: MCCLELLAN'S FIRST LINE

Union Brig. Gen. Silas Casey held both sides of the road here on 31 May 1862, in Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's first defensive line at Seven Pines. Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston ordered a dawn attack, but his lieutenants acted slowly. Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill waited with his division about a mile west of here for the sound of gunfire to the south that was his signal to move. Exasperated by the delay he assaulted on his own at 1P.M. and smashed through Casey's position to McClellan's second line, but a lack of support combined with the arrival of fresh Union troops halted the attack. That evening, Johnston fell wounded and Gen. Robert E. Lee replaced him the next day.

Department of Historic Resources, 2002