 The Seven Days Battles were the climax of the Peninsula Campaign , during which McClellan 's Army of the Potomac sailed around the Confederate lines , landed at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula , southeast of Richmond , and struck inland towards the Confederate capital . Confederate commander @-@ in @-@ chief Joseph E. Johnston fended off McClellan 's repeated attempts to take the city , slowing Union progress on the peninsula to a crawl . When Johnston was wounded , Lee took command and launched a series of counterattacks , collectively called the Seven Days Battles . These attacks culminated in the action on Malvern Hill . 
