 On the morning of June 30 , 1862 , the Union V Corps under Fitz John Porter , a part of McClellan 's Army of the Potomac , amassed atop Malvern Hill . Col. Henry Hunt , McClellan 's skilled chief of artillery , posted 171 guns on the hill and 91 more in reserve in the south . The artillery line on the hill 's slope consisted of eight batteries of field artillery with 37 guns . Brig. Gen. George Sykes 's division would guard the line . In reserve were additional field artillery and three batteries of heavy artillery , which included five 4 @.@ 5 @-@ inch ( 11 cm ) Rodman guns , five 20 @-@ pounder ( 9 @.@ 1 kg ) Parrott rifles and six 32 @-@ pounder ( 15 kg ) howitzers . As more of McClellan 's forces arrived at the hill , Porter continued to reinforce the Union line . Brig. Gen. George Morell 's units , stationed between the Crew and West farms , extended the line to the northeastern section . Brig. Gen. Darius Couch 's division of the IV Corps , as yet <unk> by the skirmishes of the Seven Days , further extended the northeastern line . This left 17 @,@ 800 soldiers from Couch 's and Morell 's divisions at the northern face of the hill , overlooking the Quaker Road , from which the Federals expected Lee 's forces to attack . 
