Editing Stonewall Jackson (section)

===Peninsula===
McClellan's [[Peninsula Campaign]] toward Richmond stalled at the [[Battle of Seven Pines]] on May 31 and June 1. After the Valley Campaign ended in mid-June, Jackson and his troops were called to join [[Robert E. Lee]]'s [[Army of Northern Virginia]] in defense of the capital. By using a railroad tunnel under the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] and then transporting troops to [[Hanover County, Virginia|Hanover County]] on the [[Virginia Central Railroad]], Jackson and his forces made a surprise appearance in front of McClellan at [[Battle of Beaver Dam Creek|Mechanicsville]]. Reports had last placed Jackson's forces in the Shenandoah Valley; their presence near Richmond added greatly to the Union commander's overestimation of the strength and numbers of the forces before him. This proved a crucial factor in McClellan's decision to re-establish his base at a point many miles downstream from Richmond on the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] at Harrison's Landing, essentially a retreat that ended the Peninsula Campaign and prolonged the war almost three more years.

Jackson's troops served well under Lee in the series of battles known as the [[Seven Days Battles]], but Jackson's own performance in those battles is generally considered to be poor.<ref>See, for instance, Freeman, ''R.E. Lee'', vol. 2, p.  247.</ref> He arrived late at Mechanicsville and inexplicably ordered his men to bivouac for the night within clear earshot of the battle. He was late at [[Battle of Savage's Station|Savage's Station]]. At [[Battle of White Oak Swamp|White Oak Swamp]] he failed to employ fording places to cross White Oak Swamp Creek, attempting for hours to rebuild a bridge, which limited his involvement to an ineffectual artillery duel and a missed opportunity to intervene decisively at the [[Battle of Glendale]], which was raging nearby. At [[Battle of Malvern Hill|Malvern Hill]] Jackson participated in the futile, piecemeal frontal assaults against entrenched Union infantry and massed artillery, and suffered heavy casualties (but this was a problem for all of Lee's army in that ill-considered battle). The reasons for Jackson's sluggish and poorly coordinated actions during the Seven Days are disputed, although a severe lack of sleep after the grueling march and railroad trip from the Shenandoah Valley was probably a significant factor. Both Jackson and his troops were completely exhausted. An explanation for this and other lapses by Jackson was tersely offered by his colleague and brother in-law General Daniel Harvey Hill: "Jackson's genius never shone when he was under the command of another."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Henderson |first=George Francis Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1dEpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA17 |title=Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War |publisher=Longmans, Green |year=1903 |volume=II |location=New York |page=17 |oclc=793450187 |author-link=George Francis Robert Henderson}}</ref>