Southern Historical Society: Seven Days Around Richmond

Contemporary historian Charles Reagan Wilson aptly calls J. William Jones (1836-1909) "the evangelist of the Lost Cause" and refers to him as "the single most important link between Southern religion and the Lost Cause." Jones's own generation knew him as "the fighting parson," a Confederate chaplain who became a celebrity because of his close association with several Southern generals, and the author of many books. When Confederate general Robert E. Lee died, his family tapped Jones to serve as Lee's biographer, and Jones produced his first book, Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of R. E. Lee, in 1874. His other well-known books include the influential 1896 textbook School History of the United States and his remembrance of wartime life, Christ in the Camp; or, Religion in Lee's Army, which appeared in 1886 and has often been reprinted since. 

After the war, Jones also wrote an account of the Seven Days Battles for the well known Southern Historical Society publication. The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula. The series of battles is sometimes known erroneously as the Seven Days Campaign, but it was actually the culmination of the Peninsula Campaign, not a separate campaign in its own right.

This edition of Jones’ account is specially formatted with maps of the campaign and pictures of the important military commanders.