Seven Days' Battles , June 25-July 1, 1862, a series of battles in the American Civil War that took place near the city of Richmond, Virginia. The most important encounters were the battles of Mechanicsville, June 26; Gaines's Mill, June 27; and Malvern Hill, July 1. Despite huge losses suffered by the Confederate forces, the Union army withdrew because of overcaution by its generals, thus ending the Peninsular Campaign (the Union offensive against Richmond, the Confederate capital).