Despite the defeat on Malvern Hill, the Seven Days Battles accomplished the original Confederate goal of removing any direct threat to Richmond from the Union Army.
The three newspapers in Richmond exulted in this strategic victory and lionized Robert E. Lee as a national hero: "No captain that ever lived," opined the Richmond Dispatch, "could have planned or executed a better plan."
Similarly, Confederate Navy Secretary Stephen Mallory said, "the Great McClelland [sic] the young Napoleon now like a whipped cur lies on the banks of the James River crouched under his Gun Boats."
Throughout Richmond and the once-beleaguered South, there was a triumphant mood, and scant attention was paid to the flaws in Lee's tactics or execution.

Lee was not exultant, but "deeply, bitterly disappointed" at the result. "
Our success has not been as great or complete as we should have desired", Lee wrote to his wife.
In his official report, he wrote, "Under ordinary circumstances, the Federal Army should have been destroyed."
The North Carolinian D. H. Hill shared Lee's bitterness, and wrote that the "blood of North Carolina poured like water".
In a post-war article he wrote that the battle "was not war; it was murder."
Lee did not distribute blame for the failure to reach his desired result, but there were repercussions.
Several commanders were reassigned, including Theophilus Holmes and John Magruder, and his army was reorganized into two wings, one under Stonewall Jackson and another under James Longstreet.
Further, Confederate artillery would now be moved in battalion-sized units, at the head of Confederate columns.

In McClellan's case, his success on Malvern Hill was overshadowed by his overall defeat in the Seven Days Battles.
The Northern public met McClellan's defeat with despondency, and his reputation was tarnished.
Some of McClellan's soldiers voiced their continued confidence in him.
Such opinions were not unanimous, however; one of McClellan's engineers, Lt.
William Folwell, wondered why "they deify a General whose greatest feat has been a masterly retreat."
A similar opinion was shared by many others in the rank and file of the Union military.
Some in politics also abandoned the Democratic McClellan.
He was also accused of being on the Galena during the Battle of Malvern Hill, and newspapers and tabloids around the country heaped scorn on him for this, especially when he ran for president in 1864.
President Lincoln was also losing faith in McClellan.
On June 26, the day of Lee's first offensive during the Seven Days, the Army of Virginia was formed and the command given to Maj.
Gen. John Pope.
While McClellan was at Harrison's Landing, parts of his Army of the Potomac were continuously reassigned to Pope.
Pope and his Army of Virginia left for Gordonsville, Virginia on July 14, setting the stage for the subsequent Northern Virginia Campaign.

In his Battle-Pieces publication, Herman Melville penned a poem about the battle, titled with the same name as the hill on which it was fought.
In the poem, Melville questions the elms of Malvern Hill of whether they recall "the haggard beards of blood" the day of the battle.
Despite the defeat on Malvern Hill, the Seven Days Battles accomplished the original Confederate goal of removing any direct threat to Richmond from the Union Army. The three newspapers in Richmond exulted in this strategic victory and lionized Robert E. Lee as a national hero: "No captain that ever lived," opined the Richmond Dispatch, "could have planned or executed a better plan." Similarly, Confederate Navy Secretary Stephen Mallory said, "the Great McClelland [sic] the young Napoleon now like a whipped cur lies on the banks of the James River crouched under his Gun Boats." Throughout Richmond and the once-beleaguered South, there was a triumphant mood, and scant attention was paid to the flaws in Lee's tactics or execution.
Lee was not exultant, but "deeply, bitterly disappointed" at the result. "Our success has not been as great or complete as we should have desired", Lee wrote to his wife. In his official report, he wrote, "Under ordinary circumstances, the Federal Army should have been destroyed." The North Carolinian D. H. Hill shared Lee's bitterness, and wrote that the "blood of North Carolina poured like water". In a post-war article he wrote that the battle "was not war; it was murder." Lee did not distribute blame for the failure to reach his desired result, but there were repercussions. Several commanders were reassigned, including Theophilus Holmes and John Magruder, and his army was reorganized into two wings, one under Stonewall Jackson and another under James Longstreet. Further, Confederate artillery would now be moved in battalion-sized units, at the head of Confederate columns.
In McClellan's case, his success on Malvern Hill was overshadowed by his overall defeat in the Seven Days Battles. The Northern public met McClellan's defeat with despondency, and his reputation was tarnished. Some of McClellan's soldiers voiced their continued confidence in him. Such opinions were not unanimous, however; one of McClellan's engineers, Lt. William Folwell, wondered why "they deify a General whose greatest feat has been a masterly retreat." A similar opinion was shared by many others in the rank and file of the Union military. Some in politics also abandoned the Democratic McClellan. He was also accused of being on the Galena during the Battle of Malvern Hill, and newspapers and tabloids around the country heaped scorn on him for this, especially when he ran for president in 1864. President Lincoln was also losing faith in McClellan. On June 26, the day of Lee's first offensive during the Seven Days, the Army of Virginia was formed and the command given to Maj. Gen. John Pope. While McClellan was at Harrison's Landing, parts of his Army of the Potomac were continuously reassigned to Pope. Pope and his Army of Virginia left for Gordonsville, Virginia on July 14, setting the stage for the subsequent Northern Virginia Campaign.
In his Battle-Pieces publication, Herman Melville penned a poem about the battle, titled with the same name as the hill on which it was fought. In the poem, Melville questions the elms of Malvern Hill of whether they recall "the haggard beards of blood" the day of the battle.
Battle of Malvern Hill