Trip Report: Malvern Hill Battlefield

On a whim, I decided to ride my eBike on a 30+ mile ride. Men of a certain age love WWII or Civil War history; I love both types! Some quick searching of the Richmond area led me to pick Malvern Hill Battlefield (opens in a new tab) as my destination. Looking along the route, I saw there was a BBQ place along the way. Sweet, that looks like an itinerary.

Distance

34.8 mi

Moving

2:07:32

Avg speed

16.4 mph

Climb

993 ft

Weather

86°F

There were lots of people out on the Virginia Capital Trail. Lots of cyclists, mostly of the spandex variety, but I saw a few other fellow ebikers. The battlefield park was just over 1 mile off the trail so not much road riding.

As I rode along the trail, I was imagining how hard it must have been for infantry of the Civil War. The heat was blazing today, and I was riding a battery powered bicycle, with a big cushy seat, and music blaring on a bluetooth speaker. Moving along at about 15 mph generates a nice breeze. Imagine marching along, in whatever scratchy wool uniforms they had, in the scorching heat, basic footwear, towards battles where they could be killed or horribly injured.

The Battle of Malvern Hill (opens in a new tab), fought on July 1, 1862, was the last battle of the Seven Days Battles (opens in a new tab) and was a victory for the Union. Lee attacked uphill into massed Union artillery and lost more than 5,300 men to no purpose. The Union guns were up on the crest with nothing but open farmland below them. Anyone coming up that hill had nowhere to hide and no way to shoot back. Confederate division commander D.H. Hill said of it: "It was not war, it was murder."

No one was at the main area when I arrived, so I had it all to myself as I wandered around to look at the cannons. By now the sun was really boiling, and I was trying to imagine how horrible it must have been to assault these positions.

I beat my own hasty retreat down the hill, though mine was toward barbecue rather than away from artillery.

Stops #

I picked The Original Ronnie's BBQ (opens in a new tab) as my lunch destination, and my first battery ran out just as I pulled up. I was looking forward to sitting in some AC, eating a pulled pork sandwich and having a Coke, so it came as quite a disappointment when I discovered they're a take-away-only place and have been since the pandemic. Oops. So instead I quickly ate my sandwich on a picnic table, under a dappled sun screen tarp, then booked it the rest of the way home on the new battery.

What I'd do differently #

I think the main thing I'd do differently is read websites closer. The food at Ronnie's was great, and I would definitely recommend it if you're getting take away, but I'd probably skip it as a stop if you're biking the Virginia Capital Trail in the summer.

Otherwise, I don't think I'd do anything differently other than maybe leaving earlier to try to avoid the heat.

Photos #