Benjamin Huger was a regular officer in the United States Army, who served with distinction as chief of ordnance in the Mexican–American War and in the American Civil War, as a Confederate general. He notably surrendered Roanoke Island and then the rest of the Norfolk, Virginia shipyards, attracting criticism for allowing valuable equipment to be captured. At Seven Pines, he was blamed by General James Longstreet for impeding the Confederate attack and was transferred to an administrative post after a lackluster performance in the Seven Days Battles.

The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, nearby Sandston, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, in which the Army of the Potomac reached the outskirts of Richmond.