Kemper's Fallen Virginians

Arriving at Turner's Gap in the late afternoon, James Kemper's brigade of Virginians were ordered to the embattled Confederate left that was on the verge of collapse. Arriving on the field, after a forced marched and a period of counter-marching around the mountainside , Kemper's brigade was deployed to the left of Richard Garnett's brigade. With Garnett's brigade becoming heavily engaged and forced back, Kemper's pulled back to a fence line where it would remain for the rest of the battle, holding the line until nightfall when the Confederates would retreat off the mountain. There is only one report from Kemper's brigade from this battle (Colonel Montgomery Corse's) so regimental deployment and reported losses from this battle are unknown. The following list are drawn from regimental rosters of known casualties from the battle: 2 killed, 27 wounded, 10 captured. A roster for the 24th Virginia Infantry could not be found at this time. As before, any casualties described as occurring in September 1862 are omitted due to lack of detail on place where the event occurred.

11th Virginia Infantry

Killed:
Private James B. Brugh, Co. G

Wounded:
Private Christopher S. Booth, Co. G
Private Hillary B. Brown, Co.E
Private Edward P. Burroughs, Co. B
Major Adam Clement, Regt.
Private Jacob A. Fluke, Co.D
Private Phillip Gibbs, Co. ? (died of wounds, 9/20/62)
Private John Hendrick, Co. D (captured also)
Corporal Tipton D. Jennings, Jr., Co.G
Private Louis C. Neville, Co. E (captured also)
Private Henry T. Thompson, Co.D
Sergeant Elijah H. Walker, Co. K

Captured:
 Private John M. Brafford, Co. K
Private William C. Courtney, Co. I


7th Virginia Infantry

Wounded:
Private Charles L. Atkins, Co. B (died of wounds 9/25/62)
Private Jordan R. Berny, Co. G
Private James I. Cole, Co. D (died of wounds, 9/25/62)
Private Baldwin L. Hoge, Co. D (captured also)
Private William D. Jarmen, Co. I
Color Bearer Tapley Mays, Co. D (died of wounds, 9/17/62)

Captured:
PrivateWilliam H. Brown, Co. C
Musician Francis M. Burrows
Private Champ Cambell, Co. G
Private Tim Darr, Co. D
Private John S. Dudley, Co. D

1st Virginia Infantry

Wounded:
Private John G. Daniel, Co. H
Private Andrew T. Minor, Co. I
Private William F. Pumphrey, (captured also)

Captured :
Private John Willey, Co. B

17th Virginia Infantry 

Killed:
Private Marcus D. Darr, Co. B

Wounded:
1st Lieutenant William W. Athey, Co. C
Private John Beach, Co. H
Private John Hixon, Co. D (died of wounds Jan. or Feb.1863)
Corporal Rueben Lane, Co. F
Priivate James R. Sullivan, Co. F
1st Lieutenant Albert M. Tubman, Co. E
Sergeant Francis M. Wallace, Co. C (captured and died of wounds, 9/29/62)

Captured:
Private Richard Mayhugh, Co. D
Private Jacob Willey, Co. B




 

Sources:

Bell, Robert T. 11th Virginia Infantry. [Virginia: H.E. Howard, 1985] pgs. 63-100

Riggs, David F. 7th Virginia Infantry. [Virginia: H.E. Howard, 1982] pgs. 61-101

Wallace Jr., Lee A. 1st Virginia Infantry. [Virginia: H.E. Howard, 1984] pgs.81-123

Wallace Jr., Lee A. 17th Virginia Infantry. [Virginia: H.E. Howard, 1990] pgs. 100-146

"I have never been able to account for my escape." : Reminiscence of Hugh W. Barclay, 23rd Georgia

 

On September 14, 1862, Lt. Hugh W. Barclay of Company B, 23rd Georgia Infantry would find himself in position with his company, taking cover behind a sturdy stonewall on the eastern slope of South Mountain. Barclay's mission, along with the rest of Alfred Colquitt's brigade, was to hold the line protecting Turner's Gap, preventing Union forces from gaining control of the gap and severely jeopardizing the Confederate position.  In the following passage, Barclay describes the intense struggle between Colquitt's brigade and John Gibbon's midwesterner's of the Iron Brigade, including the death of a fellow officer and the wounding of his brother, E.S. Barclay of the Phillips Georgia Legion.  This is only an excerpt dealing with the fighting on South Mountain, the whole piece covers Barclay's service during the war as told to his niece.

We rested one day at Frederick and continued our march to Hagerstown where went into camp. This was Saturday the 13th of September 1862, and that evening the cavalry reported the enemy not far away. 

Next morning, Sunday the 14th, we marched back a few miles to South Mountain, formed line of battle and waited the coming of McClellan's advance. About 3 o' clock in the evening the pickets began firing, the position of the 23rd Geo. Was about half way down the mountain to the left of the road, seven companies of which were behind a rock fence and the other three companies D.E. & B, exposed, my company B. one of them. The Yankees advanced in great force, and seemingly with much assurance. For a while we three companies made it as warm as possible for them, but soon we were shot out. In fifteen minutes with 32 men in my company, 23 were killed and wounded, five dead on the field. The other companies, D & E, suffered in about the same ratio. I have never been able to account for my escape. We were lying flat on the ground and upon our knees to shoot. Sergent Price by whose side I was lying, and who is now, if living, a Baptist preacher, in North Georgia, received several wounds, and a man on my right was shot in the forehead, fell dead across me. When my company was shot out, I got behind a big rock which was in line with the regiment behind the rock fence and there I found Lt. Steel of Company D. We were lying side by side looking at the blaze of fire from the men behind the rick fence and listening to the hurrahs of the Yankees who made charge after charge when an occasional bullet came up the line our way. Lt. Steel remarked, "They have flanked the regiment on their right and we will be captured". I told him I thought not or hoped not, when just then I heard the dull thud of the bullet that hit him, and he said "I am killed". He never moved, and the bullet that hit him, must have entered his heart. It must have gone over me or under me for I was nearest the direction from whence it came. This battle, much of it, was at night, as late as 9 o' clock it must have lasted. The regiment behind the rock fence were about out of ammunition, and fortunately about this time the Yankees ceased firing. Our troops away to the right were giving away and word was passed up the line to quietly slip away which the men did, and the regiment escaped capture. The loss here to the regiment was confined principally to the three companies. Away to our right we suffered considerably, losing many men and officers, and among the latter, my brother, E.S. Barclay, Lt. Col. Phillips, Geo. Legion who was seriously wounded, and though he lived a year or so thereafter, never recovered. The enemy, some of our men said who were wounded and captured said the Yankees loss in front of the rock wall was about 300 killed, including the Federal General Reneau(Reno). Gen. Hill rode up to Gen. Colquitt during the fight and asked what regiment that was down there and said they would be captured.

Brother William was proud of the conduct of his regiment that night. In his report of that battle, General Hill called Brother the hero of South Mountain. This battle was made necessary to the assembling of the army for the great battle of Sharpsburg which followed the next Tuesday and Wednesday. All that Sunday night we marched, passing through the village of Sharpsburg and went into camps on the banks of the Potomac. After the close calls I had in this battle, it would seem I never should have been scared thereafter. . .

Sources:

  Unknown,  Barclay Reminiscence . http://196thovi.tripod.com/23rdgeorgiainfantry/id34.html [accessed August 15, 2012.] 

Unknown, Barclay photo . [accessed August 15, 2012]

"He died for his country, facing the enemy, like a brave soldier"

The following is a letter that was written following the death of Private Rueben Hunley to his wife by one of his comrades in arms, Emory Mitchell. It is an answer from a request by Private Hunley's wife about the particulars of his death. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to attempt to provide some solace to Mrs. Hunley. It is also noteworthy that that Mitchell took that time to write Rueben's wife providing the chaotic experiences he had just witnessed. Private Rueben is the same soldier that wrote the letter I posted previously, that can be viewed here.

  

Camp near Sharpsburg

Md. Oct. 8, 1862

Mrs. Huntley,

I have just received a letter from Mr. Weston. He said you wished me to write the particulars in regard to the death of your husband. It was dark when he was shot. There was no one within ten or twelve feet of him. Our company were in front as skirmishers and there fore were scattered no two together but he was seen to fall as if shot dead and was not heard to speak. The next morning I went and found him and had him carried off the field. When I found him, his knapsack had been robed of everything worth taking so I could not find anything worth sending to you. He was shot through the breast and I think he must [of] died instantly. He was my tent mate and I feel lonesome since his death. but he died for his country and faceing the enemy, like a brave solder.  He was burried decently by one of our company. Witch is better than some of our brave boys fared. I am sorry I cannot give you more information. I will close by sending my respects to all inquiring friends.

E. Mitchell. 

Sources:

Huntley, Reuben  Letters, 1861-1862 [unpublished]. University of Wisconsin Digital Collections http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.Huntley [accessed 5/22/2012.]

"Well, captain, your men fight like devils..."

The following excerpt is from the memoirs of Sergeant Archibald F. Hill of the 8th Pennsylvania Reserves that were published in 1866. Sergeant Hill enlisted in the 8th Pennsylvania Reserves regiment as a private in June 1861 and was promoted to corporal in July 1861 and eventually to sergeant in May 1862. He would serve with the regiment on the Peninsula and would find himself in the fight at South Mountain. He would survive the battle, but three days later at Antietam, he would be wounded in the leg as his regiment advanced to a point just to the north of the Cornfield. Archibald would be carried by his comrades in a blanket to an ambulance that was awaiting just beyond the regiments bivouac beyond the North Woods. He would be transported to a barn and then eventually a school house where he would  have his left leg amputated. He would find himself recovering in the Smoketown Hospital during the fall of 1862 and he would receive a surgeons certificate and be discharged in December 1862. The excerpt begins following the arrival of the Hill's regiment arriving and going into camp near the Monocacy River near Frederick.

Chapter XXXVII

South Mountain

When night came and there were no indications of marching, we wrapped ourselves in our blankets and sought repose. 

The morning of Sunday, the fourteenth of September, was beautiful--the sky clear. Before noon, however, it became clouded over, and there was every appearance of rain. We had time to breakfast before we were ordered to fall in. At last we were on our way again--westward. An hour after we passed through Frederick, where the number of flags and white handkerchiefs waved at us from doors and windows was truly gratifying.  At almost every door stood some bewitching creature with a pail of clear, cold, sparkling water; while others stood with glasses in their hands inviting us to drink. They talked pleasantly with us, and manifested every indication of preferring us to the rebels. I can't for the life of me tell what made me so thirsty that morning; for I must have stopped a dozen times for a drink of water; and each time it chanced (?) I was helped to a glass by a beauty.

As we progressed the sound of artillery began to be heard in front. We had marched twelve miles and were certainly within two miles of the firing when it ceased. A little after three o'clock we found ourselves almost at the base of a tall mountain. Here taking a by-road we (our division) filed off the pike to the right. We had marched nearly half a mile when a rebel battery which was posted at the summit of the mountain opened upon us with shell and round shot. By left-oblique movement, we soon succeeded in gaining the cover of an abrupt ridge near the base of the mountain. The battery then ceased to play. A line of battle was now formed and preparations made to move forward.

About this time Lieutenant Carter said to Captain Conner--

"Captain, I think there will be a fight!"

"No doubt there will," replied the captain.

"Captain," he continued earnestly, " I know I shall be shot."

"Oh,  nonsense!"

" But I will; I am an unlucky mortal. I was shot while on the Peninsula almost the first chance I got--I was only wounded there; to-day I will be killed; I know it."

"Come now, lieutenant, it's only a foolish notion that has got into your head; get rid of it; cheer up: you will come out all right."

"I wish I could think so. I will fall doing my duty, captain," said the brave fellow; for he was a brave man. 

"I know you will do you duty, lieutenant."

About four o'clock we began to advance. We toiled up the steep ascent in front of us, when we discovered that a valley lay yet between us and the main ascent of South Mountain. While passing through a corn-field upon the hill, the enemy's artillery again opened upon us with solid shot. Down the hill we went--across the small valley--up the steep ascent of the mountain. A few hundred yards from the base of the mountain was a stone-fence. Below this, the ground was clear; above, the face of the mountain was covered with trees and rocks. When withing fifty yards of the stone-fence, a murderous fire of musketry was opened upon us by the rebels, who lay concealed behind it, and swarms of bullets whistled about our ears. With a wild shout, we dashed forward--almost upward--while volley after volley was poured upon us; but we heeded it not; we rushed madly on. The rebels, intimidated by our voices,and taken aback by our recklessness and disregard of their bullets, began to give way. We reached the stone-fence,and sprang over. The rebels reformed among the rocks, and fought with remarkable obstinacy.

Captain Conner had left his horse at the rear, and he and Lieutenant Carter were just springing over the wall, withing a few feet of each other, when the later was struck in the head by a bullet, and fell back--dead. 

We pressed the rebels closely. They stood awhile, loading and firing, but at last began to waver. Directly in front of the right of our regiment, they gave way; and several companies from our right--ours among them--pressed forward, becoming detached from the regiment. We soon found ourselves thirty to forty paces ahead of the regiment, having gained the flank of the Seventeenth South Carolina. We were within twenty or thirty steps of them, directly on their left, and they did not see us; then we mowed them down. Poor fellows! I almost pitied them, to see them sink down by dozens at every discharge! I remember taking deliberate aim at a tall South Carolinian, who was standing with his side to me loading his gun. I fired, and he fell into a crevice between two rocks. Step by step we drove the rebels up the steep side of the mountain. By moving a little to the left, I reached the spot where I had seen the rebel fall. On my arrival thither, he arose to a sitting posture, and I was convinced he was not dead yet, I inquired whether he was wounded, and he very mournfully nodded assent. The blood was flowing from a wound in the neck. He also pointed to a wound in the arm. The same bullet had made both wounds; for at the time I fired, he was in the act of ramming a bullet home--his arm extended vertically. He arose to his feet, and I was pleased to find him able to walk. I informed him that, in the nature of things, he was a prisoner; and I sent him to the rear, under charge of one of the boys. 

Having done so, I threw myself upon the ground, and crawled among the rocks to a position fifteen paces in advance of the company, with the intention of taking some unwary rebel by surprise, and getting a fair shot at him. Cocking my rifle, I abruptly arose from my position, which was protected by a rock three feet high. Oh, horror! there, scarcely ten paces from me, stood a great grim rebel, just on the point of bringing his gun to an aim--right at me, too, and his dark eyes scowled fiercely upon me from beneath the broad brim of a large ugly hat. Now it is sheer nonsense to talk about taking a cool aim under such circumstances. Therefore, with a little more agility than I had ever before exhibited, I blazed away at random, and dropped behind the rock--every hundredth part of a second seeming like an age; for I felt sure that the rebel bullet would catch me yet, ere I could drop behind my redoubt. A bullet tipped the rock above my head as I dropped.

Step by step, the rebels retired. I waited at my new position till the line came up. Our boys had just reached me, when Dave Malone was struck in the head by a bullet, and he fell back, quivering and gasping for breath. He soon expired. After the battle, he was buried in the wild, lonely mountain--where he fell. 

By sunset we had driven the enemy to the crest of the mountain. Many were dead and the wounded they left lying among the rocks. Many prisoners were taken. Among the wounded left on the field was a rebel officer of manly appearance. He was wounded in the thigh, and appear to be suffering intense pain. Captain Conner approached him, and said:--

"You are wounded, are you not?"

"Yes in the thigh--and badly," was the reply. 

"May I inquire your name?"

"I am Major Meanes, of the Seventeeth South Carolina. May I ask you the same question?"

"I am Captain Conner, of the Eighth Pennsylvania Reserves."

"The--the--Pennsylvania Reserves!"

"Yes:

"Well, captain, your men fight like devils; they are driving our men right up this steep mountain; I never could have believed it!"

"Ah, major, there is blood in Pennsylvania as well as in South Carolina."

"I am convinced of that."

About dark, the rebels abandoned the mountain at this point, and the firing ceased. At the left and centre, however, the fighting continued till nine o'clock, when it ceased, and the whole rebel force gave way. O that it had been daylight, that we might have pursued them at once! Under the circumstances, however, it was impossible. The night was very dark, and the ways of the mountain obscure. We lay down among the rocks and slept.

Our whole loss at the Battle of South Mountain was twenty-three hundred; that of the enemy, more than four thousand. If there was every a victory gained, in any war, in any campaign, the Battle of South Mountain resulted in a most decided and complete Union victory.


Sources:

Hill, Archibald F., Our Boys: The Personal Experiences of a Soldier in the Army of the Potomac. Phila: John E. Potter, 1866. Pgs. 394-398.

 Ibid, 405-410.

Gayley, Alice J. Roster, Co. D, 8th Pa Reserves (www.pa-roots.com) [accessed 3/21/12]

"We advanced but a short distance . . . when a brisk fire was encountered."

The following is the report given by Captain Dennis McGee, commanding the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves (1st Rifles). Captain McGee is reporting because the regiments commander, Colonel Hugh McNeil was mortally wounded during the sharp skirmish in the East Woods. The regiment went into the battle with 248 men and officers and would lose 16 killed and 35 wounded during their fight, a casualty rate of 20%. Known casualties can be seen here and account for 49% of the casualties reported.

Colonel R. Biddle Roberts
Commanding First Brigade

Headquarters, 1st Rifles, Pennsylvania Reserve Vol. Corps

September 22, 1862

Colonel: I have the honor to report that the First Rifles went into action on the 14th instant with about 235 men and 13 officers, under the command of Colonel Hugh W. McNeil. Six companies were deployed as skirmishers and the remaining four held as supports. We advanced but a short distance up the mountain before the enemy's skirmishers were discovered, when a brisk fire was encountered. The order was immediately given to advance at double-quick, which order was promptly obeyed, driving the enemy before us, until we came upon his main body placed in a most advantageous position for offering a stong resistance to our further advance. Our men now engaged the enemy with great spirit. At this moment our reinforcements appeared, causing the enemy to waver and gradually retire up the mountain. The order to charge was now passed along the line, and we rapidly pushed forward, causing him to finally give way and beat a precipitate retreat down the western slope of the mountain, leaving us in possession of the field and position. Owing to the death of Colonel McNeil I am unable to give a more detailed account of the action of this day. Our loss during this engagement was 16 killed and 35 wounded; of the latter 6 are known to have since died. Among those who particularly distinguished themselves for gallantry on this occasion I have to mention the following: Captain Edward A. Irvin (severely wounded), Captain A. E. Niles, Adjt. William R. Hartsthorne, Lieuts. James W. Welch, Lucius Truman, S.A. Mack, Jr. (wounded), N.B. Kinsey, David G. McNaughton, and Sergt. Major Roger Sherman. I felt great reluctance in singling out individuals, as the officers and men on this occasion behaved most gallantly. 

I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Dennis McGee,

Captain, Commanding First Rifles

 Source:

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of of the records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Series 1,Volume 51 (Part 1), pgs. 155-156

New quote from the 50th Georgia

The following is a quote that was recently found by my former colleague and Maryland Park Service Historical Interpreter John Miller. It comes from George E. Fahm who had enlisted as a private in Company E ,"Thomas County Rangers", of the 50th Georgia Infantry in March 1862. He would be appointed 3rd Sergeant in early August 1862 and he would be promoted to 2nd Sergeant in October 1862. In April of 1863, he would be elected the junior 2nd lieutenant of the company and he would be promoted to captain in 1864.  He would continue fighting with the regiment until he was captured during the retreat  following the fall of Richmond and Petersburg in April 1865 and he would be held at Johnson's Island until June 18, 1865. During the course of his service he was wounded twice; at Sharpsburg in September 1862 and Chancellorsville in May 1863. This quote describes the carnage of the fighting in the Old Sharpsburg Road during  the afternoon Union assault that swirled around the Daniel Wise cabin.

A big thanks goes out to John for sharing this quote with me.

"Company E was composed of sixty-five effective men, and of this company thirty-three were killed in the line of battle and twenty-seven were wounded. Five were all who came out unhurt. Seven of the eight color bearers, four on each side of the flag, or colors of the regiment, in that fearful battle, seven of these eight men were killed where they stood; the eighth man was wounded; the flag, flag-staff, clothing, cap and blanket of the color bearer (myself) showed thirty-two bullet holes, and yet most strangely to relate, I did not receive a scratch in that battle. Surely God was with me in that fearful struggle.”

Sources:

John A. Miller, South Mountain State Battlefield

Roster of Company E, 50th Georgia

A Texan's Diary

Presented here are the diary entries of Sergeant Robert G. Holloway of Co. I, 4th Texas Infantry. It begins on September 7, 1862 and concludes on September 21st. While the 4th Texas was not heavily engaged at South Mountain but they were here suffering six killed and two wounded according to the Supplementals to the Official Records of the Confederate and Union Armies. The regiment was under the command of Lt. Colonel Benjamin F. Carter. Three privates are named in the diary:

W.R. Jefferson would be captured at Williamsport, MD on September 15. 

S.M. Riggs is Private Steven Madison Riggs. Private Riggs would participate in every battle of the 4th Texas and would be wounded at Chickamauga where is leg would be shattered. He would die as a result of the amputation. He was the cousin of James M. Polk.

J.M. Polk is Private James M. Polk. Private Polk had been wounded at the Battle of Gaines Mill and rejoined the regiment while the regiment was encamped near Frederick, Maryland. He would be wounded at Chicamauga where a bullet struck him on the right side of his head and lodged itself within his skull. He would recover from this wound and be promoted to Captain. He would be captured while fighting in the Western Theatre.

Enjoy.

Sunday, 7th 1862
Left Frederick at 8 o'clock and proceeded to Frederick Junction on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad where we stopped to cook rations.

Monday, 8th 1862
On the Railroad leading to Frederick City cooking rations. S.M. Riggs and W.R. Jefferson was detailed to go to the City to buy things for the company. Returned without anything since stores were closed.

Tuesday, 9th
Left Camp on the Railroad for camp on the Monocacy River about a mile off. J.M. Polk got to camp from Richmond.

Wednesday, 10th
Left camp at sunrise but do not know where we are going to. Passed through Frederick City and was recieved with good enthusiam by the cecessionist of that place. from there we passed on to Boonsboro and other little towns and camped seven miles from Fred'k City.

Thursday, 11
Nothing occured on the march of any importance. Camped 4 miles of near the Pennsylvania line. Some prisoners brought in.

Friday, 12th 1862
Marched about three miles. camped.

Saturday 13th
Remained in camp.

Sunday 14th
Left Hagerstown for Boonsborough. Arrived at Sundown and were exposed to the fire of shell and shot.

Monday 15th 1862
The army commenced to fall back through the town of Boonesboro on the Williamsport Road.

Tuesday 16th
The enemy followed us to Sharpsburg where we made a stand and had a heavy skirmish

Wednesday 17th
The fight commenced this morning at daylight and about Seven o'clock our Brigade was ordered forward to support Whitney's and soon became engaged, lost 6 wounded and 2 missing in Company I. I was shot through the finger of the right hand.

Friday 19th 1862
Left Shepherdstown in company with several others of the Regt. for Winchester.

Saturday 20th
Arrived in Winchester this morning.

Sunday 21st
Got pass this morning for Stauton.

Source:
Museum of the Confederacy, Eleanor S. Brockenbrough Library diary collection. Sgt. Robert G. Holloway, 4th Texas Company I, Nov 8, 1861 to Sept. 15 1863.

11th Virginia Infantry, Kemper's Brigade




Unidentified Soldier
Company C, 11th VA Infantry

  In the afternoon of September 14th, the men of the 11th Virginia Infantry found themselves going into line of battle along a the rocky slopes of South Mountain just north of Turner's Gap facing an enemy they knew was in front of them but they could not see. When the Union assault finally came, they stubbornly held their ground until darkness ended the fighting.


The companies of the 11th Virginia were enlisted into service during the spring of 1861. They are as follows:

Company A: "Lynchburg Rifle Greys", Campbell County, April 22, 1861
Company B: "Southern Guards", Campbell County, April 23, 1861
Company C: "Clifton Greys", Campbell County, May 16, 1961
                     - transferred from 28th Virginia in June 1861
Company D: "Fincastle Rifles", Botetourt County, April 23, 1861
Company E: "Lynchburg Rifles", Campbell County, April 19, 1861
Company F: "Preston Guards", Montgomery County, May 29, 1861
Company G: "Lynchburg Home Guards, Campbell County, April 23, 1861
Company H: "Jeff Davis Guard", Campbell County, May 15, 1861
Company I: "Rough and Ready Rifles", Fauquier and Culpeper County, May 25, 1861
Company K: "Valley Regulators:, Botetourt and Rockbridge County, May 25, 1861



Samuel Garland, Jr. in militia uniform


The seperate companies would begin arriving in Richmond for muster into Confederate service beginning in late April and and early May when they were gathered and officially designated as the 11th Virginia Volunteer Infantry. They would elected Captain Samuel Garland,  Jr. of Company G as their first colonel.  Attached to the brigade of Brigadier General James Longstreet, the 11th Virginia spent the following months drilling in preparation for the coming Union invasion. Stationed near Bull Run near Manassas, Virginia, the 11th would get its first taste of battle in the middle of July.

On July 18, 1861, a Union reconnassaince in force approached Blackburn's Ford on the right flank of the Confederate defenses along Bull Run Creek. The fight was severe and the 11th helped turn back this Union thrust. In the first major battle of the war fought three days later, the 11th remained in its post on the Confederate right and only after the Union army was routed and chased from the field did the 11th go into action. The regiment along with the 1st, 17th, and 24th regiments with a section of artillery and a troup of cavalry supporting, advanced in pursuit of the routed army, reaching as far as Centreville before being ordered to fall back to the brigades original position. The regiment lost 19 men killed, wounded, and missing after being under constant artillery fire for the better part of the day. Following the battle, Colonel Garland was ordered to take his regiment and police the battlefield.

For the remainder of the year, the regiment found itself on picket and drilling in northern Virginia. In December, the regiment found itself fighting around Dranesville, Virginia. It was here that two foraging parties under Brigadier General J.E.B. Stuart (Confederate) and Brigadier General Edward O.C. Ord (Union) came upon each other. A brisk fight ensued that drove off Stuart's confederates. The 11th, with Garland commanding, held the line as the rest of the Confederates retreated. The day following this battle, Stuart returned to collect his wounded and left them at Frying Pan  Church, where the Confederates had retreated the previous day. After this skirmish, the 11th went into winter quarters.

In April 1862, the regiment was reorganized and sent to the Virginia Peninsula to help bolster Confederate defenses against the advance of General George B. McClellan's massive Army of the Potomac. Going into position in the defenses at Yorktown, the 11th came under a constant artillery fire. After stalling the Union advance for about two weeks, the Confederates abandoned their Yorktown lines and retreated back towards Virginia's colonial capital, Williamsburg. At Williamsburg, now a Major General , James Longstreet turned his division and attacked the pursuing Union force. The 11th was now in Brigadier General Ambrose P. Hill's brigade and they were in the thick of the fighting. Charging through a field and into a wood lot, the 11th suffered horrendous casualties. Colonel Garland was wounded during this assault but remained in command until the battle was over. For his gallantry and leadership in this fight, Colonel Garland was promoted to Brigadier General.

The 11th would lose is beloved commanded to promotion just as the regiment embarked on the most trying time to date since it went into service. The regiment would fight at the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31,1862 and but would be relegated to a reserve position on June 1st. A development that occured during this fight would change the course of the regiments history as well as the Confederacy's. General Joseph E. Johnston was wounded by a shell fragment during the fighting on May 31st and that night, Jefferson Davis gave command of the Confederate army to Robert E. Lee, who re-christened it, the Army of Northern Virginia.

For the entire month of June, the 11th was busy building and strengthening the fortifications around Richmond. It lead some of the men to believe that Lee was settling in for a siege. During this time, the army was also reorganized somewhat. The 11th was now assigned to the all-Virginia brigade of Brigadier General James Kemper in James Longstreet's division. During the coming Seven Days' Battles, the 11th would participate in the Battle of Glendale where it would suffer heavily. During the Battle of Malvern Hill, the 11th was held in reserve with the rest of Longstreet's division after the hard fighting they suffered through at Glendale.

Following the Seven Days, the 11th saw itself return to the Northern Virginia area where Union General  John Pope's new Army of Virginia had taken upon itself the invasion of this region and its systematic destruction. Lee first sent Stonewall Jackson to the area with his command to defend the approaches to Richmond and to harass Pope's army. The result was the Battle at Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862 and on August 28, after capturing the depot at Manassas Junction, Jackson attacked the marching columns of Pope's army near the old Bull Run battlefield sparking the 2nd Battle of Manassas/Bull Run. The 11th was still apart of Kemper's brigade but Kemper was in command of a division at the moment and command fell to Colonel Mongomery D. Corse. The 11th arrived on the battlefield on August 29th and was apart of Longstreet's crushing flank attack against Pope that drove the Union men from the field in what amounted to a replay of the previous July's fighting over the same battlefield. The regiment suffered heavily, losing 9 men killed and 63 wounded.

After the Battle of Second Manassas/Bull Run, the 11th marched towards Leesburg, Virginia where the Confederate high command would debate a possible invasion of Maryland. The decision was made and on September 4, 1862, the first Confederate troops splashed into the Potomac River and entered Maryland. The 11th Virginia was now commanded by Major Adam Clement and was apart of Kemper's Brigade now attached to the division of Major General David R. Jones. The 11th crossed into Maryland on the 6th of September and bivouaced that night between Buckeystown, Maryland and the C & O Canal. It continued towards Frederick, Maryland the following day and went into camp for a brief rest. Remaining in Frederick until the 11th, the Virginians followed the main body of Lee's Army towards Hagerstown, Maryland where it would await the completion of Stonewall Jackson's expedition against Harper's Ferry. The regiment would arrive near Hagerstown on the 12th and go into camp along the Williamsport Road (present day Route 11/Virginia Ave. in Hagerstown).

On the 14th, the men of the 11th found themselves retracing their route of march from the previous days back towards Boonsborough and South Mountain. Hearing the rolling sound of musketry and the thunder of artillery coming from the mountain, the men surely knew that serious work was ahead. Arriving on the base of the mountain in the early afternoon, the Kemper's brigade was ordered to the summit. Kemper was ordered by D.H. Hill to place his regiments to the left of the National Pike to oppose the advancing Union division of John Hatch. Going into line of battle at about 4 P.M., the 11th found themselves under heavy fire from Union artillery.

The 11th deployed in a cornfield on the right center of Kemper's brigade. The regiment numbered perhaps 95 men. To its right was deployed the 17th Virginia (about 71 men) under Colonel Montgomery Corse and to its left was the 1st Virginia under Coming under attack from the forces of Hatch's division, the 11th held its ground along with the 17th Virginia on its right while the rest of Kemper's brigade melted away. Upon the recommendation of Colonel Montgomery Corse of the 17th Virginia, the 11th Virginia pulled back about 15 yards to a fenceline that they would occupy for the remainder of the fight. A fresh Union assault came just before darkness fell but the Virginian's held. After the bloody fighting on the Mountain Spur, the 11th was ordered to retreat along with the rest of the Confederates on the mountain towards Sharpsburg.

After reaching Sharpsburg, the 11th went into line on Cemetery Hill outside of Sharpsburg just above the Middle Bridge. It was under periodic artillery fire and skirmishing on the 16th. On the 17th, the 11th was shifted to a ravine in support of the defenders of what would become Burnsides' Bridge. Kemper's  brigade was shifted to a ravine, just south of the town to oppose the coming  Union advance. The 11th, along with the 1st and 17th Virginia, advanced to meet the Union assault after the bridge had been lost at around 3 P.M. The Virginian's were swept from the field and rallied in the Harper's Ferry Road south of Sharpsburg. From here they would hold and upon the arrival of A.P. Hill's Light Division, join in the counter-attack that would push the Union troops back to the Burnside Bridge.  The 11th would evacuate its position outside Sharpsburg during the night of September 18th and recross the Potomac.

Following the Maryland Campaign of 1862, the 11th would participate in the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862. Still within the brigade commanded by James Kemper, the 11th with ,the rest of the brigade, marched to the relief of the Confederates holding Marye's Heights. This movement occured towards the end of the fighting on the 13th and the brigade was returned to its original position early on the 14th. The regiment would miss the fighting at Chancellorsville the following May. They were marching with James Longstreet against Suffolk, Virginia. Their mission: to protect Richmond and to forage for much needed supplies. The ensuing Siege of Suffolk lasted nearly a month, but the objectives of the campaign had been met. Richmond was safe and supplies had been gathered. In early May, during the Battle of Chancellorsville, Longstreet ordered his divisions to retreat from Suffolk and march to rejoing Lee's beleagured Confederates. In doing so, he put his men on the road to Gettysburg, a battle that would be fought over three hot days in July.

View of Kemper's Advance towards The Angle
Gettysburg NMP

Under the command of Kirkwood Otey, the 11th Virginia would, along with the rest of George Pickett's Division, would not arrive on the battlefield at Gettysburg until the night of July 2nd and 3rd. The regiment had been in Chambersburg acting as the rear guard for Longstreet's Corps. On July 3rd, the regiment would be decimated during the assault that became known as Pickett's Charge. Forming up in the late morning, the regiment stepped off in the middle of the afternoon and within the hour, its men soaked the lush fields with their precious blood. The regiment would suffer through the grueling retreat towards the Potomac and the safety of Virginia.

In 1864, the regiment would find itself in North Carolina fighting at Plymouth in an attempt to capture the town that was successful. After this successful venture, the regiment was returned to Northern Virginia where it participated in the Battle of Cold Harbor in June and the Siege of Petersburg from June 1864 to April 1865. When the Union breakthrough came, the regiment retreated with the once proud Army of Northern Virginia to Appomattox Courthouse where Union forces cut off the Confederate line of retreat. Here the regiment surrender with 1 officer and 28 men.

"Then came a crash of musketry..."

The article presented here was written by Uberto Burnham, a soldier in the 76th New York Volunteers. Burnham enlisted in October 1861 and was mustered in as the First Sergeant of Company D. His first taste of battle would be during General John Pope's campaign in northern Virginia during August of 1862 that culminated with the Union defeat at Second Manassas. Here he writes to The National Tribune, a newspaper used primarily by Union veterans to tell their stories, describing the march towards South Mountain, the battle itself, and the aftermath. He also speaks of visiting the battlefield nearly 60 years later after attending the dedication of the New York Monument at Antietam.

South Mountain - Maryland Campaign



by Uberto A. Burnham, 76th NY, 9 Elmwood Ave, Cortland N.Y.

On Sept. 6, 1862, the 76th NY received orders to march. The regiment at that time, also the other regiments of Gen. Doubleday’s Division, were about 10 miles south of the Potomac River. We commenced marching about 7p.m. and about 2a.m. reached the river and crossed at Long Bridge. We then marched through the city of Washington and along Pennsylvania Avenue. When morning came we thought we would halt and rest, but we did not. The day was very hot and the dust four inches deep. The word was always "Forward! Forward!" During the whole day we did not stop long enough to take a real meal or make a cup of coffee.
The reason for this hurried march was that Lee with his victorious troops had crossed the fords of the upper Potomac and was in Maryland in alarming attitude toward the city of Washington. It seemed necessary to put as many troops as possible between Lee and Washington in as short a time as possible. We did not halt until 7p.m., having marched 24 hours. When the marching columns halted, not half the men were in line. Many had fallen, exhausted, but by morning most of them were again with their comrades at the front. The next day we resumed our march, but moved more deliberately.

On the afternoon of Sept. 13 we reached Frederick in western Maryland. The company to which I belonged found a fine camping place in the city in a dooryard near a good residence. As the Captain and First Lieutenant had been wounded at Gainsville and Bull Run and the Second Lieutenant was sick in the hospital, I, as First Sergeant, had command of the company.

While making my details two of my men came to me and said "Orderly, when Jackson passed through the city two or three days ago, an old woman on Patrick Street waved the US Flag from her door or window as they passed." They told me some other details. Now I am sure it was the Barbara Frietchie incident which in their hurried stroll about the city they had heard about.

The march of the previous days had been of much interest. We had left devastated and depopulated northern Virginia and were now in Maryland, loyal and beautiful. Moving through a prosperous farming section with fenced fields and orchards, we received friendly greetings from all sources. The women and girls gave us water and encouraging words. The Stars and Stripes were seen on every hand. We noted, however, that some houses were closed. No friendly face appeared at door or window. We naturally inferred that the sympathies of the occupants were on the other side.

On the morning of the 14th we resumed our march. We passed over a range of hills and into the beautiful Middletown Valley. Late in the afternoon we reached the foot of South Mountain. We halted for a short time at a hamlet called Bolivar. While there I was startled by a loud "Hurrah!", and the sight of caps thrown in the air. Looking near me, I saw General McClellan riding slowly by with his staff.

The Confederate forces were on top of the mountain and it was our task to drive them off. We turned to the right and marched along the foot of the mountain until the line had cleared the road, then faced to the left and went up the mountain in line. The mountain was quite steep. When we were about half-way up we halted a few minutes to rest. The sun had gone down behind the mountain. We were marching in the shadow. The sun lighted up the valley behind us. It was a beautiful sight, with farm houses, grain fields, orchards, groups of staff officers, and columns of troops in motion, but I cannot say I enjoyed the scene. I felt the importance of the big task before us.

As we started again forward I noticed that a line of skirmishers had been thrown out in front of us. They consisted of the 84th NY, known among us as the 14th Brooklyn. They had a bright uniform of red and blue. The line of skirmishers was in our front and extended to our right as far as I could see. The men presented a most picturesque sight, were stepping rapidly forward and receiving their orders by bugle.

A little further up the mountain was a comparatively level place planted with corn, which had been fenced in. I saw the skirmishers go in the field, and thought they would perhaps find some of the enemy there, but they did not. I saw their bright uniforms going over the fence on the further side.

During all these minutes cannon shots were going over our heads both from the top of the mountain and the valley behind us. I thought the Confederates were firing at the batteries below, but I learned from an account written after the war by a Confederate officer that they fled to break the advancing line of infantry, but could not depress their pieces low enough to hit us.

The same officer told of the advancing lines. He said the alinement(sic) was perfect, the field and line officers were on horses. It gave him the most impressive view he had seen during the war.

Three women came down the side of the mountain on horseback by a diagonal path and passed in front of the regiment. Our Color Bearer, Charles E. Stamp, addressed them and inquired about the Confederate forces on top of the mountain. Less than half an hour later Sergt. Stamp was dead from a bullet wound in his forehead.

To make the situation plain to the reader, a few words of explanation may be necessary. The mountain on the east side was cleared to the summit, and at the summit was a piece of wood yard about 200 yards wide. Then there was an open field of perhaps 300 yards, then another piece of woods, in the edge of which was a wide path which led to the gap below. Turner’s Gap was between two mountains, each about 1,000 feet high. The gap rose to a height of 600 feet. It was the task of General Hooker, with his corps, to take possession of the north mountain. Gen. Burnside's Ninth Corps was to take the mountain on the south side of the gap.

When we arrived at the summit, we were ordered to unsling knapsacks. Then came a crash of musketry on our right and the staff officer came down, ordering us to hurry, "The right was hard pressed." Then came the orders, "Fix bayonets!" Then "Forward, double-quick, march!"

I remember thinking, "will our men be equal to this?" But they immediately gave a great shout and rushed forward. The way was somewhat tangled, but the men pushed forward into the woods which were more open.

The Confederate brigade in our front fell back through the woods into the open field, where it rallied. Our line was brought up to the edge of the woods against an old rail fence, and halted.
The broken fence was about knee high, but seemed to give some protection. Both lines then commenced fighting and for the next half hour or more was all the noise and confusion of a closely-contested battle. It soon was quite dark, and we could see the opposing line only as a long shadow, illuminated by the flash of rifles.

The lines seemed to be less than 100 feet from us. Looking to the front and right I thought I saw a Confederate officer on horseback directing the Confederate troops. I said to the boy who stood just in front of me, "Charley Roundy, stand aside." He gave me place, and I took as good aim as possible and fired. But I saw nothing fall.

Just at this time the quick eye of Capt. Goddard saw a long line of our enemy creeping cautiously toward our left flank . He reported the fact to the Colonel, who ordered the men to turn their rifles toward the left and fire at the advancing line. We did so. The Confederates rose to their feet and gave us a return volley.

Fortunately for us they fired too high, most of the bullets went over us. Yet some of our men fell, among them Color Bearer Stamp. Col. Wainright was shot through the wrist and his horse was killed. Immediate action was taken to strengthen our line on the left. The contingency had been anticipated and a full regiment was ordered to take place of the 76th NY.
We received an order to countermarch by "file left" and the new regiment coming forward "left in front" filed into our places, making a new line much longer, towards the gap. But the battle was virtually over. The new regiment stood in its place all night, but had little fighting to do.

The Confederate line to the north of us had been turned and the forces in our front made haste to reach the main road and retreat down the west side of the mountain.
Battlefield Horrors

My regiment was taken to the rear of the battle line where it stayed until morning. In the morning I obtained permission to look over the battlefield in our front. I first looked through the woods where we charged. The first body I saw was a Confederate Colonel. He was lying on his back and his hat and sword had been taken. He wore some old-style boots which reached half way up to the knee. The front of the tops were russet leather and on these tops was written in plain letters "Col. K. B. Strange, 19th Va." Prisoners said he commanded the brigade opposed to us and tried hard to make his men stand in the woods.

Passing through the woods into the open field I could plainly see where the Confederate line of battle stood by the number of fallen. Supposing that the wounded, who had been removed, succeeded the dead in usual proportion their first line must have almost entirely fallen.

I looked for the officer at whom I had shot, but I saw only a large stump with a large sliver reaching far above it. This object I had probably taken for a Confederate officer on horseback.

A little later the regiment was ordered to fall In and march. We crossed the battlefield and entered a path in the second piece of woods where we turned down to the road which leads through the gap. The small houses along the road on the west side were all filled with Confederate wounded.

Standing beside the road was a hotel called the Mountain House. Near it was a well and the water was lifted to the surface by an old-fashioned sweep. The well was, of course, surrounded by thirsty soldiers.

We marched down the mountain and through the village of Boonesboro. There we turned to the left and marched toward Sharpsburg.

Three days later came the great battle of Antietam, but the story of this battle belongs to another chapter. Perhaps I may take space to relate a few incidents of the Battle of South Mountain.

In the morning as we were moving across the field a tall boy about 17 jumped up from beyond a log or stump and exclaimed "Don't shoot." He came forward and gave himself up as a prisoner. "I told them," he said, "that I was afraid and could not fight. But they pushed me up here and I was near being killed, so I dropped down behind this stump and stayed all night."
In the morning before we moved Van Valkenburg, a private, on duty at headquarters, started out to explore the neighborhood. He was probably seeking for something for the headquarter's mess. Going to a nearby farmhouse he saw seven Confederate soldiers seated near the house and their rifles stacked a few yards from them. Drawing his pistol he ordered them to fall in. One of the Confederates started to reach for his rifle but Van Valkenburg with his pistol pointed at him, gave him warning and he fell in with the rest.

They were directed to march towards headquarters, but on the way they came across two other Confederates, who were ordered into line with the seven. Van Valkenburg riding behind the prisoners took them all into our lines. For this deed he was offered a commission. This he declined, saying he had no education and he could fill best the position he now has.

Looking Back on the Battle

Fifty-eight years after I again stood on that battlefield, but how different the scene.

The day was bright and beautiful as on the day of battle. There was the same beauty of meadow and wood land, the same sublime beauty of mountain. Now all was peaceful, there were no columns or marching infantry, no lines of near, no houses filled with wounded. I had been attending the dedication of the New York monument on the Antietam battlefield.

After the dedication I spent two days looking over the Antietam field, hunting up familiar features of the field, which I remembered. At the end of the second day while at supper at the hotel I began a conversation with a guest who sat near me. I became aware that he knew more about the Maryland campaign than I did. He seemed to know the records of the different regiments which participated, my own among the number. I learned that his name was Fried Cross, head of the Bureau Of Military Statistics in the State Department of Massachusetts. He told me that he had that day been over the South Mountain Battlefield. I expressed a desire to visit that field. He said he would go with me the next day.

The next morning we took the bus on Boonesboro pike and at that village connected with the Hagerstown bus which went through Turner's Gap, now a paved road. Quite early in the forenoon we found ourselves on the battlefield. I could hardly realize the situation. It seemed to me almost a vision. I took great interest in looking over the field. I looked for the stump which I shot 58 years before, but it was not there.

We could look across the gap to the mountain south and see where Gen. Reno of the Ninth Corps was killed. Tables by the roadside gave information as to the movements of the different commands. We found the South Mountain House, but the old sweep was gone. My companion, with his ready tact for obtaining information, had learned the history of the house.

After the war it became the property of a widow Dalgreen, who rebuilt the house and made it her home, and later built a chapel across the road where she is buried. Mrs. Dalgreen had written a book about South Mountain. I forgot now the title but it emphasized the superstition and folklore of the plane people of the Mountains. We had a bountiful dinner at the New Mountain House, and stopped at Boonesboro in the afternoon, becoming acquainted with a very interesting family, who treated us with true Southern hospitality and told us many interesting facts about the mountain arid the country surrounding it.

One citizen told me that against the French and Indians at Fort Duquesne, Gen. Braddock in his ill-fated expedition passed through Turner's Gap. He said there were formerly two Indian trails to the west from that point, one north of the village and one south.

The small houses on the west side of the mountain were still there, but most of them had been whitewashed or stuccoed.

"The Brigade sustained for some time a fierce attack.."

The following is the official report on the Battle of South Mountain written by Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett. Garnett commanded wounded Brigadier General George Pickett's brigade during the Maryland Campaign. Garnett's  brigade was deployed immediately to the left of the National Pike at Turner's Gap and fought against the advance of General John Hatch's division against the unoccupied Mountain Spur. Garnett goes into detail about the forced march from Hagerstown, the shuffling of troops on the mountain side, and, of course, the fighting on the mountain.

CAMP NEAR CULPEPER COURT-HOUSE, VA.,

November 6, 1862.

 Major A. COWARD,

Assistant Adjutant-General to Brigadier General D. R. Jones.

MAJOR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by Pickett's brigade, of General D. R. Jones' division, which I commanded in the battle of Boonsborough:

This command, consisting of the Eighth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-eighth, and Fifty-sixth Regiments Virginia Volunteers, commanded, respectively, by Colonel Hunton, Major Cabell, Colonel [J. B.] Strange, Captain [W. L.] Wingfield, and Colonel Stuart, left the neighborhood of Hagerstown, Md., on the morning of September 14 last, and reached Boonsborough, on the Hagerstown and Frederick turnpike, in the afternoon, after a hot, dusty, and fatiguing march of some 18 miles. A short distance beyond the village, Kemper's, Pickett's, and Jenkins' brigades (the latter commanded by Colonel Walker), in the order named, were moved in a southerly direction on a road running perpendicular to the pike. Having proceeded over a mile, these troops were directed on another route parallel to the turnpike, leading toward a gap in the South Mountain, farther south than that through which the Hagerstown and Frederick road ran. After marching nearly half a mile, Kemper filed to the left, and again moved in the direction of the pike. At this time I received an order, by Major Mayo [Moses?], of General Jones' staff, to bring my troops to an about-face, and to return the way I came until I reached a path, which I must take. He was unable to give me any information respecting the path in question, but said be would go forward and try to obtain some. I did not, however, see him again.

I followed Jenkins' brigade, which was now in front some distance; but hearing musketry open on the mountain, I took what I supposed to be a near cut in the direction where I presumed I was wanted. This took me over rough and plowed ground up the mountain side. I at length found an old and broken road, along which General Kemper must have moved. Here I met Captain Hugh Rose, of General Jones' staff, who had orders for me to return to the turnpike. When I got back to this road my troops were almost exhausted. I consequently lost the services of a number of men by straggling.

After a shot rest, I proceeded up the mountain, and, having gained the summit on the main road, I was sent, by a narrow lane bearing to the left, to a higher position. A portion of this route was commanded by several pieces of the enemy's artillery, which opened upon my column (marching by the flank) as soon as it came in sight, which they were enabled to do with considerable accuracy, as they had previously been practicing on other troops which had preceded mine. Several casualties occurred from this cause while I was approaching and forming my line of battle, which I did by filing my command to the right through an open field. My right rested in a thick woods, which descended quite abruptly in front, and my left in a field of standing corn. As soon as my troops were formed, I sent forward a line of skirmishers to ascertain the position of the enemy. When these dispositions had been completed (which was only a short time before sunset), I received an order from General Jones to detach my left regiment to Kemper's right (the being on my left), and to withdraw the rest of the brigade to a wooded ridge a little to the left and rear. The first part of this order had scarcely been executed when the Federal skirmishers made their appearance, immediately followed by their main body, so that the action at once became general.

The brigade sustained for some time a fierce attack by doubtless many times their number. It has subsequently been ascertained that General McClellan's army, consisting of at least 80,000 men, assailed our position, only defended by General D. H. Hill's division and a part of General Longstreet's Corps. The left was the first to fall back, and finally the right was forced to retreat, being without support. Many renewed the contest a little farther to the rear, and stoutly disputed the approach of the enemy, but it had now become so dark it was impossible to distinguish objects, except at a short distance. About this time two regiments of Jenkins' brigade came up, and, the probable position of the enemy being pointed out, they advanced to the attack with great gallantry. Just as these troops moved forward, I was ordered to bring off my brigade, which I did.
 It is due to the brigade to say that it went into the battle of Boonsborough under many serious disadvantages. It had marched (a portion of the time rapidly) between 22 and 23 miles before it went into action, much oppressed by heat and dust; reached its position a short time before sunset under a disheartening fire of artillery, and was attacked by a much superior force as soon as it was formed in line of battle. That it bravely discharged its duty is fully attested by the number of casualties which occurred during the engagement.

I had been placed in command of the brigade only a few days before the battle of Boonsborough, and, therefore, was personally acquainted with few of the officers, save the regimental commanders. I cannot, therefore, mention names, but can only say I saw several in connection with them, both by words and example, encouraging and cheering on their men in the hottest of the fight. For further information on this subject you are referred to the sub-reports, herewith inclosed.

Colonel Stuart, as I formerly mentioned, was detached with his regiment (the Fifty-sixth Virginia) before the action commenced. His accompanying official report will show the part taken by his command.

Lieutenant McIntire, Eighth [Nineteenth] Virginia Volunteers, acting assistant adjutant-general; Lieuts. Elliott Johnston and A. C. Sorrel, First Georgia Regulars, acting aides-de-camp, composed my staff. It is with much pleasure that I acknowledge the zeal, intelligence, and bravery with which they discharged their duties pending the battle.

We have to mourn in this action many of our companions as killed and wounded, who go to swell the list of noble martyrs who have suffered in our just cause. It was not to be acquainted with but one of the officers who fell on this occasion - Colonel John B. Strange, Nineteenth Virginia Volunteers. His tried valor on othe fields, and heroic conduct in aminating his men to advance upon the enemy with his latest breath, and after he had fallen mortally wounded, will secure imperishable honor for his name and memory.

I herewith furnish a list of the killed and wounded, and have the honor to state that the delay and imperfection of my report with regard to details have been occasioned by my being relieved from the command of Pickett's brigade before the reports of regimental commanders could be made out; and although I applied for them some weeks since, I received several of them only yesterday.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. B. GARNETT,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

Robert Rodes: Defender of the Frostown Gap

In the early afternoon of September 14, Robert Rodes' brigade of Alabamians was ordered to defend and hold at all cost the vital Frostown Gap. If this gap was lost, the Confederate position at Turner's Gap could be turned and those forces defending Turner's could be destroyed. When the Union assault came, Rodes' brigade was stretched precariously thin but for nearly three hours, the tenacious Alabamians held until the weight of Union numbers became too much. Fortunately, reinforcements in the form of Longstreet's command, having completed a forced march from Hagerstown, were immediately thrown into line and bolstered the what was left of Rodes' brigade. The Alabamians under Rodes paid dearly for their resistance but they gained precious time for Longstreet to arrive and also helped their commanding general get noticed by superior officers.



Born on March 20, 1829 in Lynchburg, Virginia, Robert Emmet Rodes was destined to become a military man. His father, David Rodes, who served in he Virginia militia during the revolutionary period eventually attaining the rank of brigadier general. His mother, Martha (Yauncy) Rodes was the daughter of Major John Yauncey, who was a revolutionary war veteran from Bedford County, Virginia. In the fall of 1845, a young Rodes was enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). After an up and down career at the institute, Rodes would graduated 10th out of 24 graduates in 1848. He would attempt to obtain a commission in the United States Army but with the army of a peace time footing, the needs of the officer corps were met by the army academy at West Point. Instead, Rodes would be appointed a professor of Philospophy,  Mathematics, and Tactics at VMI, subjects that he excelled in as a cadet. He would remain at VMI until 1850 when he resign his position and went to work as a railroad civil engineer. He would first work with the Southside Railroad connecting Peterburg, Virginia with Lynchburg. By 1854 this work was completed and he bounced around from various railroad companies in Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, and Alabama for the better part of the 1850's. He would marry Virginia Woodruff in September 1857.

In 1860, Rodes was elected to as the Professor of Applied Mechanics at VMI. Unfortunately, he would never serve in this capacity. Funding for the position was delayed and events of that winter thrust the country closer to civil war. While in Alabama, Rodes had joined a militia company, the "Warrior Guards" based out of Tuscaloosa, and was elected the captain of this company. In January 1861, the governor of Alabama ordered Rodes to report with his company to Fort Morgan, where it would assist in its capture. With this mission successful, Rodes returned with his company to Tuscaloosa where he would spent early 1861 drilling his men. In May, the company was ordered to Montgomery where a new regiment, the 5th Alabama, was being organized. Rodes would be elected colonel of this new regiment. Rodes would move his regiment to Pensecola where it would remain until it was ordered to Manassas to join General P.G.T. Beauregard's army . Rodes would miss out on the fighting of July 21st, but his discipline would garner him a promotion to Brigadier General in October 1861.

Rodes' new brigade consisted of his own 5th Alabama,  the 6th and 12th Alabama regiments, the 12th Mississippi, and a light artillery battery under Captain Thomas Carter. When George McClellan moved the massive Army of the Potomac to the Virginia Peninsula in an attempt to capture Richmond, Rodes moved with the Confederate Army. A heavy artillery battery would be added to his brigade. At the Battle of Williamsburg, Rodes would remain in reserve. When the two opposing armies reached the defences of Richmond in late May, General Joseph Johnston, commanding the Confederates, devised a plan that would destroy at least a portion of the Union army. Now attached to D.H. Hill's division, Rodes' brigade was deployed to the right of the Williamsburg Stage Road and within supporting distance of Samuel Garland's brigade. When the Confederate attack began, Rodes men easily drove in the Union Pickets and when the main Union line was reached, the brigade attacked. General Rodes was in the lead when his brigade swept the Union defenders away capturing several cannon. During the assault, General Rodes was wounded and evacuated to Richmond where he would spend the coming month recuperating. Rodes' brigade, numbering about 2,500 going into the battle, lost over 1,000 in the relentless assault.

By the end of June, the General was well enough to rejoin his command for the coming campaign. In his absence, the make up of his brigade changed. The 12th Mississippi was dropped and two Alabama regiments, the 3rd and 26th, were added. He would participate in the Battle of Gaines' Mill but the vigorous movements of the day caused the general's wound to reopen and he was escorted back to Richmond. The command of the brigade fell to Colonel John B. Gordon of the 6th Alabama. Rodes would remain in Richmond recuperating, missing the Second Manassas Campaign. When the beginning of September came, Rodes was restless and with his brigade marching northward to join Lee on the banks of the Potomac, he quietly left Richmond in pursuit of his men. Arriving in Frederick, Maryland on September 6, he took command of his brigade.

Rodes would remain with his brigade in Frederick until September 10th when his brigade, as part of D.H. Hill's Division made up the rear guard of the Army of Northern Virginia as the main body marched towards Hagerstown to await Jackson's successful capture of Harper's Ferry. On the 13th, Rodes brigade would be in position along and near Beaver Creek watching the roads leading southward for any Union troops that may escape from Harper's Ferry in the direction of Boonsboro.

On the 14th, Rodes and his brigade was ordered to relieved George B. Anderson's brigade which was posted just west of Boonsboro. Around noon, the brigade was ordered to South Mountain to reinforce those confederates already engaged. Reporting to General Hill, Rodes recieved orders to go into position to the north of the gap covering the ridge line immediately to the left of the National Pike. Going into position under occasional artillery fire, Rodes deployed skirmishers to his front a left. After remaining there for nearly an hour, Rodes was ordered again to shift farther north, going into position along the ridgeline covering the Frostown Gap. Going into this last position, Rodes deployed his brigade facing east with the 6th Alabama on the left flank, with the 5th, 3rd, and 26th Alabama in the right-center, center, and left-center respectively, and the 12th Alabama made up the brigades left flank. As Rodes was placing his men, the Pennsylvania Reserve Division was in full view and he could see they were going into battlelines. In his report he wrote, " This was about 3 P.M. and it was perfectly evident that my force of about 1,200 muskets was opposed to one which outflanked mine on either side by at least a half a mile." Knowing he was outnumbered, Rodes knew that if he withdrew the Confederate positions at the mountain gaps to the south would become untenable and the result could be devastating.

As he stated in his report, at about three in the afternoon, the Union advance began and immediately, the skirmishers were engaged. The Confederate skirmish line fired several devastating volleys before withdrawing to the main line. Advancing cautiously, the Union advance finally reached the main confederate line and after a massive volley from the Confederates, the battle began in earnest. To the left of Rodes position was a prominent hill from which an artillery battery could rain fire down on either line. Repeatedly sending request for artillery, Rodes feared that this hill would be occupied by Union forces. He ordered the 6th Alabama to move farther to the left to occupy this hill. The movement was successfully done under fire and when Gordon saw the chance, he ordered his regiment to charge, repelling an enemy advance against the position. Despite this effort, Union troops would capture this hill and turn Rodes left flank.

After about 2 hours of desperate fighting, Rodes brigade was pushed to the breaking point. His regiments were taking heavy casualties and the Union force had slowly stretched Rodes men out in an attempt to turn the confederate left. With his brigade dwindling away, Rodes was in desperate need for some good news. This news came with word the reinforcements had arrived and were in the process of connecting to his right flank. Rodes, seeing that with this news and the casualties his brigade was taking, ordered his brigade to fall back to the southern slope of a gorge that his brigade had been straddling. This allowed him to meet the brunt of the assault coming against his left flank.

Up to this time he only had four regiments engaged heavily. The 12th Alabama was still supporting a battery that was posted on the mountain spur. When this regiment was relieved, the Alabamians went to the aid of their brethren and fell into Rodes line bolstering it with what few men were available. The final stand in this new position. Rodes brigade was hammered by the new assaults. One regiment was cut in two and the others were not in a connected line which left large gaps for the advancing Union troops to push through. By nightfall, Rodes brigade was in full retreat, with the exception of the 6th Alabama which was putting up a rather savage resistance. With one final volley, the fighting ended for the night with random flashes coming from the skirmish line. Around midnight, Rodes was ordered to retreat off the mountain leaving over 400 casualties behind.

Rodes led his battered brigade to Sharpsburg where they would hold the sunken road in a savage fight that took even more men from the firing line, over 200. When the brigade had entered Maryland, it numbered about 1,200 men, as it retreated across the Potomac, over 600 men and boys from Alabama remained in Maryland soaking the states soil with their lifes blood.

Rodes brigade would lick its wounds and recieve some new recruits as well as those that had recovered from sickness and wounds to help raise their numbers again. Rodes would lead his brigade at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862 but it would not be heavily engaged. Rodes would be given the command of D.H. Hill's division when Hill was ordered to North Carolina. Rodes' Division would be the brunt of Stonewall Jackson's flank attack at Chancellorsville in May 1863 and at Gettysburg, now a major general, Rodes would lead his division against the right flank of the Union 1st Corps in the Confederate drive to capture Gettysburg. After the heavy fight on the 1st day, Rodes division would remain idle the remainder of the battle.

Maj. General Rodes grave

During 1864, Rodes would lead his division at the battles of The Wilderness, Spotslyvania, and Cold Harbor. His division would be apart of Jubal Early's movement into Maryland that reached the gates of Washington, D.C. During Early's retreat up the Shenandoah Valley, Rodes would find himself in the fight for his life outside of Winchester. Again, facing an overwhelming Union attack, he determined that his division would by time for the rest of Early's force to retreat. This would prove costly. Leading a counterattack, Rodes was mortally wounded by an exploding shell. He would die on the battlefield and his body would be transported in an ambulance to safety. He would be buried in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Report of Colonel Wainwright, 76th New York

Col. Wainwright

Colonel William D. Wainwright's 76th New York Infantry went into battle late in the day on September 14, 1862. When Brigadier General John Hatch (commanding the 1st Division, 1st Corps) was wounded, Wainwright was elevated to command of the brigade when Abner Doubleday took command of the division. Wainwright would be wounded during the battle. The following is his report written while he was recuperating in a field hospital at the base of the mountain.



MIDDLETOWN VALLEY, SHEFFER'S HOUSE,

Near Mount Tabor, September 16, 1862.

Captain E. P. HALSTEAD,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Doubleday's Division.

SIR: I have the honor to report, for the information of General Doubleday, that on the afternoon of the 14th instant, after the battalions had been moved up to the edge of the wood, the Seventy-sixth New York Volunteers passed through a line of troops under the command of General Patrick. The regiment formed with perfect steadiness on the extreme left. They were well in hand during the whole engagement, always obeyed the orders to fire and to cease firing readily, and although not many cartridges were expended, the repulse of an attempt to turn our left, which, in conjunction with the left wing of the Seventh Indiana Regiment, was brilliantly accomplished, and the orderly manner in which they afterward passed the line of troops coming up to relieve them, showed that they are fast becoming veteran soldiers.

I would again (as in a note sent yesterday afternoon by Surgeon Metcalfe) call the general's attention to the weakened state of the regiment. They went into action on this occasion with only forty files. Their loss was, so far as ascertained, 2 killed and 13 wounded-of the latter, 2 mortally. I doubt whether they can now furnish more than thirty files, commanded by four lieutenants, in any line of battle that may be called for at present.

In the above action First Lieutenants Crandall and Goddard and Second Lieutenants Byram and Foster were the only officers present under me. They all conducted themselves admirably. I think it was Lieutenant Goddard who first called my attention to the enemy stealing through the corn in order to gain our flank.

Sergeant Stamp, just promoted for good conduct in a former battle, was shot through the head while gallantly carrying the national colors.

 Owing to a wound in the arm received during the action, I am unable to join the regiment. First Lieutenant Crandall is next in command.

I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,

W. P. WAINWRIGHT,

Colonel Seventy-sixth Regiment New York Volunteers.



Source:

The War of the Rebellion: a Compliation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies: Volume 19, Part 1. 227-238.

Fighting Colonels: The Mountain Spur

Located between the Frostown Gap and Turner Gap is a very prominant mountain spur. It was along this northern face of this mountain spur that General John Hatch's Union division attacked practically unopposed, the only Confederate resistance coming from a determined artilleries battery under the command of Captains George Patterson and Hugh Ross. Only the timely arrival of Confederate brigades under the command of James Kemper and Richard Garnett kept Hatch's men from sweeping over the mountain.

Colonel Eppa Hunton, commanding 8th Virginia Infantry: As part of Brigadier General Richard Garnett's brigade, Eppa Hunton's 8th Virginia was encamped near Hagerstown on the morning of September 14. Enduring a forced 18 mile march from their encampment, Hunton's Virginians arrived at the mountain in the late afternoon, clearly hearing the rattle of musketry off to their left. For the next hour, the regiment was pointlessly marched around the mountainside obeying conflicting orders that marched them from one point to the other and back again. Once the regiment did get into position, it fell in behind a fenceline on the extreme right of Garnett's brigade. As it was going into line of battle, a Union battleline appeared and quickly unleashed a devastating volley on the Virginians. Hunton managed to get is regiment organized and in line of battle under this "galling fire of musketry" and his men eagerly began returning fire. Their initial volley's were so devastating the Union advance was first halted, then thrown back. Hunton kept his small regiment, he reported only 34 men in the ranks at the start of the fight, in position holding their hard fought ground until it was realized that the rest of the brigade had fallen back, leaving them exposed and unsupported. Hunton ordered the regiment to fall back to a new position where it was maintained until it was ordered to retreat off the mountain that night. Hunton reported a loss of 11 men killed and wounded, a 32% casualty rate.

Major William H. DeBevoise, commanding 84th New York Infantry/14th Brooklyn: Part of the First Brigade of John Hatch's division, Major DeBevoise lead his regiment in the attack on the mountain spur that could have cut off and surrounded the Confederates under Robert Rodes and flanked the position of Alfred Colquitt at Turner's Gap. The Brooklyn men attacked the Confederate skirmish line, located in a thick woodlot and cornfield and quickly drove it back. The main Confederate line held its fire, apparently out of fear of striking their own men. Unfortunately for the Confederates, Debevoise's men falled the enemy skirmishers so closely, they quickly punched a hole in the Confederate line and managed to gain a foothold on the crest of the mountain. They placed themselves within a hornet's nest, with the Confederates repeatedly and savagely attacking the New Yorkers in an attempt to drive them off. Each attack was beaten back and by nightfall, with their ammunition nearly exhausted, reinforcements arrived allowing the regiment to fall back for some rest. The next morning, the regiment was ordered to pursue the Confederates, crossing over the battlefield of the day before and seeing the carnage wrought. The regiment went into the fight without 130 men and suffered 9 killed and 22 wounded, a casualty rate of about 24%.

Sources:

1. Official Records of the War of the Rebellion: A compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Series 1, Vol 19, Part 1 , Pages 898 - 899. (Hunton's official report)

2.Eppa Hunton. Officers page from Antietam on the Web by Brian Downey. (Hunton's photo)

3. William DeBevoise. Officers page from Antietam on the Web by Brian Downey (DeBevoise photo)

4. 14th Brooklyn. Living History website by Frank Ruiz and Co. E, 14th N.Y.S.M. living history association. (Adjutant General report from September 1862).