Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided by W Hunter Lesser Page B
Authors: W Hunter Lesser
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that our whole force would be brought up from our Camp and that at this point would be fought the battle we had for days been anticipating.” 250
Moving his cannon up the opposite slope to gain elevation, Lieutenant Statham pounded the Union line with short-fused shot. Blast after blast of his gun echoed across Rich Mountain. The confused Yankees fell back. Grimy Confederate defenders waved their hats and rent the air with shouts. 251
Their cheers were premature. Laboring to reform his green troops, General Rosecrans brought skulkers into line with a sharp rap from the flat of his sword. Union regiments again filled the mountainside, pouring musketry into a line of defenders little more than one hundred yards long. The attack played havoc with Lieutenant Statham's artillery. Terrified horses bolted away with caisson and drivers, leaving only a little ammunition in the limber box. Statham moved the gun downhill beside a log stable, placed his artillery horses behind it for protection, and discharged rounds of canister into Rosecrans's lines.
One of those rounds felled Colonel Lander's horse. Struggling to his feet, the intrepid Lander hopped upon a large rock. Muskets were handed up and he fired them at the Rebel artillerists. “Bang away, you scoundrels!” roared Lander. “We'll come down there and lick you like the devil directly!” 252
Federal sharpshooters leveled a deliberate volley at some Rebels on the opposite slope, but cleanly missed. A Confederate seemed much amused. He turned around, dropped his pantaloons, and offered a “glaring insult.” One of the sharpshooters answered with a “centre shot,” leaving the dead Rebel in a rather undignified pose. 253
Leaden missiles rattled and whined through the underbrush. “[O]ur boys…let into them with their Enfield and Minie rifles,” wrote David Hart. “I never heard such screaming in my life.” Sharpshooters reaped a fearful toll in the stable yard—Statham's artillerists were dropping fast. Anxious to silence that gun, General Rosecrans gave the order to “fix bayonets.” Defenders plainly heard the jangle of cold steel. Rosecrans rode to the head of the Indiana Thirteenth and drew his sword. “Charge bayonets,” he screamed. The Federals swept downhill “like a thunderbolt.” 254
Lieutenant Statham loaded canister until he fell wounded near his gun. Captain DeLagnel rushed to the piece and fired three or four rounds before he too was shot down. The searing bronze cannon was silenced at last. By one count, it had fired 165 rounds. 255
Seven companies of the Nineteenth Ohio Infantry delivered a terrific volley into the Rebels. “The whole earth seemed to shake,” David Hart attested. Hot lead whistled through the stable yard, ricocheting wildly off the boulders. A second thunderous volley broke the defenders' resolve. General Rosecrans spurred for the enemy works. A resolute Confederate was killed in the act of firing point-blank at the general. Charging with a terrific yell, Federal troops swarmed across the turnpike, hoisting one poor fellow off the cannon with their bayonets. 256
Lt. Colonel Pegram arrived from Camp Garnett with fifty men and a second cannon of Captain Pierce Anderson's Lee Battery—too little, too late. Federals shot the wheel horses of the second gun, plunging it over an embankment. Indiana troops crowded over the prize. Pegram, badly hurt by a fall from his horse, joined the Confederates in retreat. “Trepidation seized me and I ran up the hill,” recalled Willis Woodley of the Upshur Grays, “and every bullet that passed me knocked up the leaves…which only accelerated my speed. In fact there is no telling how fast a fellow can go with bullets pattering around his feet.” 257
Unlike Pegram, Colonel Scott's Forty-fourth Virginia Infantry, 570 strong, never reached the fight. Scott—guarding the unused Merritt Road at the eastern foot of Rich Mountain—had sent Beverly lawyer
Moving his cannon up the opposite slope to gain elevation, Lieutenant Statham pounded the Union line with short-fused shot. Blast after blast of his gun echoed across Rich Mountain. The confused Yankees fell back. Grimy Confederate defenders waved their hats and rent the air with shouts. 251
Their cheers were premature. Laboring to reform his green troops, General Rosecrans brought skulkers into line with a sharp rap from the flat of his sword. Union regiments again filled the mountainside, pouring musketry into a line of defenders little more than one hundred yards long. The attack played havoc with Lieutenant Statham's artillery. Terrified horses bolted away with caisson and drivers, leaving only a little ammunition in the limber box. Statham moved the gun downhill beside a log stable, placed his artillery horses behind it for protection, and discharged rounds of canister into Rosecrans's lines.
One of those rounds felled Colonel Lander's horse. Struggling to his feet, the intrepid Lander hopped upon a large rock. Muskets were handed up and he fired them at the Rebel artillerists. “Bang away, you scoundrels!” roared Lander. “We'll come down there and lick you like the devil directly!” 252
Federal sharpshooters leveled a deliberate volley at some Rebels on the opposite slope, but cleanly missed. A Confederate seemed much amused. He turned around, dropped his pantaloons, and offered a “glaring insult.” One of the sharpshooters answered with a “centre shot,” leaving the dead Rebel in a rather undignified pose. 253
Leaden missiles rattled and whined through the underbrush. “[O]ur boys…let into them with their Enfield and Minie rifles,” wrote David Hart. “I never heard such screaming in my life.” Sharpshooters reaped a fearful toll in the stable yard—Statham's artillerists were dropping fast. Anxious to silence that gun, General Rosecrans gave the order to “fix bayonets.” Defenders plainly heard the jangle of cold steel. Rosecrans rode to the head of the Indiana Thirteenth and drew his sword. “Charge bayonets,” he screamed. The Federals swept downhill “like a thunderbolt.” 254
Lieutenant Statham loaded canister until he fell wounded near his gun. Captain DeLagnel rushed to the piece and fired three or four rounds before he too was shot down. The searing bronze cannon was silenced at last. By one count, it had fired 165 rounds. 255
Seven companies of the Nineteenth Ohio Infantry delivered a terrific volley into the Rebels. “The whole earth seemed to shake,” David Hart attested. Hot lead whistled through the stable yard, ricocheting wildly off the boulders. A second thunderous volley broke the defenders' resolve. General Rosecrans spurred for the enemy works. A resolute Confederate was killed in the act of firing point-blank at the general. Charging with a terrific yell, Federal troops swarmed across the turnpike, hoisting one poor fellow off the cannon with their bayonets. 256
Lt. Colonel Pegram arrived from Camp Garnett with fifty men and a second cannon of Captain Pierce Anderson's Lee Battery—too little, too late. Federals shot the wheel horses of the second gun, plunging it over an embankment. Indiana troops crowded over the prize. Pegram, badly hurt by a fall from his horse, joined the Confederates in retreat. “Trepidation seized me and I ran up the hill,” recalled Willis Woodley of the Upshur Grays, “and every bullet that passed me knocked up the leaves…which only accelerated my speed. In fact there is no telling how fast a fellow can go with bullets pattering around his feet.” 257
Unlike Pegram, Colonel Scott's Forty-fourth Virginia Infantry, 570 strong, never reached the fight. Scott—guarding the unused Merritt Road at the eastern foot of Rich Mountain—had sent Beverly lawyer
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