Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 39.djvu/53

 The Battle of Boonsboro Gap. 41

mountain, which was not so thickl)' covered with woods as the rest of the battlefield, but was filled with ledges of limestone rock affording fairly good cover for such experienced sharp- shooters as composed this gallant brig;ade. As Meade moved cautiously up the east side of the mountain, supported by Ricketts, they were met with a most disastrous fire from the men on top, and if the numbers had been more nearly equal, they would have been easily repulsed, but Meade's large division extended far beyond Rodes' line and Col. John B. Gordon, com- manding the 6th Alabama, on the left, was obliged to reform . his line, to meet the Federals, who unopposed had reached the top of the, mountain beyond him. This, General Rodes says in his report, Gordon did, in the coolest and most skillful manner, under a heavy fire, "handling his men in a way he had never seen surpassed."

While Meade with two divisions was pressing Rodes in this unequal and desperate fight. General Hatch was moving his di- vision to attack the right of the position held by General Rodes on the mountain.

General Gibbon's brigade on the left of Hatch's division rested on the Hagerstown pike, and was in front of the 23rd and 28th Georgia Regiments of Colquitt's brigade lying between the pike and the abrupt end of the mountain on the top, of which Rodes was fighting; Gibbon's whole brigade being op- posed to these two regiments. At the same time General Reno was advancing at Fox's Gap with his whole corps.

Fortunately, between three and four o'clock, the advanced brigades of General Longstreet's command had reached the field, and Kemper's brigade and Pickett's brigade under Col. Garnett, as they arrived, were sent to the left to help Rodes, who was at that time desperately struggling with five times his number, and they were formed to attack Hatch's division just coming to the top of the mountain on Rodes' right. The brigades of Drayton and Law, followed later by Hood, were sent to the left to meet the attack of Reno's corps.

For some reason our artillery seemed almost useless during