A Spectacular Show

As night fell, the battle still raged, but growing darkness made it difficult to see the enemy, and soldiers fired at opponents' muzzle flashes in the woods. Frank S. Reader, a post-war newspaper editor and member of Company I, 5th Virginia Infantry (Union) at McDowell, recalled the gun flashes after nightfall on the mountainside and crest amid the trees as grand and beautiful, at times lighting up the whole mountainside and at other times showing only one or a few muskets. When darkness finally overtook the battlefield, Union Gen. Robert H. Milroy reluctantly recalled his battle-weary soldiers from the mountainside. After receiving the order, Union Col. Nathaniel McLean marched his men to the base of Sitlington's Hill, halted them, and faced them toward the enemy on the ridge while the other three Ohio regiments made their way down the hill. At the mountain's base, the Ohioans were joined by the 3rd Virginia Infantry (Union), and together they marched back to their camps on the opposite side of the Bullpasture River, ending the four-hour battle.

Virginia · United States