Maney's Attack

Confederate Brigadier General George Maney, concerned by eight Union cannon on the hill to the front that were killing and wounding dozens of Southern soldiers, formed his 1,600-man brigade into two lines in nearby fields, using trees and rolling terrain to hide his men from the Union battery. Four Confederate cannon then rolled into position and answered the Union fire in a close-range artillery duel. Under thundering concussion and swirling smoke, Maney’s men advanced to striking distance and charged the surprised Union cannon crews under deadly fire. First Lieutenant William B. Turner of Turner’s Mississippi Battery recalled opening an enfilading fire at a distance of 250 or 300 yards with canister, then continuing with shell and spherical case as the enemy retired. Maney also recalled that after proceeding several hundred yards through the woods on his original course, he was informed that General Donelson had become hotly engaged and was in great need of reinforcements.

Kentucky · United States