Near the left end of the Confederate infantry line during the Battle of Fisher's Hill, Confederate Gen. Bryan Grimes's brigade, part of Gen. Stephen Ramseur's division, held the position with artillery support, while the only defenders farther west were dismounted southern cavalry under Gen. Lunsford Lomax. Grimes, like most Confederates, distrusted Lomax's troops and believed the cavalry would run if attacked. On September 21, Grimes's men built breastworks and prepared for an enemy advance, feeling secure in their ability to hold the position, but that confidence proved false. When Union Gen. George Crook launched a flank attack at 4:00 p.m. on September 22, the Confederate cavalry, overwhelmed and threatened with encirclement, quickly broke. As Crook's men pressed ahead, Grimes's brigade stood directly in their path, and Grimes turned three regiments to face west while keeping two facing north, forming an L-shape at the end of the line. After hearing the gunfire from the attack on the cavalry, Gen. Ramseur tried to reinforce Grimes by ordering Gen. William Cox to move his brigade toward the firing. Cox double-quicked his men into position 150 yards to Grimes's left, joined by some of Lomax's rallied cavalrymen, but after a brisk skirmish with part of Crook's force, the growing number of attackers caused Cox's and Lomax's men to break, leaving Grimes's brigade alone against the advancing Federals.

Photo: Bradley Owen

Strasburg, Virginia · USA