Jackson's Command

On the night of September 16, 1862, Hays' Brigade of Ewell's Division, commanded by Brigadier General Harry T. Hays and composed of the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 14th Louisiana Infantry, bivouacked in the woods northwest of the Dunkard Church. Soon after daylight on September 17, with about 550 men, it moved through the woods, crossed the Hagerstown Pike 120 yards north of the church, and advanced eastward to fill a gap between the brigades of Lawton and Trimble, but it was halted and, after a short wait in the open field northeast of the church, was ordered to support Lawton's Brigade, then fiercely engaged about 150 yards south of this point. It advanced beyond Lawton's line, penetrated the cornfield, and came under enfilading fire from several Union batteries and from infantry in front and on the left west of the pike, reducing its force by more than half. The brigade fell back out of the cornfield to the high ground about 70 yards south of this point, where Wofford's Brigade of Hood's Division relieved it, and it was then withdrawn to the fields southwest of the Dunkard Church. Of the 550 engaged, 323 were killed or wounded.

Keedysville, Maryland · United States