Union Camps

Federal wagons and teams camped close to and along the pike, while soldiers' shelter tents stood near the earthworks. By 8 A.M. on 19 October 1864, the area was crowded with withdrawing units and individuals as others stayed in line for last-ditch stands. Federal resistance formed around Belle Grove and on the high ground to the west, where XIX U.S. Corps briefly formed around Captain Elijah D. Taft's 5th Battery, New York Light Artillery, before retreating again northwest across Meadow Brook. These troops then joined VI U.S. Corps in a final line. An eyewitness recalled that over a square mile, fields stripped of fence rails were dotted with wagons, ambulances, pack mules, army followers, and stray soldiers, none hurrying but all aiming for the safest direct route to Winchester.

Middletown, Virginia · United States