In the morning, Union commander Gen. David Hunter ordered an attack, unaware that Confederate commander Gen. William E. Jones had brought thousands of reinforcements from southwest Virginia and east Tennessee. After an initial advance by Union cavalry under Col. John Wynkoop was thrown back to the left, Col. Augustus Moor's infantry brigade of Ohio, New York, and Connecticut soldiers advanced out of the woods beyond the crossroads and charged toward the Confederate position. The 116th Ohio advanced through this location, only to be met by devastating rifle fire from Confederate Col. William H. Browne's brigade along the edge of the woods to the south. The close-range fire tore into the Ohioans and forced them to retreat. The Buckeyes lost 181 men killed and wounded in two charges across this ground. The Federals were repulsed all along the line. When the 1st West Virginia was ordered to extend Moor's line in that direction, they too were hit by a "blinding, death dealing deluge of bullets" that threw them back. With the failure of the infantry attack, Hunter's artillery roared into action. Union Capt. Henry A. DuPont had positioned 24 cannon on high ground about 1,200 yards away. Those guns thundered into action, silencing the Confederate batteries and wreaking havoc on the southern infantry. After the battle, DuPont said the Confederate artillery positions were marked by fragments of wheels and other materiel, dead horses, abandoned harnesses, projectiles, and bloody clothing.