Texas

At Sharpsburg on September 16-17, 1862, Texas troops served with notable valor and devotion. Here in the Cornfield, early on the morning of September 17, the Texas Brigade helped blunt the attack of elements of Mansfield's Union Corps almost alone. During this powerful Federal onslaught, the Texas Brigade sealed a threatening gap in the Confederate line. In doing so, the 1st Texas Infantry Regiment suffered a casualty rate of 82.3 percent, the greatest loss suffered by any infantry regiment, North or South, during the war. Of approximately 850 men engaged, the Texas Brigade counted over 530 casualties. Texas troops at Sharpsburg were 1st Texas Infantry under Lt. Col. P.A. Work, 4th Texas Infantry under Lt. Col. B.F. Carter, and 5th Texas Infantry under Capt. Ike N.M. Turner, serving in Col. W.T. Wofford's Texas Brigade, Hood's Division, Longstreet's Corps; the brigade also included the 18th Georgia Infantry under Lt. Col. S. Z. Ruff and the Hampton South Carolina Legion infantry companies under Lt. Col. M.W. Cary.

Keedysville, Maryland · United States