The Final Clash: With Fate Against Them

Near this site, Confederate forces commanded by General Joseph B. Kershaw, mainly from Mississippi and Georgia, were slightly dug in behind hastily built rail breastworks. In the final moments of the battle, Union cavalry led by Colonel Peter Stagg and Wheaton's infantry attacked Kershaw's right and rear. After retiring some 400 yards to the rear from this point, Kershaw was eventually forced to surrender his command. Taken prisoner and later turned over to Union cavalry General George A. Custer's headquarters, he and his men were serenaded the next morning with tunes including "Dixie." As Custer left that morning, Kershaw remarked, "There goes a chivalrous fellow. Let's give him three cheers." The Federal band answered with "Bonnie Blue Flag," followed by a chorus of "Rebel Yells."

Virginia · United States