On October 21, 1861, after skirmishing since early morning with a growing Confederate force near the Jackson House and receiving no orders from Colonel Edward Baker, Colonel Charles Devens withdrew the 15th Massachusetts to the bluff. The 8th Virginia cautiously followed and deployed at the top of the slope facing the bluff. After personally supervising the deployment of additional boats from about 10:00AM to 2:00PM, Baker crossed the river and arrived on the field about the same time that Devens returned. From 2:00PM to 3:00PM, Baker deployed his growing force in a formation that, from the bluff, appeared to be a backward capital L. The 15th Massachusetts held sloping ground in the woods on the Union right, with some men farther north protecting the rear, while elements of the 20th Massachusetts, 1st California, and 42nd New York, along with two mountain howitzers from the 2nd New York State Militia, were placed along the top of the bluff facing inland, and a third artillery piece, a James rifle from Battery B, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery, was later deployed near today’s cemetery. From 3:00PM to 5:00PM, after officers identified the high ground near today’s parking lot as the key to the field, Baker sent two California companies under Captain John Markoe forward to determine the Confederate position. These troops engaged part of the 8th Virginia on the slope leading upward, and after a brief but vicious fight both sides pulled back. Low on ammunition from the morning skirmishing and needing to reorganize his regiment, Colonel Eppa Hunton withdrew to a field near the Jackson House, leaving only previously detached companies of the 17th and 18th Mississippi and Lieutenant Colonel Walter Jenifer’s dismounted Virginia cavalrymen opposing the Union force. Colonel Erasmus Burt’s 18th Mississippi then arrived and deployed at the top of the slope, as the Virginians had done and the 17th Mississippi later would do. Seeing Union troops along the bluff but not the Massachusetts men concealed in the woods on his left, Burt ordered his men forward and inadvertently marched them between the arms of the Union formation into a deadly crossfire. In the open field, the Mississippians were struck by volleys from front and flank and suffered heavy casualties, including Burt, who was mortally wounded. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Griffin took command, withdrew to the parking lot area, and formed the companies into two battalions, one moving around the Union left along the deep ravine and the other linking with Jenifer’s dismounted cavalry and the Mississippi infantry companies on their left.