Powerful Position

On the morning of June 27, General Fitz John Porter’s men arranged formidable defenses along the slope of Boatswain’s Creek and were ordered to resist Lee’s advance “even to my destruction,” as Porter remembered. Around 2:30 p.m., the first Confederate troops from A.P. Hill’s division attacked the center of Porter’s line, and fighting erupted less than a half-mile away. Hill’s men repeatedly advanced but met destruction in the open fields across the creek. The steep slope allowed multiple lines of Union infantry to fire simultaneously at long range with great accuracy, while supporting artillery “roared incessantly like a great waterfall.” Confronted by this volcano of fire, Hill’s command stalled, and fresh troops with different tactics were needed to threaten the line. As the sun dropped lower on the western horizon, Private John Worsham of the 21st Virginia Infantry recalled it as the strongest point he saw occupied by either army during the war, with a large open wood on the hill, a rail fence at its foot converted into an excellent breastwork for the first line of battle, a second line of breastworks of logs and dirt about twenty-five yards up the hill, and another similar line on top with artillery behind it.

Virginia · United States