Military
6
Late on the afternoon of September 19, in the fields of Hackwood Farm, Gen. George Crook's Army of West Virginia drove Confederate Gen. John B. Gordon's division and Col. George Patton's brigade southwest toward Winchester. The Confederates halted, rallied behind an extensive stone wall, and, reinforced by two fresh brigades under Gen. Gabriel Wharton, checked Crook's further advance. Other Union troops then came forward, including two New England regiments under Col. Stephen Thomas that had charged through the Second Woods and driven out the last Confederate resistance nearby, but 19th Corps commander Maj. Gen. William Emory ordered them to halt even though they were well placed to attack the Confederate right flank. Crook asked for their help without success, and Gen. Emory Upton of the 6th Corps also failed to persuade Thomas to advance. At length, Upton deployed Col. Ranald Mackenzie's 2nd Connecticut in front of Thomas's command and opened fire on the exposed Confederate flank, breaking the deadlock and allowing Crook's advance to resume.
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