The Battle of McDowell

The Confederate 12th Georgia Infantry Regiment held an exposed crest overlooking McDowell as Milroy’s Union troops assaulted the hilltop from the left and the right. The Confederates held their ground against repeated attacks and suffered heavy losses. They also took position along the ridge behind this point, forming an exposed angle in the line. At 9 p.m., the Union troops abandoned the slopes below and retreated, giving Stonewall Jackson the first hard battle of his Valley Campaign. Lieutenant Shepard Pryor of the 12th Georgia recalled feeling quite small as musket and cannon balls flew as thick as hail and his best friends fell dead and mortally wounded on both sides, and after the fight he wept at the sight, lamenting that civilized people were killing one another like beasts.

Virginia · United States