"With Flags Flying"

At the Cornfield, after the first two Union attacks failed to break the Confederate line, Union Major General John Sedgwick's division formed in a column of three brigades, each with more than 1,700 men and each brigade in a double rank extending a half mile, then moved toward the West Woods with flags flying and long unfaltering lines crossing the rolling fields. Some observers thought the advance looked unstoppable, while others criticized its swift and solitary movement for ignoring ordinary military precaution. The lines crossed the Hagerstown Turnpike without seeing an enemy, and the woods ahead seemed quiet. Confederate artillery officer Colonel Stephen D. Lee worried about the advance, but General Robert E. Lee told him to have General Hood hold his ground because reinforcements were rapidly approaching between Sharpsburg and the ford and he was coming in support, then pointed out McLaws' division approaching at a double quick. Confederate Brigadier General Jubal Early's brigade was west of the woods, while Major General Lafayette McLaws' division had marched through the night from Harpers Ferry and Brigadier General John Walker's division had come up from south of town, where the Federals were still quiet.

Keedysville, Maryland · United States