Major General Robert Emmett Rodes

Near this spot around 1:00 P.M. on Sept. 19, 1864, Major General Robert E. Rodes fell mortally wounded while ordering Brigadier General Battle’s Alabama Brigade to counterattack a gap in the Union line. His last words to the Alabamians were, "Charge the boys, charge them." Brigadier General Cullen Battle said that no single death, save that of Jackson, caused such deep regret and bitter sorrow. Rodes commanded a division that included Battle's Alabama Brigade, Grimes' North Carolina Brigade, Cox's North Carolina Brigade, and Cook's Georgia Brigade, and he was called the best division commander in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

Virginia · United States