Longstreet's Command

Kemper's Brigade of D.R. Jones' Division in Longstreet's Command, consisting of the 1st, 7th, 11th, 17th and 24th Virginia Infantry, reached Sharpsburg about noon on September 15, 1862, and took position on Cemetery Hill before moving that afternoon to a ravine about 520 yards northwest. At noon on September 17, the 7th and 24th regiments were sent down the Harper's Ferry Road about 520 and 850 yards respectively to guard the right flank. About 3 p.m., as the 9th Corps approached, the 1st, 11th and 17th regiments advanced to the high ground in front and met the charge of Fairchild's Brigade, but they were driven from their position and retreated through the town. They re-formed with Garnett's and Drayton's Brigades in the Harper's Ferry Road just south of town and, cooperating with Toombs' Brigade and A.P. Hill's Division, checked further enemy advance and reoccupied the ground from which they had been driven. Joined there by the 7th and 24th regiments, they remained until the morning of September 19, when the brigade recrossed the Potomac.

Shepherdstown, Maryland · United States