Military
10
On September 14, 1862, thousands of Federal soldiers huddled in ravines on Bolivar Heights to escape Confederate shelling, and by evening they were demoralized, with many believing surrender or destruction was inevitable. By 8:00 a.m. on September 15, the situation for the surrounded and outnumbered Federals had worsened after Major General A.P. Hill's division of 3,000 Confederates turned the Federal left flank on the south end of Bolivar Heights during the night. With Union artillery ammunition exhausted, Colonel Dixon S. Miles decided about 9:00 a.m. to surrender his forces, and moments later a Confederate shell fragment wounded him; he died the next day, leaving many unanswered questions about the Federal disaster at Harpers Ferry. Stonewall Jackson accepted an unconditional surrender from Union Brigadier General Julius White on School House Ridge, ending the siege. The Confederates captured 73 cannon, 13,000 small arms, 200 wagons, and 12,500 prisoners, the largest surrender of U.S. forces until Bataan during World War II. Jackson then reviewed the captured Federal garrison on Bolivar Heights that afternoon.
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Lovettsville, Maryland · United States
