Brownsville Pass: Semmes’ Gamble

During the Maryland Campaign, General Robert E. Lee sent Major General Lafayette McLaws toward Harper’s Ferry by way of Elk Ridge west of South Mountain. Marching from Frederick through Middletown and Burkittsville to Brownsville Pass, McLaws left Brigadier General Paul Semmes and his brigade at Brownsville on September 11. Semmes remained there until September 13, choosing to hold Brownsville rather than nearby Crampton’s Gap because he believed any Federal advance would come along McLaws’ route. As the Federal VI Corps crossed Catoctin Valley, Semmes expected a fight for the mountain passes and sent Colonel William A. Parham’s small brigade, three Virginia infantry regiments, and his own 10th Georgia regiment to Crampton’s Gap, while keeping his larger brigade, artillery, and additional guns at Brownsville Pass. Even after the defenders at Crampton’s Gap called for help, Semmes concluded the attack there was only a feint and that the real assault would come at Brownsville. Only when Federal troops struck the Confederates behind the stone wall west of Burkittsville did he realize his mistake. He then pushed several guns down the Brownsville Pass Road against the Federal left and sent the 15th and 32nd Virginia and 53rd Georgia to support the Confederate line along Mountain Church Road, but they arrived behind enemy lines and returned to Brownsville Pass without firing a shot. Semmes and his staff then rode to Crampton’s Gap to help, but they arrived as Federal troops neared the top of the gap, too late to be of assistance. Concerned as Federal forces approached South Mountain, Semmes had asked McLaws for reinforcements, and McLaws sent Brigadier General Howell Cobb’s Georgia Brigade.

Maryland · United States