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promise, had been killed, and his brigade driven back in confusion, but the enemy did not follow up, and
Anderson's brigade arrived in time to hold the position.
D. H. Hill never failed to get good fighting out of his veteran division, and from 7 A. M. to 3 P. M., without support, he held the
Gap successfully.
But two corps of the enemy, the 1st and 9th, comprising 18 brigades and 18 batteries, were attacking it and gradually outflanking
Hill's positions.
By 3 P. M. they had occupied ground on the
Confederate left which assured their final success in spite of all that could be accomplished by the eight tired brigades newly arrived.
These, however, began to climb the hills from the west in support of
Hill's five brigades, now much reduced by their long conflict.
Hill, in his report, says: —
‘Had Longstreet's division been with mine at daylight in the morning, the Yankees would have been disastrously repulsed, but they had gained important positions before the arrival of reenforcements.
These came up, after a long, hurried, and exhausting march, to defend localities of which they were ignorant, and to fight a foe flushed with partial success and already holding key points to farther advance.
Had our forces never been separated, the battle of Sharpsburg never would have been fought.’
On the arrival of the head of
Longstreet's column,
Evans was sent to the left to support
Rodes, and
Kemper,
Jenkins, and Picketts were sent to the right at the foot of the mountain, by a rough road, to meet a force of the enemy said to be crossing the mountain in that direction.
After marching a mile and a half, the report having been found to be erroneous, they were called to hasten to the top of the mountain by obscure by-roads and across fields, and on reaching the top they were at once sharply engaged.
Longstreet writes:—
‘They were put in as they arrived to try to cover the right of Rodes and Evans, and fill the intervening space to the turnpike.
As they marched the men dropped along the road as rapidly as if under severe skirmish.
So manifest was it that nature was exhausted that no one urged them to get up and try to keep their ranks.’
Before their ranks could be formed they were under fire, and the action was kept up until darkness finally called its truce upon the field.
At this time both
Lee and
Jackson were disabled, and
