Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 12.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

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‘ [530] the enemy were assuming very formidable proportions.’ ‘My position was now very critical. I looked anxiously to the rear to see the promised reinforcements coming up. The columns on my right and rear and that coming up in front, with which my skirmishers were already engaged, being watched with the most intense interest.’ I should think so!

Greene now pushed rapidly into the woods in rear of the church. There was no time, then, to watch or to wait. The only reinforcement Early could count on was his own head and heart. Leaving Stafford and Grigsby to hold back the advancing division of Sedgewick, he whirled his own brigade by the right flank, parallel to Greene, who had the start of him, but who was unaware of his presence, though only two hundred yards off, and made a race to head him off. His march was covered by ledges of limestone rock, which concealed him until he suddenly swept from behind them, struck Greene full and drove him back through the woods and through the confield. General Early remarks that ‘he did not intend moving to the front in pursuit, but the brigade, without awaiting orders, dashed after the retreating column, driving it entirely out of the woods, and, notwithstanding my efforts to do so, I did not suceeed in stopping it until its flank and rear had become exposed to the fire of the column on the left;’ i.e., Sedgewick's men. He withdrew it, reformed it, and, being joined by Semmes's brigade, two regiments of Barksdale's brigade, and Anderson's brigade, of D. R. Jones's division, on his right, and Stafford and Grigsby on his left, crushed him with one blow, swept Sedgwick out of the west woods, and he lost 2,255 men in a moment. General Palfrey writes: ‘The Confederate lines marched over them, driving them pell-mell straight through the west woods and the cornfield, and the open ground along the pike.’ Greene lost 651 men, most of them by Early's assault.

General Sumner had attempted to pass entirely around the Confederate left and march into Sharpsburg. The result I have described.

No further attack was made in front of the Dunkard church, or west of the pike.

Smith's division, of Franklin's Sixth corps, took position to prevent a Confederate advance there.

Richardson and French, of the Second corps, taking a different direction from Sedgewick, had marched South. McLaws had relieved Hood, who was out of ammunition and had retired to fill cartridge-boxes. Moving east of the pike they forced D. H. Hill and