Became famous.
Among the participants in this battle who afterwards became famous were:
Captain Kilpatrick, on the
Federal side, as a cavalry general.
Colonel Hill, on the
Confederate side, as a lieutenant-general.
General Butler, on the
Federal, as a major-general, who was ‘bottled up’ at
Bermuda Hundred at the beginning of the siege of
Petersburg.
Major George W. Randolph, who commanded the Confederate artillery, as
Secretary of War of the
Confederate States.
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And a host of lesser lights who became captains,
majors, colonels, and even brigadier-generals.
The impression prevailed at the out-break of the
Civil War (and prevails now to considerable extent) that volunteers were no match for ‘regulars’ in battle, but this fight dispelled that illusion, as on this occasion the firing of the regular United States Battery was wild in the extreme, while that of the Confederate artillery was accurate and deadly, as attested by official reports of Federal officers engaged in this affair, and these guns were manned by young men, many of whom had never fired a cannon even in target practices.
Lieutenant John T. Greble, who commanded the ‘regular’ artillery, lost his life just as the engagement closed.
