The Farthest Advance
Two small structures used as slave quarters stood in this clearing. Some of the fiercest fighting raged around them in the twilight, as men of Paul J. Semmes’ Confederate brigade used the buildings for shelter and exchanged short-range fire with counterattacking Union troops. It is unlikely that any organized Confederate formation advanced beyond these cabins; none reached the roaring line of cannon at the hill’s crest. When July 2 dawned, a line of Southern casualties stretched across the hill, showing the high-water mark of the Confederate advance.
“When I had ridden up to about Crewe’s [slave] cabins, I turned and looked backward, and saw the awful sight as a whole....The long line of dead extended towards our right until lost in the woods and the sloping ravines towards the river, and then extended forward, contracting from our left upon our center, until its apex reached halfway up [to] Crewe’s quarters.” Joseph L. Brent, Confederate staff officer, July 2, 1862
Marker can be reached from the intersection of Willis Church Road (Virginia Route 156) and Carters Mill Road, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
