e shelter of the
woods, on the hither side of Wise's fields. The infantry of the
right wing was brought to the same position, and our lines were
reformed along the curving crests from that point which looks down
into the gap and the Sharpsburg road, toward the left. The extreme
right with Croome's two guns was held by the Thirtieth, with the
Twenty-eighth in second line. Next came the Twelfth, with the
Thirty-sixth in second line, the front curving toward the west with
the form of the mountain summit. The left of the Twelfth dipped a
little into a hollow, beyond which the Twenty-third and Eleventh
occupied the next hill facing toward the Sharpsburg road. Our front
was hollow, for the two wings were nearly at right angles to each
other; but the flanks were strongly placed, the right, which was
most exposed, having open ground in front which it could sweep with
its fire and having the reserve regiments closely supporting it.
Part of Simmonds's battery which had also come up had done good
service in the last combats, and was now disposed so as to check the
fire of the enemy.

It was time to rest. Three hours of up-hill marching and climbing
had been followed by as long a period of bloody battle, and it was
almost noon. The troops began to feel the exhaustion of such labor
and struggle. We had several hundred prisoners in our hands, and the
field was thickly strewn with dead, in gray and in blue, while our
field hospital a little down the mountain side was encumbered with
hundreds of wounded. We learned from our prisoners that the summit
was held by D. H. Hill's division of five brigades with Stuart's
cavalry, and that Longstreet's corps was in close support. I was
momentarily expecting to hear from the supporting divisions of the
Ninth Corps, and thought it the part of wisdom to hold fast to our
strong position astride of the mountain top commanding the
Sharpsburg road till our force should be increased. The two Kanawha
brigades had certainly won a glorious victory, and had made so
assured a success of the day's work that it would be folly to
imperil it. [Footnote: For Official Records, see Official Records,
vol. xix. pt. i. pp. 458-474.]

General Hill has since argued that only part of his division could
oppose us; [Footnote: Century War Book, vol. ii. pp. 559, etc.] but
his brigades were all on the mountain summit within easy support of
each other, and they had the day before them. It was five hours from
the time of