Existing comment:
The Battle of Monterey Pass
The Wolverines Fight
Union General George A. Custer's cavalry brigade advanced here, along the banks of red run, deploying along both sides of the road. The 5th Michigan Cavalry deployed to the right, while the 7th, 6th and portions of the 1st Michigan Cavalry deployed to the left.
As fighting raged in the middle of the night, the battlefield became disorganized due to the weather conditions. Hand-to-hand combat took place and was extremely fierce at times. To make matters worse, a herd of cattle had broken away from the Confederate wagon train along the Maria Furnace Road, forcing Custer's battle line to stall. General Kilpatrick, headquartered at the Monterey Inn, ordered artillery to support Custer near the present-day golf course. Captain Alexander Pennington deployed two rifled cannon and began to shell the Confederate battle line. Kilpatrick also ordered the 1st West Virginia Cavalry, and a portion of the 1st Ohio Cavalry to support the Wolverines.
Once Colonel Russell Alger realized that the wooden bridge than spanned red Run was intact, he sent two companies of the 5th Michigan Cavalry over the bridge, where they filed off to the left. This allowed the 1st West Virginia Cavalry to charge and break through the confederate battle line.
"It was too dark to distinguish objects at any distance. The darkness was intense and in a few moments we plunged into a dense thicket… One had to be guided by sound and not by sight… had it not been for the noise and the flashing of the enemy's fire we should have wondered [sic] away in the darkness and been lost."
-- Captain James Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry |