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Ruggles' Batteries
After six hours of bloody fighting here, it became evident that Confederate infantry alone would not break the strong Union defenses along the Sunken Road and the thickets beyond. Toward late afternoon, Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles brought forward eleven batteries of artillery and placed them in a line that began here and extended to your right along the wooded edge of Duncan Field and beyond.
According to Ruggles' official report, there were 62 cannon here - the greatest concentration of field guns seen on a North American battlefield up to that time.
For more than an hour the Confederate artillery roared, unleashing a great storm of shot, shell, and canister that kept the Union soldiers in the "Hornets' Nest" pinned down. Confederate infantry then encircled the Hornets' Nest and forced its defenders to surrender.
Ruggles' Batteries - April 6, 1862 - p.m.
The cannon you see today mark the locations of Ruggles' batteries. Although not the same cannon used in the battle, they compose one of the best collections of Civil War field artillery in existence.
Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles, a West Point graduate, was convinced that Confederate infantry needed artillery support to conquer the Hornet's Nest. |