Existing comment:
The Battle of Monterey Pass
Confederate Reinforcements Arrive
The Confederate defenders of Captain George Emack's company of the First Maryland Cavalry, supported by Captain Tanner's artillery detachment, were deployed in this area. As the battle continued past midnight, reinforcements began to arrive. The 4th North Carolina Cavalry deployed near the tollgate, while other companies of the 1dt Maryland Cavalry were en route from Waterloo (Rouzerville area).
Around 3:30 A.M., as the Union cavalry broke through the Confederate battle line, the Confederate provost guard ordered the remaining wagons coming from Fairfield Gap to halt, sparing them from capture. In addition, the 1st North Carolina Sharpshooters were deployed along the Maria Furnace Road. Supported by the 6th Virginia Cavalry, the sharpshooters began to advance on the Union position. Amidst the confusion, the 6th Virginia Cavalry retreated and refused to come up to Monterey Pass until daylight.
General Alfred Iverson's North Carolina Brigade arrived at dawn, capturing several Union prisoners. General Kilpatrick deployed his remaining force down the mountainside into Maryland, leaving Monterey Pass in Confederate hands.
"I could not tell what was before me in the dense darkness, whether friend or foe… Every other sound was drowned out by a roaring waterfall on my right; then emerging from its noise, I was carried at a fearful rate close by dismounted men who were firing from behind trees along the roadside , the flashes of their guns whose speedy gleams the darkness followed."
-- C.S. Cannoneer Edward Moore, Rockbridge Artillery |