Today in History:

612 Series I Volume XIX-I Serial 27 - Antietam Part I

Page 612 OPERATIONS IN N. VA., W., VA., MD., AND PA. Chapter XXXI.

Question. Do you mean you saw no officer?

Answer. I saw no officer. I think Captain Hibbets is a very brave and gallant officer. He acted very coolly with his skirmishers, and held the enemy in check as long as he cold.

Question. Does he belong to your regiment?

Answer. No, sir; he belongs to the Thirty-second Ohio. He was shot right through the ear.

Question. What was your opinion as to the necessity of evacuating Maryland Heights at the time they were evacuated?

Answer. Well, I do not think there was force enough there to hold them; and if I may be allowed to express what I think about it, there had been very bad arrangement in the first place in fortifying the place, to say nothing of the hill; the timber had not been cut down.

Question. I do not care about that. The question is, what do you think of the necessity of evacuating the heights at the time they were evacuated? Was there an absolute necessity for its being done at that time?

Answer. I think that there was, under the circumstances.

Question. How long before they were evacuated had the last fight taken place?

Answer. I do not know whether there had been any skirmishing with the enemy after we got through or not. That was about 10 o'clock-after 9 o'clock.

Question. Did you know what was going on above?

Answer. I did not.

Question. Did you hear firing going on?

Answer. I could hear once in a while a single shot; but the cannon were making such a racket that it was pretty hard to distinguish musketry firing. What with the big guns there and the guns on Camp Hill, there was a shell passing through the air nearly all the time; and, when shells are passing, it is pretty hard to hear musketry, unless it is very heavy.

Question. Where were they throwing shells from-Camp Hill?

Answer. I could not see the guns; I could hear the course of the shells. I judged they were throwing over McGrath's battery to the right, and Captain McGrath was throwing over the northwest slope of the mountain, where he supposed the enemy to be. That was what I supposed, as nearly as I could follow the course of the shell. It was all trees there. I supposed he was trying to throw his shells as near as he could in the rear of those breastworks that we had been fighting behind.

By Colonel FORD:

Question. Were you in a position to see the eastern slope of the mountain, where the force under the command of Captain Crumbecker was?

Question. You do not know where his force was placed?

Answer. No, sir.

Question. Were you in a position to see the force under Major Hewitt over to the right, looking over to Pleasant Valley?

Answer. I saw some companies. I did not know who they were.

Question. Along down toward Solomon's Gap?

Answer. I did not see them.

Question. Were you in a position so as to discover the force of the


Page 612 OPERATIONS IN N. VA., W., VA., MD., AND PA. Chapter XXXI.