Col. Joseph Walker, Palmetto sharpshooters, commanding Jenkins' brigade, reported his force only partially engaged. Much of his time in the afternoon was consumed by marches and countermarches, in accordance with orders, which carried his brigade first to the foot of the mountain on the west side, nearly 2 miles south of the Boonsboro pike, on which he had arrived from Hagerstown. Then he was sent to take position at the hotel on top of the mountain and north of the pike. From that post he was ordered to move across the pike obliquely to the south, and down the east slope of the mountain, where he made his partial battle. The First regiment, Lieut.-Col. D. Livingston, the Sixth, Lieut.-Col. J. M. Steedman, and the Fifth, Capt. T. C. Beckham, were advanced to a stone fence, where they stood against the fire of the infantry and artillery in their front, the Sharpshooters, Second rifles and the Fourth battalion supporting. Walker held this post all through the evening and night, moving off on the morning of the 15th and covering the retirement from that part of the field, the Second rifles marching as rear guard. The losses in Jenkins' brigade were comparatively light, 3 killed and 29 wounded, total, 32, distributed as follows: Palmetto sharpshooters, 2 wounded; First, 1 killed, 15 wounded; Second rifles, 1 wounded; Fifth, 6 wounded; Sixth, 2 killed, 5 wounded.
The writer regrets that he can find no record of the service of the Fifteenth South Carolina, in Drayton's brigade, and the Hampton legion infantry, in Wofford's. Gen. D. H. Hill, in his report of the action of his troops, refers to the brigade of Drayton in the following words:
In answer to a dispatch from General Longstreet, I urged him to hurry forward troops to my assistance. General Drayton and Col. G. T. Anderson [the latter commanding a brigade of Georgians] came up, I think, about 3 o'clock, with 1,900 men.... Anderson, Ripley and Drayton were called together, and I directed them to follow a path until they came in contact with Rosser, when they should change their flank, march in line of battle and sweep the woods before them.... Anderson soon became partially and Drayton hotly engaged.... Three brigades moved up in beautiful order against Drayton and the men were soon beaten.
This is the only reference to Drayton's brigade in the action at Boonsboro, by which it appears that the Fifteenth South Carolina, and Fiftieth and Fifty-first Georgia, the three regiments that composed it, stood against the attack of three Union brigades until they were "beaten."
The battle of Boonsboro Gap was not anticipated by General Lee, and it came, on the 14th, in the nature of a surprise. Certainly Lee's army was not prepared for it. All that could be done was done—the brigades of Hill and Longstreet, with such artillery as could be operated on the mountain, held back the advancing columns of Hooker and Reno until night put an end to the conflict. General McClellan reported the battle on his side as fought by the divisions of Hatch, Ricketts and Meade, of Hooker's corps; Willcox, Sturgis and Cox, of Reno's corps; and the brigade of Sedgwick, of Sherman's corps; with artillery and cavalry. That this force did not drive Hill in rout from the mountain before Longstreet came up is due to the firmness and heroism of his defense. That it did not envelop both Longstreet and Hill late in the afternoon, and force them down upon Boonsboro, is due to the skill of those generals, and the conduct of their troops and their commanders.
Having already stated the order for the investment of Harper's Ferry, we will have now to do with the part taken by Kershaw's and Gregg's South Carolina brigades in its capture. Kershaw was with McLaws and Gregg with A. P. Hill. To Kershaw, commanding his own and Barksdale's brigades, was assigned the task of capturing the south end of Elk ridge, called Maryland heights, which overlooked Harper's Ferry. The heights captured, McLaws was to plant his rifled guns there to co-operate with Walker, on Loudoun heights, and Jackson, on Bolivar heights. Kershaw marched on the 12th and ascended Elk ridge by Solomon's gap. The Union pickets offered a feeble resistance at the gap and retired, Kershaw ascending to the top of the ridge and marching on its crest toward the point of attack. Capt. G. B. Cuthbert, Second South Carolina, commanding Kershaw's right flankers, and Major Bradley, Mississippi regiment, commanding skirmishers in advance, met and easily drove back the outposts along the ridge. But the road was so obstructed, and so impracticable, that it was 6 p. m. before General Kershaw came up on the first line of defense, within one mile of the south end, or Maryland heights. This was a strong abatis running across the ridge and flanked by high boulders. Here the enemy was standing in force.
Kershaw put his brigade in two lines of attack and held Barksdale in reserve. Henagan's Eighth South Carolina and Aiken's Seventh made the first line, Nance's Third, and Kennedy's Second in rear. Before these dispositions were made night came on, and the troops lay on their arms within sight of the battlefield. Early on the 13th the South Carolinians moved to the attack in beautiful order, and came under the heavy fire of the enemy. The Eighth encountered a ledge of rock which completely stopped its advance, but the Seventh had a clear field to the abatis. Aiken led his regiment on with a dash, mounted the obstruction, poured a volley into the faces of his adversaries, and the abatis was won, the enemy retreating a quarter of a mile to a still stronger position across the ridge. Kershaw sent Barksdale to his left to make a detour on the east slope, and gain the flank of the position. The Seventh and Eighth again advanced to the abatis and carried it, but the fire from a log breastwork in rear checked their progress. The Third, under Nance, reinforced the fire of the Seventh and Eighth, and these three regiments made the battle, losing severely.
Meanwhile Barksdale had worked his way around to the rear and right of the Federals and opened fire. Seeing himself assailed in front and flank, the enemy retreated down the south end of the mountain and across the river, by pontoon, into Harper's Ferry. Kershaw and Barksdale moved to the position captured, overlooking the enemy in his stronghold. Major McLaws, of the division staff, directed the cutting of a road by which four rifled guns were brought to the heights, and by 2 p. m. on the 14th, while the battle at Boonsboro gap was raging, and the enemy had penetrated Pleasant valley by Crampton's gap and was marching on McLaws' rear, Captains Read and Carlton opened their guns on Harper's Ferry and Bolivar heights.
Kershaw's work was done and well done, and he was ordered into the valley early on the morning of the 15th. While on the mountain the brigades suffered from want of water; not a drop could be obtained except at the foot of the ridge. The march on the crest was over crags and boulders, and the advance to battle was impeded by fallen trees and every possible obstruction. General Kershaw reported that not a man retired from his line who was not wounded, and especially spoke of the Seventh, Colonel Aiken, as bearing the brunt of the battle and suffering the heaviest loss. Lieut. Moultrie Dwight, of the brigade staff, was severely wounded by a fall from a precipice while communicating a message from Kershaw to Barksdale. Barksdale's loss was 2 killed and 15 wounded. Kershaw lost 33 killed and 163 wounded; total, 196. The Second South Carolina, not being engaged directly, suffered no casualties. The three regiments engaged numbered 100 officers and 863 soldiers. The Third had 14 killed, 35 wounded, total 49; the Seventh, 13 killed, 100 wounded, total 113; the Eighth, 6 killed, 28 wounded, total 34.