Information Panel: Rats in a Cage

Pounded by a day and a morning of Confederate bombardment, Union soldiers felt the strain.

NPS/ Claire Hassler

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The Union army refused to give up. Frustrated by the Federals' stronghold on Bolivar Heights, "Stonewall" Jackson ordered cannons to the mountain tops and nearby plateaus. Pounded by a day and a morning of Confederate bombardment, Union soldiers felt the strain. "A general feeling of depression observable in all the men... All seem to think that we will have to surrender or be cut to pieces," wrote Union Private Louis B. Hull.

Photo Caption: After counsel with his officers, Union Commander Colonel Dixon Miles ordered white flag displayed, signaling the Union surrender. While riding to tell his artillery to cease fire, Miles was hit by a Confederate shell fragment and dropped from his horse. Before his death the next day, he exclaimed, "I have done my duty. I am an old soldier and willing to die."

Art Caption: We are as helpless as rats in a cage. Captain Edward Ripley, 9th Vermont