Information Panel: The Trap Closes

Confederates surrounded the Union army on September 14, 1862.

NPS / Claire Hassler

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Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's division received orders from Stonewall Jackson to flank the Federal left on Bolivar Heights on Sunday afternoon, September 14, 1862. Although his Confederate army surrounded the 14,000-man garrison, Jackson realized an artillery bombardment alone would not force a Union surrender.

About 4:00 p.m., Hill's division of 3,000 soldiers swung right toward the Shenandoah River using School House Ridge as cover. Then, as Jackson staged a feint attack to distract the shell-shocked Federals, Hill's men quietly marched along the river bluffs to gain the Union rear on Bolivar Heights.

At dusk, the Confederates approached the Chambers (Murphy) Farm located 400 yards in front of you. General Hill discovered the farm "bare of all earthwork, the only obstacles being... fallen timber." Despite several volleys from the surprised Federals on Bolivar Heights, the Confederates occupied this hill after darkness.

During the night of September 14, the Confederates dragged and pulled five artillery batteries up ravines to commanding ground at the Chambers Farm. With his infantry in position and artillery aimed at the Federals' exposed flank, Hill wrote confidently that "the fate of Harpers Ferry was sealed."

Map caption: Union and Confederate positions at dusk on Sunday, September 14, 1862

Quotation: "General Hill, charge and give them the bayonet." Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson September 15, 1862