The Confederates Take Battery C

The Confederates Take Battery C. . Battery C, perched atop Graveyard Hill, commanded the city and the rugged landscape to the west. Confederate General Theophilus Holmes believed it was the gateway to Helena. He sent General Sterling Price's Infantry Division, his strongest force, to take it., Price Finally Attacks , Even though he could hear fighting on both ends of the line, General Sterling Price waited to attack. By the time he began his assault, the fog shrouding the battlefield had lifted, leaving his infantry exposed. William Bull of the 3rd Missouri Field Battery wrote, "[S]hots of the enemy which was poured upon us from small arms and artillery from the time we appeared on the top of the hill. , Three Costly Assaults , Captain Thomas M. Gibson, 33rd Missouri, held Battery C with an artillery crew and a handful of infantry. The Confederates slammed into Gibson's defenders, yelling like demons and driving the Union defenders until they actually crossed bayonets. An artillery barrage from the surrounding batteries, the gunboat Tyler and Fort Curtis drove the Confederates back twice. The third try carried the hill. The jubilant Confederates yelled and waved flags; bedlam reigned on Battery C. , Errors Lead to Disaster , General Holmes ordered an attack on Battery D. In the chaos, he was misunderstood. A Confederate brigade on Battery C rushed down the hill and attacked Fort Curtis instead. Half of the brigade was lost in the streets of Helena. Holmes was forced to withdraw; his Confederate army retreating back down the Lower Little Rock Road. , [Inset quote] , "They succeeded in carrying Battery C, but not until they had many of their men and officers killed and wounded; but their superiority in numbers was so great that they completely overpowered our force at the battery." Lt. Col. Cyrus H. Mackey, 33rd lowa