The Battle of Crampton's Gap

The Battle of Crampton's Gap. South Mountain State Battlefield. "At about ten o'clock we saw the first of the Yankee host about three miles away, approaching our gap cautiously and slowly. As they drew near the whole country seemed to be full of bluecoats. They were so numerous that it looked as if they were creeping out of the ground." , George Michael Neese, Chew's Ashby (Virginia) Artillery., On the morning of September 14, 1862 a small Confederate force, under the command of Colonel Thomas Munford, defended Crampton's Gap. Taking advantage of stone walls and fences, these troops formed a line along Mountain Church Road at the base of the mountain. Approaching them was the Union Sixth Army Corps commanded by Major General William B. Franklin. Advancing from the east, Franklin's men arrived outside the town of Burkittsville, near the eastern base of the mountain, around noon. Acting quickly, Franklin drove Confederates out Of Burkittsville and took possession of the town. However, instead of continuing the attack up the mountain, he waited for hours, despite outnumbering the Confederate defenders almost ten-to-one., Finally, late in the afternoon Franklin began his attack. As the fury of the battle increased along Mountain Church Road, Confederate reinforcements under the command of Brigadier General Howell Cobb arrived in the gap. These men, from Georgia and North Carolina, deployed on the mountainside to form a second line in an attempt to repel the Union attack. Cobb's Brigade would soon be in the thick of the fight as the Confederates along Mountain Church Road were forced out of their position and began a disorganized flight up the mountain., "Our position was a difficult one. There was the mountain in our front, steep and high, guarded by a heavy force of infantry, with a body of cavalry and a battery, and our division was expected to storm and take it. It looked almost impossible." , George W. Bicknell, History of the Fifth Regiment Maine Volunteers., (captions) , Colonel Thomas Munford commanded the Confederate force that initially defended Crampton's Gap., Map of the Battle of Crampton's Gap showing the initial Confederate line, commanded by Col. Munford, along Mountain Church Road. Cobb's Brigade would arrive in time to try and stop the attack of a much larger Union force.