Coming to the Aid of Fort Curtis

Coming to the Aid of Fort Curtis. . You are facing Battery A, which stood on Rightor Hill, a high spot on Crowley's Ridge. Defended by the 29th and 36th Iowa and the 33rd Missouri, it anchored the north end of the Union line, approximately one and one-quarter mile northeast of here., The Confederate Assault on Battery A Stalls , You are standing on Crowley's Ridge, the series of hills that surrounds old downtown Helena. To capture the city, the Confederates had to go over or around the ridge. Battery A covered both Sterling Road, which came in from the north, and Old St. Francis Road, less than a mile to the west., The Confederates attacked Battery A several hours before attacking Battery C. The assault began under cover of an early morning fog. The Iowa soldiers north of the battery clearly heard the Confederate soldiers cursing as they clambered over the felled trees in front of Battery A. When the fog lifted and the Confederates came into view, the gunners of 33rd Missouri Infantry (U.S.) unleashed a volley of shot and shell. The Confederates stalled, unable to move forward or around the battery. By noon they were withdrawing from their position in front of Battery A., Battery A's Force Defends Fort Curtis , By the time the Confederates retreated from Battery A, another Confederate force was attacking Battery C. Batteries B and D assisted the Union defenders here with artillery fire, but Battery A was too far away for its guns to be effective., Anticipating a Confederate assault, General Frederick Salomon moved troops and artillery from Battery A to Fort Curtis. When the Confederates attacked the fort from Battery C, the men and artillery from Battery A were ready. The attack failed miserably, the Confederates suffering heavy losses. Soon afterward, they retreated from the battlefield., [Inset comment} , They advanced steadily and briskly while six heavy guns from our fort and also several companies of infantry that had been driven in from the outer works were mowing them down by platoons. , Sgt. Henry S. Carroll, 33rd Missouri (U.S., describing , the repulse of the Confederate attack on Fort Curtis, [Photo caption] , Private Andrew Brayman, 36 Iowa , Several companies of the 36th helped defend Battery A and Fort Curtis. Brayman was killed in action at Marks' Mill in April 1864.