Of the three battle monuments at the field today the 14th New Jersey Infantry’s monument is the most substantial. It’s placed where the hardest action occurred during the first phase of the battle of July 9th. It is essentially the spot where the canon from yesterday’s picture is aimed. To your right are the railroad tracks and to the left is the river. Most of Wallace’s union troops were on the other side of the river, to the south. Most of early’s were across the tracks on the right, to the north.
Wallace had Skirmishing units in this spot on the north side of the river and only the covered bridge to tie them with the rest of the army. In this area between the tracks and the river, the men of the 14th New Jersey held back the confederates from the bridge.
Of course, there were two problems for the Union defenders. The overwhelming number of confederates was one problem. But the other problem was that Jubal Early directed his cavalry to find another way across the river to get to the bulk of the union forces. They found one just a mile or so downriver and suddenly the confederates brought a two sided attack. Once the cavalry found a way across, a confederate infantry division found its way across and the fiercest fighting began on the other side of the river.
To avoid facing a battle on two sides, the union troops burned the covered bridge connecting the two banks of the river at this point. The soldiers left here on the north side fought as long as they could until they had to retreat by struggling across the railroad bridge.
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