Matthews Hill
First Taste of Combat
Officers were trying to hurry the long Union column down the road past Matthews Hill. (McDowell's flanking plan depended on speed and surprise.) Suddenly there was a rattle of musketry ahead. Like a nightmare in sunlight, men stumbled out of the dense smoke, horribly wounded. Two men rushed past carrying Colonel Slocum.
As Union infantry and artillery pushed forward, they could hear the enemy starting to charge upslope. In the distance ahead, near Henry House, Confederate reinforcements were coming into view. The chance for surprise was gone.
Marker is on Sudley Road (State Road 234) ½ mile north of Lee Highway (U.S. 29), on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
