You are facing Battery D. One half-mile southeast of here, it was the closest of the fortifications on Crowley's Ridge to Battery C. During the Battle of Helena, Union troops at these batteries aided each other with artillery fire.
Battery C Comes to the Aid of Battery D
The Confederate attack on Battery D began long before the attack
on Battery C. As a result, Battery C's artillery was free to assist
the outnumbered Union troops on Battery D.
Confederate Colonel James P. King described the brutal fire his
men endured as they struggled toward Battery D: "Here we were
met with a terrific fire not only from the inner lines of the works
and an enfilading fire from our left, but from the fort on the hill
in front of us near Hindman's house ... and also from the battery
on what is known as Graveyard Hill."
Battery D Returns the Favor
By the time the Confederates attacked Battery C, the attack on
Battery D was over. The exhausted Confederates could do no
more. The Union gunners seized the opportunity provided by the
lull in the fighting. They turned Battery D's guns on the
Confederates charging Battery C. They showered shell and shot on
the attackers but Battery C fell.
The Confederate commander on Battery C ordered the infantry
to
aid the Confederates stalled at Battery D. They began to climb
through a hollow toward Battery D. Suddenly, they were "raked by
artillery situated opposite its mouth, and completely enfiladed
with rifle-pits in point blank range." Their commander decided
that it was madness to continue. His men held their position until
they received the order to retreat.
[Photo captions]
1st Sergeant Albert G. Kessler · Captain Henry H. Knowlton
Kessler and Knowlton served with Company K, 33rd Missouri Infantry (U.S.). Company K acted as sharpshooters, aiding the gunners in defending Battery D when the Confederates attacked Helena.
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