- Joined
- Apr 1, 1999
- Location
- Martinsburg, WV
In December 1862, Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee easily withstood the assault of General Ambrose Burnside's troops by taking cover on a wide, stone walled ridge known as Marye's Heights. Over nine thousand Federalists died, compared to fifteen hundred deaths on the confederate side. One South Carolina soldier, Sergeant Richard Kirkland, risked his own life to bring canteens of water to dying Union soldiers, whose moans filled the air during lulls in the shooting. The cries and mournful pleas of those dying soldiers are heard to this day, and the ghostly figure of Sergeant Kirkland, the Angel of Marye's Heights, can be seen still coming to their aid.