The  Confederate  division  under  Walker  had  per-
formed its  part.  The  morning  of  the  13th  found  them
at  the  base  of  Loudon  Heights ;  a  few  hours  later  can-
non, supported  by  sufficient  infantry,  had  crowned  that
convenient  mountain.  Before  night  Walker  had  con-
certed with  McLaws  and  closed  up  every  eastward  es-
cape on  the  Potomac.
At  sunset  of  the  13th  Miles's  garrison  was  com-
pletely invested.  The  whole  story  of  the  defense  is  a
sad  one — more  than  13,000  of  as  good  troops  as  we  had
were  forced  to  surrender.
One  would  have  thought  that  any  army  officer,  one
even  as  feeble  as  Dixons  Miles,  would  have  placed  his

276


The  Battle  of  South  Mountain

strongest  garrison  on  Maryland  Heights  and  defended
it  to  the  last  extremity ;  and,  indeed,  while  he  ventured
to  remain  at  Harper's  Ferry,  how  could  he  have  failed
to  fortify  Loudon  Mountain  and  hold  its  summit  and
nearer  base?  Had  this  been  done  there  would  have
been  some  reason  for  facing  Jackson  along  the  Bolivar
Eidge.
Sunday  evening  my  friend  and  classmate,  Colonel
B.  F.  Davis,  had  obtained  Colonel  Miles's  permission,
and  with  1,500  Union  cavalry  forded  the  Potomac
and  passed  off  northward.  He  captured  some  of
Longstreet's  wagons  on  the  Maryland  shore,  made  a
few  prisoners,  and,  avoiding  the  Confederate  columns,
joined  McClellan,  the  16th,  at  Antietam.
