The 20th Maine got off fairly easily in what could have been a debacle. However, the 118th Pennsylvania wasn't so fortunate. (This is where Lt. Lemuel Crocker comes in). They were positioned across a ravine from the other Union troops when couriers brought orders to withdraw across the Potomac River.
The messenger sent to the 118th delivered the message to a line officer, who relayed them to the colonel. Men from other regiments yelled across the ravine to tell them to withdraw. When word reached Col. Charles Mallet Prevost, he refused to accept them, saying: "I do not receive orders in that way. If Colonel Barnes has any messages to give me, let his aide come to me."
Colonel Prevost grabbed the regimental standard and started waving it to urge his men to move forward. Just then, a musket ball slammed into his shoulder and ended the brief rally. Command passed to Lt. Col. James Gwyn. An aide brought new orders to retreat and this time they were promptly followed.
The intensity of Confederate General A.P. Hill's attack and inexperience of the 118th began to tell. They fell back to the edge of the bluff and began to break up in panic and confusion. Men rushed and tumbled down the steep hillside and streamed into the river. Hill's men reached the top of the bluff and began pouring fire into the 118th.
One Tar Heel soldier wrote that he watched "them take to the water like ducks."
And, it is not yet over for the 118th.
--Old Secesh
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