"Put the Enemy to Confusion"

 

The above article ran in the Washington Evening Star on October 3, 1864, just four days after the Battle of New Market Heights. In the post war years, and especially from the Confederate perspective, (but also from some noted historians, too) there has been a stream of interpretation that claims the southern defenders received orders to withdraw to the Fort Harrison line further west, and thus the United States Colored Troops charged into a virtually undefended position along New Market Road.

I've previously argued that the high number of casualties sustained by the second wave of USCT attackers (5th, 36th, and 38th USCIs) seems to provide a solid counter claim that they did not charge virtually unopposed. As I continue to seek out evidence from diverse sources, I continue to find it, like that above, that says "The successful accomplishment of their task put the enemy to confusion, and sent them in rapid retreat up the road toward Richmond." 

I'll continue to provide evidence here and other places as I find it, so that the old traditional narrative can be replaced.