Du Pont at Cedar Creek

Second Lieutenant Henry A. du Pont, 5th U.S. Artillery, about 1861. Hagley Museum & Library.

Looking back, Henry A. du Pont called Cedar Creek "by far the most momentous episode of my whole military career." He had been called on, suddenly, to act on his own responsibility and make instant decisions that held up not only a Confederate division but the whole Confederate artillery "at the very moment when both were most needed by the enemy," buying time that "prevented the capture of a large number of officers and men." He was only a few months past twenty-six — young, he later thought, though he had not felt so in 1864 — and was gratified that General Crook approved of everything he did.

Saving the guns

The first Confederate assault at Cedar Creek, on October 19, 1864, fell on the Union left, held by the 8th Corps, with complete surprise. Its trenches and camps were overrun and many men were killed or captured in their tents. In the confusion and a thick fog, Captain du Pont, the corps' chief of artillery, pulled his guns out of an apparently hopeless trap and saved two of his three batteries, then used them in a fighting retreat with the rest of the army.

The counterattack

By mid-morning the Union army had regrouped north of Middletown. When it counterattacked at 4:00 p.m., du Pont's batteries gave supporting fire to the advancing infantry and then joined the pursuit of the beaten Confederates. He was in action from the pre-dawn attack until darkness covered the Confederate withdrawal. In his official report, the 8th Corps commander, Major General George Crook, wrote that "Captain Du Pont, chief of artillery, and the officers and men of his batteries are deserving of particular mention for their conspicuous gallantry and the valuable services rendered that day."

That night

When the fighting ended, du Pont recalled, he was "almost completely worn out mentally and physically": he had not eaten in more than twenty-four hours and had been in the saddle almost constantly since the attack began between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. He went for food and shelter to corps headquarters at Belle Grove, where General Torbert, the cavalry commander, told him that Confederate General Stephen Dodson Ramseur lay mortally wounded in the house.

Du Pont forgot his own needs and hurried upstairs. He and Ramseur had been close friends through four years together at West Point. Though Ramseur's own surgeon and adjutant general were there, he turned to du Pont and held his hand until an anaesthetic given for his pain left him unconscious, as he remained until he died. Ramseur, only 27, died the next morning, leaving his young wife a widow and his only daughter without a father.

Medal of Honor

In 1898, thirty-four years later, du Pont received the Medal of Honor for Cedar Creek. His citation reads: "By his distinguished gallantry, and voluntary exposure to the enemy's fire at a critical moment, when the Federal line had been broken, encouraged his men to stand to their guns, checked the advance of the enemy, and brought off most of his pieces."

He served in the Army until 1875, then returned to Delaware as president and general manager of the Wilmington & Northern Railroad Company (1879–1899), and was twice elected to the U.S. Senate (1906–1917).

Remembering Ramseur

Du Pont came back to Cedar Creek one last time. On September 6, 1920, he gave the main address at the dedication of a monument to Ramseur, "a close friend of my youthful days" whom he "held in most affectionate remembrance," and described their last meeting almost 56 years before:

"The room was absolutely still— Ramseur, clad in his major general's uniform, lay on his back in the bed, eyes closed... Approaching the bed I said, 'Ramseur, do you know me?' mentioning my name; he opened his eyes, in which I saw recognition and apparently a gleam of pleasure... Speaking with the greatest effort he said to me: 'Du Pont, you don't know how I suffer,' and then relapsed into silence and closed his eyes— not, however, before extending his hand and firmly grasping and holding mine."

In that moment, du Pont said, Ramseur had turned to the one person present who, though officially an enemy, was still the steadfast friend of former days. The monument stands at the corner of Belle Grove Road and the Valley Pike, within sight of the house where Ramseur died.

Sources

• National Park Service, Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park, Du Pont at Cedar Creek.