General A.P. Hill Of The Confederacy Arrived At Cedar Mountain Just In Time To Prevent Disaster

Confederate general Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. died in the American Civil War on April 2, 1865 (he was born on November 9, 1825). To distinguish him from Daniel Harvey Hill, a different Confederate general, he is frequently referred to as A. P. Hill. Hill staged a counterattack at the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9 that secured the Confederate left flank and stopped it from being overrun. Hill was positioned on the Confederate left along the incomplete railroad cut three weeks later at the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas), and he defended it against numerous Union assaults. Hill and Jackson engaged in a number of small disagreements during the campaign over Hill's directives from Jackson.

A.P. Hill arrived with his six brigades of his Light Division as Jackson brandished his sword in a valiant and desperate attempt to cheer up his men. The Confederates were victorious due to their intervention and successful mounting of a counterattack as the sun was setting. Just over a month later, during the Battle of Antietam, Hill accomplished the same feat again, arriving on the battlefield as Confederate positions in front of the town of Sharpsburg appeared to be about to crumble. This prevented the entire Army of Northern Virginia from being destroyed.