in the capture of thirty members of the Stonewall Brigade without any Union losses. The rest of Owen's brigade crossed the river but then encountered heavy artillery fire. Johnson brought up one brigade and parts of two others, along with additional artillery. At 12:30 p.m., Hays received permission from Caldwell to bring the rest of his division across the ford, which took two hours, while Caldwell positioned Union artillery on the heights north of the river; during this time Johnson continued to receive reinforcements. Warren heard of the heavy fighting at Morton's Ford about midday and immediately started riding to the front. By 3 p.m. he arrived at the ford and, deciding that the Union position was too precarious to be held, ordered Hays' division to withdraw after nightfall. However, Johnson launched an infantry attack just as dusk was starting. Hays' right flank began to falter and a counterattack by three regiments succeeded in holding back the Confederates. At this time, Alexander S. Webb's division arrived to support Hays, until it was decided to withdraw both divisions starting about 8 p.m. Aftermath Both divisions were back across the Rapidan by 2 a.m., with the Confederates reoccupying their entrenchments immediately afterwards. Union casualties total 262, while the Confederates lost sixty. Due to a Union deserter who revealed the Union plans to the Confederates, Butler never made an attack on Richmond, while Lee never requested reinforcements from the city. The I Corps also failed to cross the river, never getting closer than a mile and a half from Raccoon Ford. After the battle, Hays was accused of being drunk during the battle and of acting irrationally. However, many officers, including several in his division, attested that Hays was sober throughout the engagement. All of the accusations about Hays being drunk at Morton's Ford came from the 14th Connecticut, which suffered nearly half of the Union casualties in the battle and may have felt resentment against Hays because of it. Notes Sources Kennedy, Frances H. (editor) The Civil War Battlefield Guide, second edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. . Mahood, Wayne. "Tiger at Morton's Ford", in Civil War Times, Volume 41, number 7 (February 2003). Trinque, Bruce A. "Rebels Across the River", in America's Civil War, Volume 7, number 5 (September 1994). National Park Service battle description CWSAC Report Update Morton's Ford Morton's Ford Morton's Ford Orange County, Virginia Morton's Ford Morton's Ford