the attack by posting the national flag on the wall of Fort Gregg. As Osborn's and Dandy's men were stymied in front of Fort Gregg, Brigadier General Foster sent two of Colonel Fairchild's regiments forward, merely for them also to get stuck in the muddy ditch. With Foster's brigades unable to take the fort, Brigadier General John W. Turner's Independent Division's (Second Division's) First Brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Potter and Second Brigade under Colonel William B. Curtis pushed up. They attacked the forts simultaneously and many of the men also ended up stuck in the ditch. The great majority of soldiers of 14 regiments reached the ditch in front of the fort where the attack stalled. A total force of 4,000 men had attacked Fort Gregg, struggling for up to a half-hour to gain entry as the defenders threw "dirt, stones and various kinds of missiles," including rolled artillery shells, across the parapet onto their heads. Nathaniel Harris and other Confederate veterans later said that the defenders beat off three or four attacks before the attackers reached the ditch while Union accounts have the attackers reaching the ditch on the first assault, though with significant losses. The defenders were ready for the Union men to scale the walls and killed or wounded many of the first attackers as they came to the top of the parapet. Eventually, Union soldiers found the uncompleted short trench in back of the fort which allowed them an easier opportunity to climb onto the fort's parapet. The mass of men in the ditch had to move or be killed so they started to scale the walls and rushed around the moat to find the unfinished trench or sally port in the rear. Soon the flags of the 12th West Virginia Infantry Regiment and 39th Illinois Infantry Regiment reached the top of the walls, inspiring more men to follow. The 25 Mississippians who were detailed to defend Fort Gregg's palisaded gate in the rear were outnumbered by the Union soldiers who were able to get to the back of the fort and they became worn down by casualties. Attackers were able to gain entry to the fort from the rear at the same time that a large number of Union soldiers finally managed to gain the top of the parapet. Soldiers of the 12th West Virginia Infantry Regiment were the first to cross into the