Edward Porter Alexander, Military memoirs of a Confederate: a critical narrative

Diagram of military positions.

When Hooker found that the Confederate attack had come to a standstill in front of the Fairview line, with Sickles near Hazel Grove upon its right flank, he ordered Sickles to move forward by the moonlight, and attack. Birney's division, in two lines with supporting columns, about midnight, advanced from Hazel Grove upon the forest south of the Plank road and in front of the Fairview position. The left wing of this force grazed the skirmishers of McGowan and struck the right flank of Lane's brigade, of which two and a half regiments became sharply engaged. But the whole Federal advance glanced off, as it were, and, changing its direction, it turned toward the Federal line in front of Fairview, where it approached the position of Knipe's and Ruger's brigades of Williams's division of the 12th corps.

Hearing their noisy approach, and believing them to be Confederates, the Fairview guns and infantry opened fire upon the woods, while the approaching lines were still so distant that they were unable to locate their assailants, and supposed the fire to come from the Confederate line. And now for a long time, for one or perhaps two hours, the Confederates listened to a succession of furious combats in the forest in their front, accompanied by heavy shelling of the woods, volleys of musketry, and a great deal of cheering. Our pickets and skirmish-lines were forced sometimes to lie down or seek protection of trees from random bullets, but we had no other part in it. It extended northward sometimes even across the Plank road. And the official reports of many Federal officers give glowing accounts of the repulse of desperate Confederate attacks, and even of the capture of Confederate guns. These stories were founded on the finding of some Federal guns, which had been abandoned in one of the stampedes of the afternoon.

Col. Hamlin's book, above referred to, says: —