George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Major-General United States Army
George Gordon Meade, Ed.

[292] subjected to a severe fire. But although the one on the left, the Eighth Alabama, the one more exposed, first halted and then moved further to its left and joined the remnants of Pryor's and Featherstone's forces, and continued the fight there, the other regiment, the Eleventh Alabama, with muskets trailing and at a run, pushed straight for Randol's guns.

General Meade had now virtually but two regiments in his brigade, the Fourth and Seventh Pennsylvania Reserves. His other regiment, the Third, had been so actively employed all the first part of the day—first by its movement out in the New Market Road, and afterward by manoeuvring and fighting in front of the line—that it had by this time become very much scattered, although detachments of it continued the fighting on different parts of the line. The two regiments that Meade still had were posted behind Randol's battery, the Fourth on his right and rear, and the Seventh on his rear and left. They had been subjected all day to an annoying artillery fire, and had been frequently called upon to assist in driving back bodies of the enemy as they appeared on their front, on all of which occasions they had lost a good many men. They had just seen what appeared to them one line after another of the enemy boldly charging up almost to the guns, and had helped in breaking up and driving them off. This was Pryor's assault in column of regiments. As the last line wavered and broke, the movement being then thought propitious, the regiment on the left, the Seventh, was ordered to charge the shattered ranks. Gallantly advancing, they had gone but a short distance beyond the battery, when they were met by the impetuous attack of Wilcox's Eleventh Alabama, which they were unable to withstand. They had been cautioned, in case of their charge proving unsuccessful, to retire by separating to the right and left, so as to unmask the battery and allow it to play upon the pursuing enemy. Unfortunately this caution was not heeded, and as the regiment retired, closely followed by the enemy, Randol was unable to open fire until too late to produce full effect, and the enemy, though raked through and through, pushed boldly on to within the battery. There the artillerists stood bravely to their posts, the officers using pistol and sword, and the men hand-spikes, sponge-staffs, or anything that they could lay their hands on. But resistance was unavailing; the force of the enemy crowded them off the field, and Randol, with one officer desperately wounded, and all his battery horses either killed or disabled, was, after fighting to the last possible