ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
633 
The account 1 of this day’s fighting given by Brigadier-General 
Porter Alexander, who commanded the artillery of Longstreet’s corps, 
and concentrated his batteries as has been described, is fall of interest. 
He says, speaking of the commencement of the attack (about 4 o’clock), 
“ The Federal artillery was ready for us in their usual full force and 
good practice, the ground of Cahell’s 2 position gave little protection, 
and he suffered rapidly in both men and horses. To help him I ran up 
Hug’er with 18 guns of my own 26 to within 500 yards of the Peach 
Orchard and opened on it. This made 54 guns in action, and I hoped 
they would crush this part of the enemy’s line in a very short time, but 
the fight was longer and hotter than I expected. So accurate was the 
enemy’s fire that two of my guns were fairly dismounted, and I had to 
ask General Barkdale, whose brigade was lying down close behind in 
the wood, for help to handle the heavy 24-pr. howitzers of Moody’s 
battery. He gave me leave to call for volunteers, and soon we had eight 
good fellows, of whom alas! we buried two that night, and sent to the 
hospital three others mortally or severely wounded. At last I sent for 
my other two batteries, but before they arrived McLawes’s division 
charged past our guns, and the enemy deserted their line in con¬ 
fusion. Then I believed that Providence 3 was indeed “taking the 
proper view,” and that the war was very nearly over. Every battery 
was limbered up to the front, and the two batteries from the rear com¬ 
ing up, all six charged in line across the plain and went into action 
again at the position the enemy had deserted. I can recall no more 
splendid sight on a small scale—and certainly no more inspiriting 
moment during the war—than that of the charge of these six batteries. 
An artillerist’s heaven is to follow the routed enemy, after a tough 
resistance, and throw shells and canister into his disorganised and flee¬ 
ing masses. There is no excitement on earth like it. 
Everything was in a rush. The ground was generally good, and pieces 
and caissons went at a gallop, some cannoneers mounted, and some 
running at the side—not in a regular line, but a general race and 
scramble to get there first.” 
The battle, far less the war, was by no means over, however, and as 
night closed in the soldiers on both sides realised that another struggle 
would have to be entered on in the morning. 
Lee had now attacked both flanks of the Army of the Potomac with¬ 
out success, and prepared to make a final great effort upon the centre. 
A great mass of guns was to concentrate its fire on the enemy’s line 
from Cemetery Hill towards Round Top, and the assault was to be 
delivered when the guns had demoralised the defence. To Pickett’s 
division of Longstreet’s corps, the flower of the army of Virginia, was 
entrusted the honour of making' the great final charge, and Alexander 
brought together 75 guns to form one battery opposite Cemetery Hill, 
while a little to their left 63 guns of Hill’s corps were posted. The 
Confederates brought about 150 guns to bear on the point selected for 
i “ Battles and Sieges of the Civil War.” Vol. III. 
3 Commanding a “ battalion” of 18 guns. 
3 Referring to a prayer one of the Confederate Army Chaplains was in the hahit of mating use 
of, that “ Providence would come down and take a proper view of the situation,” 
