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line, and send it to Chalmers’s support. Bate was orderedto extend his left, and occupy Shy’s Hill, while Coleman,who had been there, was sent to fill Govan’s place. Bate’sline was now a good deal stretched, and he found also thatthe earthworks built in the night were too far back fromthe brow of the hill, so that they did not command its slope.The fire upon it was too hot to change it, he could get noreinforcements, and he could only hold on to the last.Bate’s own words best describe his situation in the afternoon :“ The enemy, he says, opened a most terrific fire of artillery,and kept it up during the day. In the afternoon, he planteda battery in the woods, in the rear of Mrs. Bradford’s house(this was in McArthur’s line), fired directly across both linescomposing the angle, and threw shells directly in the backof my left brigade; also placed a battery on a hill diag-onally to my left, which took my first brigade in reverse.(This was in Cox’s line.) The batteries on the hill, in itsfront, not more than three hundred yards distant (in Couch ’sline) had borne the concentrated fire of my Whitworthrifles all day, and must have suffered heavily, but were notsilenced. These rifled guns of the enemy being so close,razed the works on the left of the angle for fifty or sixtyyards.” 1
General McArthur, from his position, was able to seesomething of the mischief done to Bate’s line, and reportedthat an assault upon the angle was practicable. He pro-posed to move McMillan’s brigade to the right, in front ofthe hill held by Couch , and to charge under the cover ofCouch ’s guns, where the hillside gave most protection to anadvance. Thomas approved the plan, and Smith sent toSchofield for directions to Couch to co-operate. Schofield
1 General Bate’s official report.