"Finding that the enemy was rash enough to come out of the woods to attack me. I determined to meet him?"
Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes. C.S.ARodes Division Second Corps.
At midday on July 1, after a lull in the fighting, Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes took position on this hill north of Gettysburg with 8,000 Confederates. Other Confederate divisions were converging on the town from your right and left. The closest Union troops were on Oak Ridge about 1/3-mile in front of you.
The thunder of Southern cannon positioned here signaled the beginning of the attack. Following the cannonade, Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson's North Carolina Brigade advanced with other Confederates against Oak Ridge. As Iverson neared the ridge, Federals concealed behind a stone wall rose up and raked the North Carolinians with murderous fire. More than half then 1,470 Confederates engaged were killed, wounded, or captured.
Rodes then regrouped and renewed the attack, brining more Confederate troops into battle. By 4:00 p.m., despite heavy losses, the Confederates had pushed the Federals back to the streets of Gettysburg.
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