The Confederate Barrage

The Confederate Barrage. "A Thousand Bullets Flew to their Deadly Work". Midday , As the advancing Federals climbed out of the hollow to your front, first the top of their heads became visible, then, gradually, their entire bodies, The Confederates crowded this fence line, their "fingers on the triggers" as the unaware Germans advanced in "a beautiful line" of two ranks. "Poor fellows," Confederate Pvt. William McClendon recalled, "they did not know what was in store for them." Many Confederates had stuffed leaves between the bottom two fence rains for better concealment, and lay "flat on the ground, with their guns in the bottom crack of the fence.", Some members of the 15th Alabama fired prematurely, but the Federals kept coming, walking right up to the 21st Georgia.< br> , Col. John Mercer of the 21st Georgia roared out, "Fire!" and "a volley from a thousand guns sounded in the air, and a thousands bullets flew to their deadly work." At point-blank range, the effect was horrific. "The poor Germans fell all across each other in piles," recalled one Confederate., Many of the defenders fired smoothbore weapons. "We were armed with old-fashioned muzzle-loading muskets..." recalled Capt. James Nisbet. "...in the cartridges was a round ball and three buckshot. Some [men] fired cartridges containing twelve buckshot that they had got from the cavalry-men who were armed with shotguns. It was a mighty destructive weapon at close range.", Destructive it was. As Pvt. McClendon wrote, "The store of 'Buck and Ball' ...came very near annihilating their command.", The shattering gunfire was brief. "We fired a few rounds at them through the smoke," McClendon described, until it became clear "they had disappeared from our front." The survivors fled toward the far woods., The Union attack had ended in disaster in little more than a minute, but Gen. Isaac Trimble was far from finished., This marker was made possible through the generosity of Irvin and Nancy Hess, (caption) Watercolor illustration of the attack by eyewitness Pvt. Henry Berckhoff of the 8th New York. Gilder Lehrman Collection.