With reference to the action of the 3d instant, I beg to report that early in the morning, before sunrise, the brigade was ordered out to support artillery under the command of Colonel Alexander, this artillery being placed along the Emmitsburg turnpike, and on ground won from the enemy the day before. My men had had nothing to eat since the morning of the 2d, and had confronted and endured the dangers and fatigues of that day. They nevertheless moved to the front to the support of the artillery, as ordered. The brigade was formed in line parallel to the Emmitsburg turnpike and about 200 yards from it, artillery being in front, much of it on the road, and extending far beyond either flank of the brigade. My men occupied this position till about 3.20 p.m. Our artillery opened fire upon the enemy's artillery, and upon ground supposed to be occupied by his infantry. This fire was responded to promptly by the enemy's artillery, and continued with the greatest vivacity on either side for about one hour. In no previous battle of the war had we so much artillery engaged, and the enemy seemed not to be inferior in quantity.
During all this fire, my men were exposed to the solid shot and shell of the enemy,but suffered comparatively little, probably less than a dozen men killed and wounded. The brigade lying on my right (Kemper's) suffered severely. Our artillery ceased to fire after about one hour. The enemy continued to fire for awhile after ours had ceased. I do not believe a single battery of the enemy had been disabled so as to stop its fire.
Pickett's division now advanced, and other brigades on his left. As soon as these troops rose to advance, the hostile artillery opened upon them. These brave men (Pickett's) nevertheless moved on, and, as far as I saw, without wavering. The enemy's artillery opposed them on both flanks and directly in front. Every variety of artillery missiles was thrown into their ranks.
The advance had not been made more than twenty or thirty minutes, before three staff officers in quick succession (one from the major-general commanding division) gave me orders to advance to the support of Pickett's division. My brigade, about 1,200 in number, then moved forward in the following order from right to left: Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Eighth, and Fourteenth Alabama Regiments. As they advanced, they changed direction slightly to the left, so as to cover in part the ground over which Pickett's division had moved. As they came in view on the turnpike, all of the enemy's terrible artillery that could bear on them was concentrated upon them from both flanks and directly in front, and more than on the evening previous. Not a man of the division that I was ordered to support could I see; but as my orders were to go to their support, on my men went down the slope until they came near the hill upon which were the enemy's batteries and intrenchments.
Here they were exposed to a close and terrible fire of artillery. Two lines of the enemy's infantry were seen moving by the flank toward the rear of my left. I ordered my men to hold their ground until I could get artillery to fire upon them. I then rode back rapidly to our artillery, but could find none near that had ammunition. After some little delay, not getting any artillery to fire upon the enemy's infantry that were on my left flank, and seeing none of the troops that I was ordered to support, and knowing that my small force could do nothing save to make a useless sacrifice of themselves, I ordered them back. The enemy did not pursue. My men, as on the day before, had to retire under a heavy artillery fire. My line was reformed on the ground it occupied before it advanced.
The casualties of the brigade on this day amounted to 204 killed, wounded, and missing.