Peninsula, and were among the most dauntless men in the army.
Crawford called upon them to defend the soil of their native State,
and headed a charge made by McCandless' brigade, with the colors
of one of the regiments in his hand. The men went forward with an
impetus nothing could withstand. The enemy took shelter behind a
stone fence on the hither side of the wheat-field, but McCandless
stormed the position, drove them beyond the field, and then, as it
was getting dark, both sides rested on their arms. The other
brigade of Crawford's division--that of Fisher--had previously been
sent to reinforce Vincent in his desperate struggle on the slope
of Little Round Top. The enemy retired before it, so that it was
not engaged, and it then took possession of the main Round Top on
the left of Little Round Top and fortified it.

As Crawford charged, two brigades of Sedgwick's corps, those of
Nevin and Eustis, formed under Wheaton on the right and below Little
Round Top. The sight of the firm front presented by these fresh
troops thoroughly discouraged Longstreet, who went forward to
reconnoitre, and he gave up all attempts at making any farther
advance.

The enemy at night took post at the western base of the ridge, and
held a fortified line as far south as the Devil's Den, in which
rocky cavern they took shelter.

It remains now to describe the effect of the loss of the Peach
Orchard and the wounding of Sickles and Graham--which took place
soon after--upon the fate of Humphreys' division, posted on the
right along the Emmetsburg road. When Sickles lost his leg, Birney
assumed command of the corps, and ordered Humphreys to move his
left wing back to form a new oblique line to the ridge, in connection
with Birney's division. Humphreys, up to the loss of the Peach
Orchard, had not been actively engaged, as the enemy had merely
demonstrated along his front; but now he was obliged, while executing
the difficult manoeuvre of a change of front to rear, to contend
with Barksdale's brigade of McLaws' division on his left at the
Peach Orchard, and enfilading batteries there also, while his entire
front was called upon to repel a most determined assault from
Anderson's division, which hitherto had not been engaged, and which
now pressed with great force on his right, which still clung to
the road. Four regiments were thrown in by Hancock to support that
part of the line, but the attack was so sudden and violent that
they only