The shattered branches fell incessantly among the
recumbent ranks, and the shells, exploding in the foliage, sent their
hissing fragments far and wide; yet the losses, so more than one
general reported, were surprisingly small.
But although the enemy's infantry had been repulsed, no immediate
endeavour was made by the Confederates to initiate a fresh
counterstroke. When Lee sent McLaws and Walker to Jackson's aid, he
sent in his last reserve, for A.P. Hill had not yet reached the
field, and R. H. Anderson's division had already been taken to
support the centre. Thus no fresh troops were available, and the
Federal right was strong. At least fifteen batteries of artillery
were in position along the edge of the North Wood, and they were
powerfully supported by the heavy guns beyond the stream.
Yet the infantry so effectively protected was only formidable by
reason of its numbers. The First Corps and the Twelfth no longer
existed as organised bodies.* (* It was not until two o'clock that
even Meade's Pennsylvanians were reformed.) Sedgwick's division of
the Second Corps was still more shattered. Only Smith's division was
effective, and General McClellan, acting on the advice of Sumner,
forbade all further attack.
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