By this time the enemy began to show signs of wavering under the effects of a heavy fire from a Confederate battery on my left, which proved to be the King William Artillery, under Captain Carter. Their <ar12_973> battery of seven guns was in a moment after silenced and the occupants of the redoubt driven out by Captain Carter’s five pieces. Captain Carter, so far as the enemy’s first line of intrenchments was concerned, had achieved a victory, for upon moving forward with the whole brigade to attack the enemy, having already abandoned his guns and redoubt, fled from his intrenchments and camp to occupy a line of abatis and woods about 150 yards in rear of the redoubt, leaving behind him seven pieces of artillery, several horses, a large quantity of quartermaster’s, commissary, and medical stores, including a large quantity of lemons, one four-horse wagon and team, with a large amount of baggage of both officers and men.
From this new position they opened fire upon my right regiment, the Sixth Alabama, across an open field. Finding that they outflanked smartly my right and that my left was exposed, as I saw no Confederate troops on that flank, and that the brigade would be well protected on the outside of the enemy’s works and by a fence extending in front of a thin skirt of woods occupied by my right regiment, I gave orders that it should occupy and hold that line while I waited for General Rains to come up on my right and until I could examine the ground to the left of the Williamsburg road, my left flank being approached closely by woods. At the moment of our taking possession of the works I discovered a brigade of Federal infantry approaching my brigade from the woods just mentioned on the left of the Williamsburg road. The head of this column halted within 350 yards of the redoubt. I immediately caused the Fifth Alabama to occupy the redoubt and the Twelfth Mississippi to occupy the rifle pits between the redoubt and the Williamsburg road, and called for a company of the heavy artillery to turn upon the enemy’s column some of his abandoned guns, an order which Captain Bagby’s company promptly obeyed. But before he succeeded in opening fire Captain Carter arrived with his battery, and immediately opened fire with the first of his pieces and in a moment afterward with a second. In a few moments Captain Bagby, having succeeded in getting two of the enemy’s pieces in position, opened fire upon him, and then under the combined fire of those four pieces he gave way and retired.