2:40 PM. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. After nearly two hours of intense bombardment, the Confederates charge en masse. The gray tide once again emerges from the woods, immense, terrifying, at a measured pace, no shouts, no shots. The world had never seen anything like it: all the men facing each other were free citizens, familiar with the courage, resolve, and valor of the enemy they had faced in countless battles, convinced of the correctness of their choice. A moment later, the Federal guns are positioned forward and open fire simultaneously at zero elevation, but the gray tide continues its advance. It is time for grapeshot shells to be fired from the cannons. The Southern troops suffer heavy losses and close ranks. Then the command comes to the Northern lines: fire! Six thousand rifles fire at point-blank range, several Confederate flags fall but are raised again, and the Confederates now open fire as well. Fearful gaps open up in the lines on both sides. At one point, the Northern front gave way, and General Armistead and a handful of men advanced, only to be pulverized by grapeshot shells. The inevitable Southern retreat began.
