At exactly 2:25 PM, Confederate Colonel Edward Porter Alexander scribbled this note and rushed it off to General George Pickett: ”If you are coming at all you must come at once, or I cannot give you proper support, but the enemy’s fire has not slackened at all. At least 18 guns are still firing from the cemetery itself.” But those 18 Federal guns began to fall silent. So, Alexander watched intently, waiting to see if the Confederate artillery barrage had done its job.
It was July 3, 1863, moments before what remains the most well-known, controversial, and roundly debated infantry assault in American military history, forever known as Pickett’s Charge. Smoke was still swirling from the greatest cannonade the North American Continent had ever witnessed as Alexander peered through his glasses, trying to fathom if the Rebel bombardment had created the necessary conditions for their infantry to advance.
He watched closely as Federal batteries limbered-up and departed the critical area (which he incorrectly thought was a cemetery), while none replaced them. After five minutes of meticulous observation, he scribbled another note, sending it off at 2:35: “For God’s sake come quick. The 18 guns are gone. Come quick or I can’t support you.”
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Another problem for Alexander, Hunt had ordered Union guns to stop returning fire. Not to conserve ammunition, but to let the Confederates think that the massive bombardment had been effective and launch the infantry assault.
50% of the Confederate killed and wounded during Pickett’s Charge were caused by Union Army artillery.