Forward to the Foe
Forward to the Foe
by Mark Maritato
Original Oil Painting on Canvas, 30" x 40"
As General John Bell Hood's Division moved into action toward Devils Den and the Round Tops. General Laffayette McLaws Division on Hood's left waited for their time to join the Frey. As they waited, Brigadier General William Barksdale paced like a caged lion waiting for his order to advance. When the order finally came, Barksdale, radiant with Joy, mounted his large charger and called "Attention Mississippians! Battalions forward! then turned his horse in the direction of the enemy and and urged the men of his all-Mississippi brigade forward; with hat off, in front of his old regiment, the 13th Mississippi Infantry. As they moved out Barksdale shouted "Dress on the colors and Forward tot he Foe!" Barksdale's Mississippians swiftly closed the distance and struck the Apex of the Union lines positioned along the Emmitsburg Road and Peach Orchard salient with the ferocity of a tempest. The force of Basksdale's assault collapsed and virtually destroyed the Union Defensive line and forced the blue line to fall back, which opened up a hole in the main Federal line. Although General Barksdale was mortally wounded in this assault and would later die of his wounds, his charge would go down in history as the "Grandest charge of the entire war."
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