A Terrific and Galling Fire

A Terrific and Galling Fire

At dawn, Union artillery on Powers Hill, filled the morning air with shot and shell. For approximately 30 minutes these guns and those along the Baltimore Pike created an intense crossfire over Spangler Meadow and the distant Culp’s Hill. Lieutenant Randolph McKim, a Confederate officer on the receiving end of the bombardment called it, “a terrific and galling fire.” As fierce ground fighting ensued, the bombardment took its toll on Union infantry as well as the enemy. Private George Warner, 20th Connecticut, lost both arms to an exploding Union shell. As friendly fire casualties escalated, Lieutenant Colonel William B. Wooster, Warner’s commander, threatened to turn his men on his own batteries if the firing did not cease.