Sam, Thought I would add a little bit of info regarding Col. Opdycke. It is true Opdycke turned out to be one of the heroes of the battle but it is interesting to note that he disobeyed Gen. Wagner's orders. Opdycke refused to place his men where Wagner wanted and Opdycke instead moved them behind the main line and into position just north of the Carter House. Interesting to consider, no matter how ridiculous Wagner's orders were, is that Opdycke deliberately disobeyed his commanding officer. Can you imagine what might have happened to him had the battle not unfolded the way it did? However, there is no doubt that Opdycke's Brigade helped save the day. There is no telling how much damage Brown's and Cleburne's troops might have done had Opdycke's men not blunted the penetration of the Union perimeter. Also, the story about Opdycke breaking his pistol over the heads of Rebel soldiers (such as in the Don Troiani painting or Opdycke claimed in later years) is untrue. Several eyewitnesses from the brigade said Opdycke was sitting on his horse and smacking the heads of Union shirkers, not Confederates. Even Opdycke himself stated this in the days after the battle, as the book containing his letters indicates.