William Swinton, Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac

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¹ and Robinson, reached the ground. The former division was immediately thrown in to sustain the now hard-pressed left, and was precipitated into close action. The men were in the highest spirits, as was shown by their behavior, and by one incident among others. One of the brigades of this division, under command of Colonel Roy Stone, had been assigned to a position where it came under a heavy artillery fire; and as the troops took their post, Colonel Stone remarked, ‘We have come to stay.’ This went quickly through the brigade, the men adopting it as a watchword—‘We have come to stay.’ And a very large part of them never left that ground.²

Meantime, Robinson's division remained for awhile in reserve on the Seminary Ridge; but almost simultaneously with the arrival of these re-enforcements, the advance division of Ewell's corps, under General Rodes, came in from the direction of Carlisle, and, swinging round under cover and unperceived, seized a position menacing the right of the Union line. This brought a heavy pressure to bear on that flank, held by Cutler's command, and to relieve it Robinson's division was moved forward from the Seminary. First, Baxter's brigade of this division took position on the right of Cutler, resting its right on the Mummasburg Road, and then, as the needs became more urgent, Baxter's command relieved Cutler, and the brigade of General Paul was brought up on Baxter's right. These troops opposed a vigorous resistance to Rodes' attack, and early in the action, by a skilful movement, captured three North Carolina regiments under General Iverson.

With this series of successes the combat opened; but it was destined soon to be beclouded by an untoward sequel. Thus far the action had been sustained on the Union side by the First Corps alone, and on the Confederate side by the advance