Not even the loss of contact with O’Neal’s Alabamians on their left flank triggered any immediate concerns for Iverson’s Tar Heels. Captain Robinson, who seems not to have had a firm understanding of what had taken place, reported to Governor Vance that “for some reason, O’Neal’s Brigade halted, but the Brigade of Iverson had advanced with such rapidity as to have no knowledge whatever of O’Neal’s movements after he commenced to advance, and consequently attacked the enemy single handed in its front.” Iverson also observed the gap on his left, but mistakenly “presumed that it would soon be filled by the advancing Alabama brigade, under Colonel O’Neal.” In fact, the Alabamians were already being torn apart and repulsed out of Iverson’s line of sight.⁷

A similar gap opened on Iverson’s right flank as his men veered left across the field. “Immediately after commencing his advance, when he had reached the open field a short distance in his front, he changed his line of direction considerably to the left, thus unmasking such of my regiments as were in his rear,” Daniel explained in his report. Rodes also commented on this situation, noting that “General Daniel’s gallant brigade, by a slight change in the direction of Iverson’s attack, had been left too far to his right to assist him directly, and had already become engaged.”⁸

The direction of Iverson’s attack was further influenced by the presence of a high post-and-plank fence running through the middle of the field parallel to the Mummasburg Road. As the Tar Heels discovered to their dismay, the structure interrupted their alignment as they pressed forward during the early minutes of their assault. Unlike the other wooden fences in the field, this one was so strongly built that some of Iverson’s men had to climb it because they could not easily push down the rails. Instead, most of the men swung around to the right side of this barrier as they made they their way across the field. The result was that much of the attacking force was guided by the presence of the fence line and so shuttled directly into the stone wall that ran south from the Mummasburg Road.⁹