Seeing the right flank of the 76th New York hanging in the air, Col. John Connelly grabbed the flag of his 55th North Carolina as the regiment continued its wheeling movement. With a yell he rushed toward the enemy with his color guard in tow. The advancing colors drew the New Yorkers’ attention, and Connelly quickly suffered a debilitating wound. The regiment’s second in command rushed over to Connelly, who told him, “Take the colors and keep ahead of the Mississippians.” Recognizing the threat to his right flank, Major Grover ordered the right wing of his 76th New York to “change front to the rear,” which refused the right flank to face the 55th North Carolina. The left side of the regiment continued facing the 2nd Mississippi and that part of the 55th North Carolina in front of it. Grover fell with a mortal wound almost as soon as he gave the order. Few men saw their leader fall as they were too busy firing at the approaching enemy troops, who were sending gunfire into the 76th’s front, flank, and rear.9
The 147th New York crossed Chambersburg Pike and, seeing the enemy closing in on Hall’s battery, quickly advanced to a wheat field just north of the unfinished railroad cut, approximately 100 yards in advance (west) of the position held by the 56th Pennsylvania and 76th New York. The 42nd Mississippi, Davis’ leading regiment, fired volley after volley into the newly arrived Federal troops. In an effort to stay alive, many of the New Yorkers slid down into the wheat to reload, rose quickly to fire, and repeated the cycle. As a result, those who were struck were usually hit in the upper body, where wounds tended to be more serious. A thick layer of smoke enveloped the area and visibility diminished considerably.10
Realizing that his men were in an untenable position with their entire right flank exposed, division commander Maj. Gen. James Wadsworth ordered them to pull back 300 yards to Sheads’ Woods. The 76th New York and 56th Pennsylvania lost heavily during their twenty minutes on the ridge. The former left about 62% on the field, and the latter about 50%. A line of dead and wounded marked their original line of defense.11
Because of the smoke, deafening sound, and confusion, Lt. Col. Francis Miller of the 147th New York was unaware of the retreat of the two Federal regiments. He also did not know that he had both the 42nd Mississippi approaching obliquely against his front and the 2nd Mississippi advancing nearly perpendicular to his exposed right flank. His situation grew even more critical when Davis’ third regiment, the 55th North Carolina, finished wheeling about and moved against the right-rear of the isolated New Yorkers. General Wadsworth quickly sent an aide to Miller, ordering him to pull the regiment back to safety, but Miller went down with a severe wound before he could comply. Major George Harney displayed sound tactics when he refused the right companies to take on the new threat from the north, though to no avail. According to one survivor, “the boys on the right were falling like autumn leaves; the air was full of lead.” Another messenger from Wadsworth arrived and ordered an immediate withdrawal. Executing such a move under fire from three sides was nearly impossible to do while maintaining any sort of discipline. The men were ordered to leave everything behind except their weapons and cartridge boxes. Their dash for the rear understandably had little, if any, semblance of order. Only 79 of the 380 men who had marched into the battle found their way to safety (79 percent casualties). The three Federal regiments north of Chambersburg Pike lost half of their men in about 30 minutes of fighting.12
When the 147th New York withdrew, Captain Hall had no choice but to limber his guns and get out as best he could. Heth’s advance had shattered the Federal right flank, and Davis’ men (most of whom were as inexperienced as their commander) seemed on the verge of exploiting their stunning early-morning victory.13