During part of the afternoon the 33rd worked dug ground on Culp’s Hill to make room for a battery of guns (2nd or 20th Maine arillery). Later, they were stationed ahead of the line against a brick wall facing north. When southern cannon enfiladed their position from the west there was a bit of burlesque as the regiment repeatedly jumped over the fence to avoid incoming shells from the side.

By late afternoon, the regiment was stationed between Cemetary and Culps Hills with about half the unit behind a stone wall running between the hills. The other half made an acute angle which could enfilade any oncoming attack.

It was in this position that the regiment stood when the evening attack came. The unit chosen to take their position was the 57th NC. Twice they repelled charges successfully. As the third charge came at about 9 PM, the colonel Adin Underwood gave the order to fix bayonets. The 57th was approaching their line when thunder from behind, the Maine artillery fired over the extended line and into the sides of the oncoming southern infantry. Only a portion of the grey soldiers briefly mounted the brick wall before the attack abated, ending the contest.

This is the story as I remembered it, taken from Dyer’s Compendium, Three Years with the 33rd (by Adin Underwood), and from the recollections of his grandson’s wife, the late Mary Brigid Jones of Taunton, MA.