After the 9th Ohio Infantry executed a successful bayonet charge, Confederates west of the road fled in disarray, the pursuing Federals turned the tide on the east side of the road, and the entire Confederate line broke. Here on Last Stand Hill, the 16th Alabama Infantry stood firm against the surging Federals, and their determined resistance allowed the beaten Confederate army to escape. Commanded by Colonel William B. Wood, a Methodist minister, the 16th Alabama had held its ground south of the battle all morning in reserve as one of only two regiments armed with modern weapons, while bullets whizzed around men numbed by cold, wet weather and smoke and noise kept them on edge during a two-hour wait for orders. As the Confederate line fell apart, General William Carroll ordered the 16th Alabama forward. Wood moved the regiment to the crest of the hill, saw the Union line marching toward him, and with 330 men ordered them to stand their position and meet the enemy, drive him back or die in their tracks. Rallying several companies of the 29th Tennessee, Wood made a stand as the regiment fired a volley, retreated a short distance behind a rail fence, and fired again. How long they held is unclear, but this small detachment stalled the Union pursuit and created a gap that allowed the bulk of the Confederate army to escape capture.