Within the first few hours of the battle, Gen. D.H. Hill sent more than half of his 5,000 soldiers to reinforce the northern end of the Confederate line, leaving two brigades in the lane under Gen. Robert Rodes and Gen. G.B. Anderson with about 2,200 men combined. The first Federal attack on the Sunken Road came from Gen. William H. French's troops, who at approximately 9:30 a.m. crested the ridges in front of the road and opened the bloody fighting; French had close to 5,000 men under his command. About 10:30 a.m., Gen. Israel Richardson's division, led by the Irish Brigade, advanced and added over 4,000 soldiers to the Union assault. Some 3,800 Confederate reinforcements under Gen. Richard H. Anderson tried unsuccessfully to strengthen the line in the road. Near 1:00 p.m., Richardson's men broke through and captured the Sunken Road, and although some Federal troops continued south to the Piper Farm, a desperate Confederate stand drove them back. When the fighting ended, over 5,000 soldiers had been killed or wounded, and neither side gained a decisive advantage. During the struggle around the Sunken Road, Confederate Gen. George B. Anderson was mortally wounded in the ankle and died from infection a month after the battle, and after the road had fallen, Union Gen. Israel Richardson was struck by an artillery shell fragment and died at the Pry House in early November 1862.