In 1864, Upton's men formed for an attack from the edge of a field that stretched to the Confederate works. They advanced four abreast in a column up the road, then at this point silently deployed into a line of battle just inside the wood line on both sides of the road. To reach the Confederate line, they had to charge across 200 yards of open ground, force their way through a barrier of deliberately fallen trees, and overrun a strong earth-and-log defensive line while exposed to enemy artillery and infantry fire. At 5:50 p.m., Upton gave the order to advance. Corporal Clinton Beckwith of the 121st New York Volunteers recalled his fear and the faces of the men around him as they stepped forward expecting death.