On May 25th, aggressive Confederate skirmish fire drew the ire of General Charles Griffin, whose division was assigned to fill the gap between Crawford's men and the main road to the south. An old artilleryman now commanding an infantry division, Griffin was known to place his cannon dangerously close to the enemy. When the Confederates proved disinclined to cease their firing, Griffin ordered Major R. H. Fitzhugh with three batteries of sixteen cannon to reinforce his skirmish line. The guns were moved cautiously into the trees to the few available firing positions, and they pounded the Confederate skirmish line, forcing the sharpshooter battalions of Mahone's Division back into the woods. Still full of fight, the determined Confederates peppered the artillerymen with accurate rifle fire, causing the Federals to suffer considerably but failing to silence the guns. The fierce nature of the Union advance forced the 41st Virginia Infantry to reinforce the sharpshooters of Mahone's Brigade, with resulting casualties. Captain Robert B. Brinkley, a former merchant from Nansemond County and superintendent of a Christian School, and Sergeant Oliver H. P. Holland, a farmer from Upper Parish, lost their lives to the Union fire.
