The trench line of the 10th Georgia Battalion held the right flank of Wright’s brigade, while the Florida brigade and Lane’s artillery battalion held the position across the ravine to the right. On May 25 and 26, cannon and sharpshooter fire was almost constant across the river. During this period, Union artillery, firing at about three rounds per minute, hurled at least 3,000 rounds into these ridges and ravines. On May 26, Union gunners opened fire with three coehorn mortars but failed to silence the Confederate artillery. The strength of the trenches limited casualties to a few unlucky soldiers on each side. Alfred L. Scott, a staff officer in the Florida Brigade, recalled supporting a rapidly firing battery when one gun burst with a deafening crash and fragments flew far and wide, including a large piece weighing 100 pounds or more that fell at his feet, followed immediately by an artilleryman calling for another gun and cursing the Richmond-made weapon. On the evening of May 26, Grant turned Meade’s Army of the Potomac away from the North Anna to again flank Lee’s army out of its excellent position, and Lee, forced to follow, forever lost the opportunity offered by the North Anna River to destroy the Union army.
