As the main attack on the swamp end of the American line began to falter, British commander Sir Edward Pakenham ordered Major General John Keane to redirect British forces from the river road assault to help. Nearly a thousand soldiers of the 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Dale moved diagonally across the battlefield in a desperate maneuver that left them exposed to heavy fire. When confusion among the advancing British troops forced the 93rd to halt in front of the American line, cannonballs and grapeshot rained down, wounding Keane and killing over half the regiment's men, including Dale.