pont au feu bridge of fire/ feu d'enfer: fire(s) of hell: Lee's way of describing the intense artillery pounding he will order on the center of the Union line to pave the way for Longstreet's attack there.
Provost Guards a group of soldiers similar in function to Military Police.
red battle flags flags used for Confederate units.
refuse the line to form a new line at an angle to the existing one so as to cover any flanking move.
repeating carbines this is not entirely accurate. Buford's men were armed with breechloading rifles, which were an improvement over muskets. Breechloaders were loaded behind the barrel instead of down the muzzle as muskets were. While they were single-shot rifles, they were faster to fire and thus gave Buford's men the ability to hold off superior numbers of infantry. Buford did not, however, have repeaters, which could fire several shells before reloading was necessary.
right wheel forward like a swinging door, the line of men moves forward as if swinging from a hinge point in the main line, sweeping across the front of the battlefield.
road guards advance troops sent ahead of a military unit to detect enemy forces and protect the main force as it moves ahead.
