Finally reaching the front, Longstreet starts to place his men for the attack when McLaws informs him there are Union soldiers in the Peach Orchard, something they were not expecting. He sends word to Lee and posts scouts. Hood argues that given this new development, they must shift to the right and go behind the Round Tops. To do otherwise will mean a slaughter of his men. Hood begs Longstreet to change orders. Longstreet can't . . . he won't. He knows that by following Lee's plan, he is ordering Hood and his men to their deaths, but he does not change the plan.
The attack begins with Hood. Longstreet holds back the anxious McLaws until the right moment. Then he releases him and Barksdale, who runs off screaming, hair streaming like a white torch.
