After marching east a quarter mile, Col. Henry J. Madill, commanding the 141st Pennsylvania Infantry and the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters, occupied the Allen house. In front of him was the same large corn field that Biles faced to the west. . Madill spotted a Confederate skirmish line supported by a line of battle about 1,200 yards away. He ordered the 141st Pennsylvania’s second in command, Lt Col Casper Tyler, to send skirmishers forward. Tyler dispatched four companies about 100 yards into the corn field where they began to trade shots with the Confederate skirmishers. At the same time Madill sent a courier to de Trobriand stating that he had reached his objective and that Confederates were in front of him. De Trobriand sent back a message for Biles to hold his position. Tyler sent some of his skirmishers to occupy Allen’s outbuidings and to annoy the Confederates. See report of Lt. Col. Casper W. Tyler in O.R. Vol. 40, Pt. 1, p. 409.

At dawn Gary and the three regiments of his brigade were stationed at Pickett’s Gate on the New Market Road, a bit east of the Allen Farm . It is likely that Gary’s videttes alerted him to the fact that Federals had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, at the Allen Farm. The always-aggressive Gary decided to attack them.

The arrival of the Federals at the farm prompted Gary to send a courier to Humphreys to inform him that the Confederate infantry’s line was flanked on his left, and that a column of the enemy was moving against him, between his (Gary’s) and Humphreys’ line.

This new intelligence caused Humphreys to determine to abandon his position along New Market Road. He sent a rider to Gary with orders to attack the rear of the Union infantry in order to detain them while he waited for Graham’s horses to come up. Humphreys’ orders told Gary to do something he had already decided on.

Gary and the Maj. Edward M. Boykin’s 7th South Carolina Cavalry galloped up to the base of the hill where the Allen farm stood and entered a ravine where they dismounted and left their horses. The regiment deployed Companies A and B as skirmishers on the edge of a wood and Boykin ordered them to climb the hill and then advance into the corn field and drive the Federals from the farm. The skirmishers found the going tough because the hill was covered with dewberry vines, but they reached the edge of the field and formed once again

Upon ascending the hill, Gary’s skirmishers opened fire. When the Union and Confederate skirmishers exchanged fire, lookouts on the Mendota spotted the billows of grey smoke and notified the ship’s officers that Confederates were in sight. The big guns opened with a “vengeance” lobbing huge shells at the Confederate cavalry Once the shells started falling, the skirmishers refused to advance further.

a furious Gen. Martin Gary hurried to the front. To get his skirmishers moving forward, he delivered a torrent of oaths at Capt. John H. Tucker and Lt. Oliver G. Rodgers of Company A. The skirmishers still refused to budge and Gary ordered the regiment to withdraw. The 7th South Carolina Cavalry saw no further action that day. The regiment left the area of the Allen farm and headed northwest through the Slash towards the Long Bridge Road, exchanging shots with the Federals as they departed The regiment had lost 9 wounded and 1 missing out of 162 carried into action. Daily Richmond Examiner July 30, 1864 p. 1 col. 6. Gary himself hurried west towards Tilghman’s Gate into the thick of the fight with the Hampton Legion and the 24th Virginia Cavalry. See report of Lt. Col. Casper W. Tyler in O.R. Vol. 40, Pt. 1, p. 409.