As the men from Baxter's Brigade continued to grab up prisoners, volleys of gunfire suddenly erupted from Iverson's sharpshooters located just north of the road and the men from the 12th and 26th Alabama in O'Neal's Brigade, who had moved back within 50 yards of the hollow. "The Alabamans fired on friend and foe," Captain Lewis Hicks from the 20th North Carolina recalled. "I was fronting them, and knowing the fire was coming, I turned sideways; my lieutenant, standing beside me had his head split open and his brains flew on me." Private Coghill, who was serving with Iverson's sharpshooters, described the fire on the Federal position as so fierce that he "shot every one of my cartridges away witch was 110 rounds."
Captain Hall from the 97th New York reported that the Confederate troops, "who had been driven off by our skirmish line, returned and occupied the first field south of the Mummasburg road, and as skirmishers kept up a fire upon the right two regiments of our line till the approach of Iverson's Brigade in our front; and during the subsequent charge of a part of our line." According to the captain, the men in his regiment "suffered from this Confederate skirmish line in the field and road to the right, and covered itself as skirmishers as best it could in rear of the wall, several men springing up in concert and firing as closely as possible whence the smoke from the Confederate fire arose."
The indiscriminate firing from the Confederates north of the road continued as the Federal troops began herding their prisoners out of the gully toward their own lines. The shooting became so intense that it caused some serious problems for the men who had advanced onto the field. "A skirmish fire from an adjoining field on our right flank was kept up with galling effect on our line during our advance," Lt. Col. R. S. Egelston from the 97th New York remarked. "Also, in returning, this fire was not relaxed while bringing the prisoners from the field; some of whom were wounded by their own men."
About that time, the 12th Massachusetts and several companies from the 90th Pennsylvania finally pushed forward across Mummasburg Road to counter the renewed threat to the north from the 12th and 26th Alabama in O'Neal's Brigade and Iverson's sharpshooter detachment. Major Look from the 12th Massachusetts insisted that this move was "necessary to prevent our right being turned." The field officer recalled that the shift in their position toward the north "was quickly and handsomely done, by the two right regiments the 90th Penn, and 12th Mass., and were thus enabled to hold our ground against a vastly superior force for more than an hour."
Major Sellers from the 90th Pennsylvania took the lead in directing this maneuver. "Although not in command, I rushed to the front, superintended the movement, and quickly established the line in its new and more advantageous position," Sellers recalled. He noted that the change in their battle line "enabled us to pour an effective fire" into the ranks of the Confederate troops that had moved into position along the north side of Mummasburg Road. Sellers was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor for leading this counterattack against O'Neal's troops north of the road.
Some of the troops from the 88th Pennsylvania eventually joined them on that part of the field and captured a battle flag from one of the Alabama regiments involved in the attack. Private Vautier explained that it fell into their hands at about the same time that the men from his regiment were grabbing up the flag from the 23rd North Carolina in the nearby hollow. "To the right, Lieut. Levan and some others were scrapping for the Flag of the 26th Ala., under like conditions," Vautier remarked. He noted that "a free application of a few rifle butts, with the threat of the use of the bayonet, quickly persuaded the rebels that they had no further use for those Flags."