“As we moved along the street after this episode, a little girl, probably twelve years of age, ran up to my horse and handed me a large bouquet of flowers in the center of which was a note in delicate handwriting, purporting to give the numbers and describe the position of the Union forces of Wrightsville, toward which I was advancing. I carefully read and reread this strange note. It bore no signature and contained no assurance of sympathy for the Southern cause, but it was so terse and explicit in its terms as to compel my confidence. The second day we were in front of Wrightsville, and from the high ridge on which this note suggested that I halt and examine the position of the Union troops, I eagerly scanned the prospect with my field-glasses, in order to verify the truth of the mysterious communication or detect its misrepresentations. “There, in full view of us, was the town, just as described, nestling on the banks of the Susquehanna. There was the blue line of soldiers guarding the approach, drawn up, as indicated, along an intervening ridge and across the pike. There was the long bridge spanning the Susquehanna and connecting the town with Columbia on the other bank. Most important of all, there was the deep gorge or ravine running off to the right and extending around the left bank of the Federal line and to the river below the bridge. Not an inaccurate detail in that note could be discovered. I did not hesitate, therefore, to adopt its suggestion of moving down the gorge in order to throw my command on the flank, or possibly in the rear of the Union troops, and force them to a rapid retreat or surrender. The result of this movement vindicated the strategic wisdom of my unknown and—judging by the handwriting—woman correspondent, whose note was none the less martial because embedded in roses, and whose evident genius for war, had occasion offered, might have made her a captain equal to Catherine.” The Flag of the 16th Maine A marker showing the position of the 16th Maine Infantry Regiment on the afternoon of the first day’s battle stands at the intersection of Doubleday Avenue and the Mummasburg Road, and contains the following inscription: Position Held July 1, 1863, at 4 o’Clock P.M. by the 16th Maine Infantry 1st Brig., 2nd Div., 1st Corps WHILE THE REST OF THE DIVISION WAS RETIRING, THE REGIMENT HAVING MOVED FROM THE POSITION AT THE LEFT WHERE ITS MONUMENT STANDS, UNDER ORDERS TO HOLD THIS POSITION AT ANY COST. It Lost on This Field Killed 11, Wounded 62, Captured 159 Out of 275 Engaged. When almost surrounded, the regiment withdrew to the left of the railroad cut to help cover the withdrawal of Stewart’s battery, which was also almost surrounded. The regiment had two flags, the Stars and Stripes and the flag of Maine.