General Ewell's Confederates had no operational artillery

General Richard Ewell, along with Richard Anderson and John Gordon, made a choice that they felt would save the army's supplies after the stop at Holt's Corner. The path of the supply carts was changed to the north, with Gordon's corps trailing behind to provide security.

In the meantime, Anderson and Ewell kept moving west to join the remainder of the Confederate force. Anderson and Ewell would lose any ammo in the train if Gordon's force was present. If that weren't enough, near Marshall's Crossroads around 2:00 PM, Gen. George Custer saw an unsecured ordinance train that Custer's Yankees seized. The train was just ahead of Anderson's men. As a result, the Confederates lacked artillery to counter the Federal onslaught when Union guns began firing on Ewell's troops later that day.

"I received a communication from the commanding general telling me to attack this hill, if I could do so to my benefit, as soon as I arrived in the town. Due to twelve hours of moving and fighting, I was unable to engage it with artillery, and all of the troops I had with me were weary" Ewell wrote.