Confederates had begun attacking the salient formed by III Corps. Cross's brigade was formed on the left of the division's battle line as it entered the Wheatfield. During the fighting, Cross was mortally wounded while at the left of his line near the Rose Woods. He died the next day at a field hospital. His body was shipped home to Lancaster, New Hampshire, for burial in the town's cemetery. Col H. Boyd McKeen of the 81st Pennsylvania Regiment succeeded to command of the brigade. Reputation Cross was an impulsive and colorful officer. He is reported to have struck non-commissioned officers with the flat of his sword when angry. When leading his regiment into action at Seven Pines, he told the troops "Charge like hell! Show them you are damn Yankees!" During the Gettysburg campaign, Cross's regiment broke formation so they could move single file over a narrow bridge. When he saw this, he ordered his men to go back and to ford the creek in proper column formation. This caused the soldiers' leather shoes to be wet for some time after. Cross was notable for always wearing a red bandanna on his head rather than the traditional officer's hat. This was Cross's way of making it easier for his men to locate him quickly on the battlefield. However, on July 2, 1863, Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock noticed that his bandanna was black rather than red. Col. Cross indicated that he had foreseen his own death this day and that black was more appropriate. That morning, he had also looked over some ambulances behind the lines and remarked "We shan't want any of your death wagons today." Notes References Gottfried, Bradley M. Brigades of Gettysburg. New York: Da Capo Press, 2002. . Kantor, MacKinlay "Gettysburg". New York: Random House, 1952. . Further reading Child, William. A History of the Fifth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers, in the Civil War, 1861-1865. Bristol, NH: R.W. Musgrove, Printer, 1893. . Cross, Edward E. Stand Firm and Fire Low: The Civil War Writings of Colonel Edward E. Cross. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2003. . Pride, Mike, and Mark Travis. My Brave Boys: To War with Colonel Cross and the Fighting Fifth. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2001. . Waite, Otis F. R. New Hampshire in the Great Rebellion. Claremont, NH: Tracy, Chase & Co., 1870. . Grandchamp, Robert. Colonel