of Barlow's subsequent war record makes this story very unlikely. As the Confederates retreated from Gettysburg on July 4, Barlow was left behind and recovered by Federal forces. He was hospitalized for a lengthy period and could not return to the Army until April 1864, just in time for Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign. He commanded the 1st Division of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps, at the Battle of the Wilderness. At Spotsylvania Court House, his division incorporated shock tactics developed by Col. Emory Upton to quickly assault the rebel entrenchments in the "Mule Shoe", effecting a breakthrough that could be exploited by reinforcements. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued for 21 hours, the longest hand-to-hand combat in the entire war, before Barlow's division finally broke through. On December 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Barlow for the award of the brevet grade of major general, to rank from August 1, 1864, for his leadership at the Battle of Spotsylvania, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on February 14, 1865. He fought at the Battle of Cold Harbor and the Siege of Petersburg in the same command. At Petersburg, Barlow took another convalescent leave in July, but returned to the army on April 6, 1865. He was appointed to lead the 2nd Division, II Corps after Gen. William Hays failed to wake his troops in time for departure. Barlow thus joined the Appomattox Campaign and engaged immediately in the Battle of Sailor's Creek. The next day, Barlow played a decisive role in the Battle of High Bridge near Farmville, Virginia. Barlow was pursuing Confederate troops who had crossed High Bridge the previous day. The Confederate troops included men led by Gen. Gordon, who at the time believed that he had killed Barlow at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of High Bridge included two skirmishes, the first of which took place in the evening of April 6, prior to Barlow's arrival. Confederate forces captured roughly 800 men and wounded or killed others. They then planned to destroy the bridge afterward in order to prevent its use by Union forces. However, a delay in sending an order to destroy the bridge proved to be advantageous for Barlow's men, who arrived in the early morning of April 7 to find the lower level of the bridge in flames and collapsing. Barlow commanded some of his men to charge the bridge