On the morning of May 6, 1864, in the Wilderness of Virginia, the Texas Brigade made the counterattack that saved Lee's army. Hancock's II Corps had broken Hill's Confederate line at Tapp Farm and was pushing toward Lee's headquarters. Lee, on horseback at the front, was preparing to lead the counterattack himself when the brigade arrived at the run. The Texans refused to advance until Lee turned back to safety. "Lee to the rear!" became one of the most famous chants of the war — the soldiers grabbed the bridle of Lee's horse Traveller and turned the general around. Once Lee was safely behind their line, the brigade went forward and stopped Hancock's advance cold.

This W. Britain figure catches a Texas Brigade infantryman mid-stride, rifle at right shoulder shift, advancing toward contact. He wears the late-war Confederate kit photographed of the 1st Texas at Antietam — gray single-breasted frock coat trimmed in black, light brown trousers, dark forage cap with brass lettering on top, the rolled blanket and the British army-pattern knapsack (commonly imported through the blockade) on his back, and the distinctive Confederate-manufactured tin drum canteen at his hip. The bayonet is fixed. The advancing pose makes this a natural diorama figure for any Texas Brigade scene — pair multiple Texans together to build a brigade front in motion. Pair this figure with Texas Brigade Standing Firing No.2 for the contact moment; with General Robert E. Lee, the commander the brigade refused to let lead them into battle at the Wilderness; or with Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, the corps commander whose return to Lee's army arrived just in time to support the Texas Brigade's Wilderness counterattack.

Scale: 1/30 (60mm). Matte-painted metal. W. Britain model 31368. From the American Civil War range. Single foot figure, supplied painted and ready for display.