Calling the Confederate attack on the Union center "Pickett's Charge" is misleading for two reasons. First, Pickett commanded only one of the three units in the assault. Second, it was not a charge, which is a rapid advance towards the enemy, it was an attack which moved forward more slowly and over a longer distance. These Virginia units were joined by several smaller units of Confederates (some from North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama) whose numbers had been reduced by the fighting over the first two days. When the cannons stopped, Pickett went to Longstreet to ask permission to begin the attack. Longstreet, sure the attack would fail, silently nodded his head and gave a wave of his hand. Longstreet had tried to get Lee to call off the attack, but Lee would not listen.