On the evening of the 18th of September rapid cannonading was heard off
to our left in the direction of Chickamauga Creek. Dispatches were soon
received that Col. Minty, with his cavalry, had encountered the enemy at
Reed's bridge across the Chickamauga, and was being heavily pushed.
Orders were immediately issued for our brigade to move out to his
support. It was almost sun down when we started, and when night overtook
us the firing had ceased. It was getting dark when the head of our
column ran into the rear end of a rebel wagon train moving on a road
crossing ours. We were in the midst of a cedar thicket along either side
of the road so close and dense that a horse could not have been turned
around in it. The meeting of this wagon train was as much a surprise to
us as it probably was to them, for we had no skirmishers out and were
marching along in every day style. We were in a bad shape, certainly,
but we will not stop now to argue about the matter. As quietly and
quickly as possible the brigade was formed in line of battle at right
angles with the road, and skirmishers thrown out, but no enemy was found
excepting the members of a brass band, who had been following along
behind the rebel wagon train. These, with their instruments on their
backs, were quickly taken in "out of the wet." The skirmishers were
recalled, a strong picket guard posted and the regiment proceeded to
pass the night. No fires were allowed, and as quietly as possible we
laid down on our arms. We had eaten nothing since noon, but we had
marched rapidly and were tired, and worn, and soon were asleep. At the
earliest peep of day we were awakened, not by the bugle, however, but by
our officers going around and rousing up the men. Orders were given at
daybreak to make small fires and boil our coffee. This we did gladly,
and soon each man had a tin full of good warm coffee, which was highly
relished. But we were not given much time to tarry, for soon the order
came to "fall in." The entire brigade in line of battle, but without any
skirmishers, moved forward down through the brush, which was more open
than formerly. We had not proceeded far when up came the brigade
quartermaster, C. H. Deane, of Peoria, as fast as his horse could
travel. "Halt!" rang out. The quartermaster riding up to Col. McCook,
handed him an order; reading it hastily, he immediately gave the
command: "About face!" "File right, march." Back we went at a good pace.
We of course did not know at the time the reason for this rapid
movement, but we found out afterwards that we had been marching into the
nicest kind of a trap, which the rebels had laid for us, and if the
quartermaster had been delayed but a short time, the fate of the 3rd
brigade, 2nd division, 14th army corps would have been sealed. We were
surrounded on three sides and the rebels were doing their level best to
close up the other end when we marched out just a little too soon for
them.
And now we come to the battle of Chickamauga, the second field
engagement which had taken place under the leadership of General
Rosecrans since he assumed command of the army of the Cumberland, and as
it may prove interesting, we will endeavor to give a more extended
sketch of it than would be necessary if we only chronicle the movements
of our own regiment. The morning of Saturday the 19th of September
dawned on the first day of the battle of Chickamauga. The early forenoon
passed away without forewarning of the approaching conflict, but shortly
before 11 o'clock the storm that had been brewing all the morning on the
rebel side, burst forth. At that time a long mass of rebel infantry was
seen advancing upon General Brannan's division on the extreme left. It
first came upon the second brigade, Col. Croxton commanding, and soon
forced it back, despite its determined resistance. The two other
brigades of the division at once came to its assistance and succeeded in
checking the progress of the rebels and driving them back. But their
column being, in turn, strongly reinforced, they advanced again with
wild yells. So powerful was the momentum of the assault that it pushed
Brannan back to and beyond his position in the line, thus uncovering the
left of Baird's division, which at once became fiercely engaged. The
storm rolling from left to right, fell next upon Johnson, and almost
simultaneously on Reynold's, who wavering at times, but again regaining
their firmness, gave back a little but again advanced, until the troops
of Brannan and Baird, rallied by their leaders, came up once more to the
work. Then the order was issued for the entire line to advance, and
nothing in military history exceeds in grandeur the charge of that
powerful corps. Longstreet's men, from Virginia were directly opposed to
the troops of Thomas, and although they fought with stubborn
determination, they could not for a moment check the steady march of
those veteran battalions. They had already pushed the enemy before them
for three-quarters of a mile, recovering all the lost ground and all of
the material of war lost in the morning, and Longstreet was threatened
with annihilation, when a new danger caused him to halt. While our left
was driving Longstreet's corps, Polk and Hill threw themselves
impetuously upon Palmer and Van Cleve, of Crittenden's Corps, who
failing to advance, left a gap between himself and Thomas. These
divisions were speedily broken in pieces and their complete rout was
imminent, when Davis's division came to their support, and for a time
restored the fortunes of the day. But the enemy, knowing that all
depended upon his making a diversion in favor of the defeated
Longstreet, massed nearly the whole of his available force, hurled it
upon Van Cleve and Davis, drove the former to the right and the latter
to the left, and entered boldly the opening thus made. In this junction,
General Rosecrans called up the division of Wood and Negley, and threw
them into the gap. After a brief contest the rebels found themselves
matched. An advance was ordered, and by sunset the original position of
the morning was gained. During the night of Saturday to Sunday, General
Rosecrans made some changes in the disposition of his forces, and the
line was so far withdrawn, that it rested along a cross road running
north-east and south-west and connecting the Rossville with the
Lafayette road. By this change the line was contracted by a mile, and
the right wing caused to rest on a strong position at Mission Ridge. The
different divisions were disposed in this order. From right to left, one
brigade of Negley, Johnson, Baird, Palmer, Reynolds; two brigades of
Negley, Wood, Sheridan and Davis, with the mounted brigades of Wilder
and Minty covering the right flank. As before, Thomas held the left,
Chittenden the centre, and McCook the right. Upon the right of General
Thomas' line, as held by Reynolds and Brannan, was a slight rise in the
plain, and from the top of this, the field could be commanded. It was
the key to the position. During the night Thomas' troops had built a
rude breast work of logs and rails for their protection. The battle of
Sunday opened at 10 o'clock in the morning. The enemy repeating the
tactics of the previous day by throwing themselves first upon the
extreme left of the line formed by General Beatty's brigade, of Negley's
division, and for two hours a fierce fire swept along the line of Thomas
without his budging an inch. Again and again the rebels advancing _en
echilon_ by brigade from the cover of the woods into the open
corn-field, charged with impetuous fury and terrific yells towards the
breast works of logs and rails. But each time the fiery blasts from our
batteries and battalions swept over and around them and their ranks were
crumbled and swept away. In answer to a message from General Thomas,
asking for reinforcements, which led General Rosecrans to believe that
General Brannan was out of line and that General Reynold's right was
exposed, orders were dispatched to General Wood to close upon Reynold's,
and word was sent to General Thomas that he should be supported, even if
it took away the whole corps of Crittenden and McCook. General Davis was
ordered to close on General Wood, and General McCook was advised of the
state of affairs, and ordered to close his whole command to the left
with all dispatch. General Wood, overlooking the directions to "close
up" on General Reynolds, supposed he was to support him by withdrawing
from the line, and passing to the rear of General Brannan, who it
appears was not out of line, but was in _echilon_, and slightly in rear
of Reynolds' right. By this unfortunate mistake a gap was opened in the
line of battle, of which the enemy took instant advantage, and striking
Davis in flank and rear, as well as in front, threw his whole division
into confusion. The same attack shattered the right brigade of Wood
before it had cleared the space. The right of Brannan was thrown back,
and two of his battalions, then in movement to a new position, were
taken in flank and thrown back through the brigades of Van Cleve, then
on the march to the left, throwing his division into confusion, from
which it never recovered until it reached Rossville. The rout of the
right and center was now complete, and after that fatal break, the line
of battle was not again reformed during the day. The army was in fact
cut in two. McCook, with Davis, Sheridan and Wilder being thrown off to
the right; Crittenden, except one brigade of Wood's, being broken in
pieces, and Thomas, with his indomitable corps, and Johnson's division
of McCook's, remaining alone upon the left. But Thomas' corps also had
been fearfully shaken, and retreat was now the only resort. Retiring his
command accordingly, he took up a new position along the base of
Missionary Ridge, the line being so formed that the left rested upon the
Lafayette road, and the right at the Gap, representing the arc of a
circle, and a south-east hill about its center formed the key to the
position. Here were collected the shattered remnants of the powerful
corps (not a fourth of the army) which had so long breasted the fierce
assaults of the enemy in the forenoon. It was certain, however, that
unless assistance should speedily reach it from some quarter, it must at
length succumb, for the enemy emboldened by the rout of McCook and
Crittenden, was gathering his hosts to hurl against them in a last
mighty effort. At this crisis Mitchell's and McCook's brigades of the
reserve corps, under command of General Granger, arrived. The fight now
raged around the hill with redoubled fury. General Thomas formed his
troops in two lines, and as each marched up to the crest and fired a
deadly volley at the advancing foe, it fell back a little way; the men
lay down upon the ground to load, and the second line advanced to take
their place, and so on in succession. Every attack of the rebels was
repulsed, and the enemy at night fell back and abandoned the assault.
And thus did twelve or fourteen thousand heroic men save from
destruction the army of the Cumberland. At night General Thomas fell
back to Rossville, four miles from Chattanooga. Our loss in killed,
wounded and missing reached twelve thousand; and fifty pieces of
artillery and much material of war fell into the hands of the enemy. The
enemy's loss also was extremely heavy. Saturday's fight resulted in a
drawn battle; Sunday's in a defeat, which was only saved from utter
disaster by the coolness and courage of General Thomas and his gallant
command. That night our brigade marched back to Rossville and on Monday
night we marched inside of the fortifications of Chattanooga, and so
ended the battle of Chickamauga.