THE FIRST DAY'S BATTLE
Crittenden's corps on the left of the Army of the Cumberland,--which had
been selected by Rosecrans to make the initial move in the fight,--was
separated from Breckenridge's entrenched division, on Bragg's right, by
two miles of distance and Stone's River, which in that immediate vicinity
could be crossed at only one ford. Between the heavily-massed regiments on
Bragg's left flank and McCook's corps, to the contrary, there were only a
few hundred yards. Therefore, though McCown,--who had moved in the
night,--found some difficulty in adjusting his line to suit Hardee's
taste, the Confederates had ample time to strike the first blow. A dense
fog shielded the movement from the Union pickets. McCown's troops swung
off in a semi-oblique direction, leaving an ever-widening interval between
him and Withers's division, of Polk's corps, into which at the proper
instant Cleburne slipped. In a few moments the crackling of rifle-fire
heralded the opening of the battle.
That the brigades on the extreme right of the Union Army were surprised
upon that fateful morning has been repeatedly denied; but it is certain
that they were not properly prepared for the storm that was about to burst
upon them. August Willich was actually away from his command, and his men
were at breakfast, with their arms stacked. The captain of the battery
that was posted at the left of the brigade had sent his horses off to
water, so little did he dream of impending danger. The men of the other
brigade were scarcely,--if any,--better prepared, and upon them fell the
brunt of the first assault.
Right on the heels of the pickets, whose shots were of little apparent
effect, appeared a long line of gray-clad infantry that extended far
beyond either flank of the hapless Union brigades. The advancing troops
fired as they came, and many Northern soldiers were shot down before they
could grasp their arms. General Kirk sent a vain summons to Willich for
aid, and fell mortally hurt in an heroic effort to form his men. Old
Willich himself, spurring in hot haste to rejoin his command, rode
straight into the enemy's line. This scion of a royal house,--for he was
reputed to be the natural son of William of Prussia,--had several months
in a Southern prison in which to reflect upon whatever error he may have
committed that morning. The two brigades did not flee without an effort at
resistance; indeed, both offered obstinate opposition for as long a time
as possible, but they could not hold out against two divisions, of four
brigades each.
Kirk lost 500 killed and wounded, and 350 captured; while Willich's loss
was more than 400 killed and wounded, and about 700 captured. They were
soon in headlong flight.
With the dispersion of these troops, but one brigade, of Johnson's
division,--the reserve under Baldwin,--was left intact; and now the next
division was threatened on the flank. With quick soldierly instinct the
commander, Jefferson C. Davis, drew back his right brigade, under Post,
and made other dispositions to cooeperate with Baldwin. He had scarcely had
time to complete these preparations, ere both Baldwin and Post were
struck. At the same moment the Confederate grand wheel having got into
full swing, two brigades of Withers's division, of Polk's corps, hurled
themselves against Davis's two remaining brigades,--Carlin's and
Woodruff's,--and against Sill's brigade of Sheridan's division, adjoining
Davis on the left.
Here the Confederates met a check. Baldwin, it is true, had to retreat
shortly, to escape being taken in right and rear; but Post repulsed an
attack upon his front, and Carlin, Woodruff, and Sill threw back their
assailants so violently that Polk ordered up his reserves. A second attack
met the same fate, though General Sill was killed between the guns of a
battery that he was directing. For the third time the gray infantry
advanced to the fight, which now involved the whole of Sheridan's
division. In frontal attack they were held, but one Union command after
another had to retire, to avoid capture under flank attacks. Thus
Sheridan's division was dislodged, as had been Johnson's and Davis's.
Up to this juncture the working out of Bragg's plan had fully equalled, if
not exceeded, the expectations of the Southern commander. The whole right
wing of the Union army had been hurled from position, and some of the
commands composing it had been driven for miles. Thousands of Union
prisoners and great stores of small arms had been captured, together with
many pieces of artillery, which could not be hauled back in the headlong
retreat over the rough ground and through the clumps of cedar in which the
battlefield abounded. In its further development, or swing, the grand
wheel was now threatening the Union centre, and the exultant Confederates
entered with confidence upon another distinct stage of the fighting. If
the right could be driven still further, or the centre pierced, the
Nashville pike would fall into the possession of the Army of the
Tennessee, which would then have at its mercy practically the whole Army
of the Cumberland. But,--though the prize seemed so near,--it now became
evident that new conditions were to be encountered, and that the contest
was about to enter upon a new phase.
Confident in the belief that his right wing could and would resist any
movement against it, Rosecrans had gone early in the morning to
Crittenden's corps, to witness the initiation of his carefully conceived
plan. It was 8 o'clock before the leading brigade of Van Cleve's division
waded Stone's River at the near-by ford, and began climbing the hill on
the other side, with a view to attacking Breckinridge. For a couple of
hours firing had been heard on the right, but it gave no uneasiness to the
Union commander, who believed that the instructions of the night before
were being obeyed. Even when a message from McCook, asking aid in somewhat
formal terms, came, Rosecrans was not disturbed, but sent back word that
the right must be held.
It was not until two of Van Cleve's brigades had crossed the stream, and
the third was making ready, that a frantic message gave Rosecrans an idea
of the disaster that had befallen part of his army. And as he gave hurried
orders, the crowds of fugitives,--cowards, skulkers, the slightly wounded,
and brave men who had fought until beaten,--that began to stream through
the woods brought confirmation of the evil tidings.
Rosecrans instantly recalled Van Cleve's division. One
brigade,--Fyffe's,--that had not yet crossed, he hurried straight out on
the Nashville pike, where his instinct told him the greatest danger lay,
and where at that moment the enemy's cavalry was reaping rich spoil from
the long wagon trains. The men of Beatty's brigade were sent, dripping
with the water of Stone's River, right into the heart of the battle, which
now raged almost in the rear of the centre. The third brigade,--Price's,--
was held to guard the ford. The demonstration of this division against
Breckenridge, though so quickly abandoned, had important effects on that
general as well as on the fortunes of the day.
It was the supreme test for Rosecrans, and whatever his previous faults
may have been, he now bore himself well. He hurried up ammunition, which
was much needed at many points; directed the formation of new lines and
the posting of fresh batteries; and whenever the emergency permitted, he
took himself to the battle front, where his presence served to reanimate
his sorely-beset soldiers. In spurring from one part of the field to
another, his aide-de-camp and much-loved companion, Lieut.-Col. Julius P.
Garesche, was beheaded by a cannon ball, and his blood sprinkled the
uniform of his commander. But battles give scant time for mourning, and
Rosecrans, without delay, ordered the further disintegration of
Crittenden's corps, that reenforcements might be sent where needed.
Harker, of Wood's division, was hurried after Beatty,--to the right of
Rosecrans's division of Thomas's corps,--while Hascall's brigade was held
as a mobile body, under the eye of General Wood himself.
Upon Thomas now fell a burden of tremendous weight. He had early perceived
the displacement of Sheridan, and had sent two brigades of Rosseau's
division to reenforce that commander and support his right. Then he turned
to face one of the most dangerous and furious efforts made by the foe
during the whole day. Hardee, with his whole force, was moving to take
Sheridan in flank and in the rear; Cheatham, of Polk's corps, was
advancing against Sheridan in front, and Withers was preparing to leap
upon Negley. To give way here would be fatal, for back of Thomas and of
what was left of the right wing Rosecrans was hastily arranging a new
battle-line to hold the Nashville Pike.
The commander of the centre seemed ubiquitous. Though his charger never
broke out of the slow pace that had given its master the nickname of "Old
Trot," Thomas was apparently in all places at once,--now directing the
firing to repulse a charge, now placing a regiment in line, and again
marking a point to which his troops must retire and take up the fight
anew.
The Confederate infantry now pressed forward in a frenzy of enthusiasm.
The piercing "rebel yell" rose triumphantly above the roar of cannon and
the bark of musketry, and many regiments pressed clear to the borders of
the cedars in which the Union troops were posted, before they had to
retire from a merciless fire.
Again and again Hardee and Cheatham brought their men to the charge. The
exigencies of the battle twisted the Union line into strange shapes. Here
a brigade was in a half-circle with a concave side to the enemy; another
presented a convex front to attack. Miller's brigade of Negley's division
was like a triangle without the base, and, aided by splendid artillery
service, repulsed simultaneously assaults in front and on both sides. But
many trains having been captured or swept away, Sheridan's men found
themselves out of ammunition, and his division was withdrawn, leaving
Negley's right and Rosseau's left "in the air." Into the interval poured
the Confederate columns. Thomas was compelled to withdraw his two
divisions to an improvised line, and Negley and Rosseau reluctantly faced
the rear.
The firing had been so heavy in these divisions that the cartridge-boxes
of dead and wounded had been robbed for the precious ammunition. Rosseau
made the movement under fire, but, reaching Thomas's temporary line,
turned and delivered such a blast from rifles and artillery as threw back
the pursuing enemy and left the field covered with bodies.
Shepherd's brigade of regulars especially distinguished itself here; for,
firing by platoon from flank to flank,--as steadily as though at
drill,--it cut down the enemy in front as a scythe mows grain, and drove
away a greatly superior force, losing in a few minutes one-third of its
whole number. Negley's division was almost surrounded, and had to cut its
way,--sometimes at the point of the bayonet,--through the Confederates,
who had reached its rear. In the movement this division had to abandon six
guns.
Palmer's division, which was already fiercely engaged, was now in the
greatest peril, as Negley's retirement left an unprotected flank. On the
right Cruft's brigade was almost surrounded while repulsing a frontal
attack; but Grose's brigade, held in reserve, changed front to the rear
and cleared a way. Hazen, at the apex of what was known as the "Round
Forest," met repeated heavy attacks, but, owing to superior position and
artillery support, was able to hold his own, though losing heavily. As
Palmer retired, his division established connection with the right and
faced the enemy with renewed confidence.
The grand wheel had now traversed the full quarter of a circle. It had
been carried out with remarkable consistency and with remarkable speed and
power. Every command in Bragg's army, with the exception of his reserve,
had felt the impulse of the great maneuver, had taken a place therein, in
regular order, and, at first glance, it would have seemed with complete
success. For the entire Union army, with the exception of a small part of
the left wing, had been forced from position. Its battle-front, instead of
facing squarely east, now faced south, and its curving line was in place
behind the Nashville Pike,--its only avenue of safety,--which in some
instances was in plain sight of the enemy and within reach of his
artillery and musketry. But though Rosecrans had lost heavily in men,
guns, horses, and ammunition, Bragg had not escaped without cost. Some of
his splendid brigades mustered but half of the strength with which they
had begun the battle, and almost all the men were so exhausted as to be
unable to go further. Moreover, they faced an army of men,--men who
disliked being beaten, who occupied an elevated position of great
strength, who had secured fresh stores of ammunition, who, acutely
conscious of their danger, were resolved not to yield further, and who
actually, here and there, showed a disposition to make reprisals upon
their valiant foe.
But Bragg had not entirely exhausted his resources. The Union left lay
temptingly near him, and, if he could crush or turn it, the rest of
Rosecrans's army might still be his. Fresh troops were needed for such an
attempt, but the five brigades of Breckinridge's division were at hand and
they were summoned for the final effort. Breckenridge had been asked for
reenforcements early in the day, but he had seen Van Cleve's big division
start in his direction, and, apparently, had not seen it return when it
was sent flying to arrest the rout of McCook's corps. He had also been
ordered to meet some reenforcements, which Bragg had thought were coming
to Rosecrans, but which did not appear; and consequently, had kept his
division intact. Now he detached the brigades of Adams and Jackson, which,
dashing through the river, threw themselves impetuously upon the Union
forces in the "Round Forest." Upon Hazen's sorely-tried troops the brunt
of the assault fell, but, using the railroad embankment as a protection,
they managed to hold on. Soon Adams and Jackson turned back, shattered
beyond further use.
Now Breckinridge in person led to the assault the brigades of Preston and
Palmer; but Hazen was now aided by whatever regiments, battalions, and
odds and ends of troops could be spared to him. Preston and Palmer were
not only driven back, but they left some prisoners as a result of a
countercharge by a Union regiment.
Here ended the first day's battle.