Crawfish Spring, to the South of the Chickamauga Battle-field. Rosecrans,
in concentrating his troops on the 18th of September, was still possessed
of the idea that Bragg was covering his retreat upon his railroad
connections at Dalton. Instead, the Confederate commander had massed his
forces on the other side of Chickamauga and was only awaiting the arrival
of Longstreet to assume the aggressive. On the morning of the 19th,
McCook's right wing at Crawfish Spring was strongly threatened by the
Confederates, while the real attack was made against the left in an effort
to turn it and cut Rosecrans off from a retreat upon Chattanooga. All day
long, brigade after brigade was marched from the right of the Federal line
in order to extend the left under Thomas and withstand this flanking
movement. Even after nightfall, Thomas, trying to re-form his lines and
carry them still farther to the left for the work of the morrow, brought
on a sharp conflict in the darkness. The Confederates had been held back,
but at heavy cost. That night, at the Widow Glenn's house, Rosecrans
consulted his generals. The exhausted Thomas, when roused from sleep for
his opinion, invariably answered, "I would strengthen the left." There
seemed as yet to be no crisis at hand, and the council closed with a song
by the debonair McCook.
[Illustration: WHERE THE LINES WERE SWEPT BACK