Lee & Gordon's mill, seen in the picture, marked the extreme right of the
Federal line on the second day at Chickamauga. From it, northward, were
posted the commands of McCook and Crittenden, depleted by the detachments
of troops the day before to strengthen the left. All might have gone well
if the main attack of the Confederates had continued to the left, as
Rosecrans expected. But hidden in the woods, almost within a stone's throw
of the Federal right on that misty morning, was the entire corps of
Longstreet, drawn up in columns of brigades at half distance--"a
masterpiece of tactics," giving space for each column to swing right or
left. Seizing a momentous opportunity which would have lasted but thirty
minutes at the most, Longstreet hurled them through a gap which, owing to
a misunderstanding, had been left open, and the entire Federal right was
swept from the field.
[Illustration: THE HOUSE WHENCE HELP CAME