By 2:00 P. M. the battle was raging on Snodgrass hill. This fighting was
at very close range and a great deal was hand-to-hand struggling. The
Confederates kept charging up the slopes, making every effort to drive
the Union troops from their position. They were never able to carry the
hill. A few of the Confederates passed over the hill to the right of the
Union line. They moved to the rear of Brannan and entered the valley
beyond his position. About 3.00 P. M., when the fighting reached its
peak, Longstreet sent to Bragg for re-enforcements from the right wing.
However, he never received them. On the contrary, he was told by Bragg
that the troops of the right wing had been beaten back so badly that
they would be of no service to him. There were Confederates in reserve
which had scarcely been engaged, if Longstreet could only have gotten
them. Along the Union line, it was quite different. At 3:30 P. M.,
Steedman’s division of Granger’s reserve corps came to Thomas’s
assistance. These re-enforcements consisted of Mitchell’s and Whitaker’s
brigades. They drove the Confederates from the rear of Brannan,
strengthened and prolonged the Union line westward. They also passed out
ammunition along the line. While the fighting was so severe the woods
caught on fire. This was caused by the artillery firing so low. Hundreds
of the soldiers, both Union and Confederate, were burned and scorched
beyond recognition. Steedman no doubt saved Thomas from having to
retreat from the hill since the latter’s ammunition supply was
completely exhausted. It was at this point that Thomas gained the name
of “The Rock of Chickamauga.”