Negley's Division formed, and to its right were Brannan's troops. On his extreme right Brannan formed the Twentyfirst Ohio of nearly 800 men of Sirwell's Brigade, which Negley had sent to him before abandoning the field. All to the right of Brannan on the original line had been swept off the field. Davis' and Sheridan's Divisions, while hastening to the left to close the gap caused by Wood's withdrawal, were attacked in front and on their right by Hindman's Division, and on their left by Bushrod Johnson's. Gen. Lytle was killed in a supreme effort to face these lines with his brigade. This right composed of five brigades was pushed off the field without fault of their own, and continued in much confusion to McFarland's Gap. From this point, Davis, hearing that Thomas was steadfast on the field, upon receiving a request from him through a staff officer, turned back to join him. Sheridan, declining to regard this request, moved on to Rossville, and thence by the La Fayette Road toward Thomas. He reached Cloud's at dusk. Two corps of the enemy then held the road between that point and Thomas, and Sheridan returned to Rossville. Negley's Division, as has been seen, was early divided. John Beatty's Brigade had been sent at 8 o'clock to the left of Baird, Negley himself had followed later with Stanley's Brigade, and returned under orders to gather all artillery at hand in rear of the line, and post it on the high ground overlooking Baird's left. About fifty guns were collected, and conducted, instead, to the ridge occupied later by Gordon Granger's troops, and stationed on Gen. Brannan's right, with considerable infantry support. Very soon, and before they were directly attacked, the whole was ordered to the rear by Gen. Negley, and marched to Rossville. Gens. Rosecrans, Crittenden, and McCook had been cut off by the break at the center, and borne off the field in the confused retreat of the right. Rosecrans proceeded to Chattanooga and Thomas came into command on the field. Returning to the break in the center: While Hood's Divisions were sweeping northward toward the Snodgrass House through the eastern side of the Dyer Field and the adjoining woods, Bushrod Johnson turned to the right toward the ridge on the western side of the field. On its crest he captured fifteen guns which had been hastily gathered there, reaching them before they could do much execution. After reforming his line, he soon moved over this ridge, and arranged his forces to assault Snodgrass Hill. With his left at the Viditoe House, and Anderson's Brigade of Hindman's Division on his right, his line reached around the base of Horseshoe Ridge half way to the Snodgrass House, and joined the left of Kershaw's Brigade, which further extended the line to the road running up to that house. Humphrey's Brigade of Kershaw's Division formed the right of the assaulting lines, and faced the open crest beyond the house where Harker had taken final stand on the left of Brannan. The Union right rested above this array on the crest of the Horseshoe. It consisted of three brigades and one battery, with no reserve. While two Confederate divisions are preparing to assault and envelop that short line, there will be time to again consider the Union left around the Kelly Field. Forrest's Cavalry, in front of Cloud's, had moved forward before noon and captured the Union hospitals at the church and about the spring. Cleburne and Stewart had fought bitterly but unsuccessfully until 1 o'clock. Walker's two divisions (Gist's and Liddell's) had replaced Breckinridge, and at noon Gist's Division assaulted where Helm had been repulsed. Col. Peyton H. Colquitt, commanding a brigade, was killed, and the division repulsed. The troops of Liddell, in turn, advanced, and their leading brigade was also driven back. Then, from 1 o'clock till nearly sunset, there was no fighting of moment along the Kelly Field front. The eight divisions, four on each side, facing each other there, and the Confederate reserves, rested on their arms and listened hour after hour to the terrible pendulum swings of Longstreet's constantly repeated assaults on Snodgrass Hill. From 2 till 3 o'clock, Bushrod Johnson's and Kershaw's Divisions, with Anderson's Brigade of Hindman, struggled unremittingly against the short line on the crest. Before the hour ended, half of Brannan's troops were out of ammunition and standing behind their bayonets, and the left of Johnson had advanced and was crossing the crest which Negley had vacated on their right. Then help came to this line at bay as unexpectedly as if dropped from heaven. Gordon Granger with Steedman's Division, and Dan McCook's Brigade of J. D. Morgan's Division at McAfee's Church, over three miles away, had been impatiently listening to the terrific firing about the Horseshoe. At noon, he decided to march there without orders; and, just as the situation was full of gloom for Thomas, the head of Steedman's Division reached him. The column marched hastily into the ravine back of the Snodgrass House, attacked the line crossing the crest to Brannan's rear, drove it back by fighting which cost at least a third of those engaged, occupied the crest on Brannan s right, and extended Thomas' line to the crest overlooking the road to Rossville. Besides this welcome service, it divided its ammunition with Brannan's men. To make the relief still greater and sufficient, Van Derveer's Brigade, intact, arrived at the same moment from its charge upon Breckinridge in the Kelly Field. Like Granger's command, it had marched without orders toward the sound of the guns. It formed on Steedman's left, ascended the ridge, and made Brannan's thinned right a solid line again. At 3 o'clock, Maingault's and Deas' Brigades of Hindman's Division had formed near Viditoe's, on the left of Johnson, and three full divisions began a fresh assault. Johnson gained the extremity of a spur above the Viditoe House with Fulton's and part of Maingault's Brigades, and established two batteries there. At all other points, this most desperate assault, or rather series of assaults, failed. At 3 |