man already ascending the ridge in the rear of our left, suddenly discovered, in the rear of our centre, another column advancing. Was this another Rebel horde? The day had been one of surprises; might it not be that one of Longstreet's divisions, rushing through the gap left by Wood in the morning, had swung around even farther than Hindman, and that the entire army was surrounded? There were a few moments of most intense anxiety, when an officer rode toward this on-coming column, to ascertain if they were friend or foe. As he drew near he was able to perceive that the men, who were so covered with dust as at a distance to be indistinguishable from the enemy, were Union soldiers; but to whose command they belonged was a mystery. Riding up, he called out, "Whose troops are these?" "Mine, sir," was the cautious reply of the General, who was as yet uncertain to which side the officer addressing him belonged. "General, may I inquire your name?" said the officer. "I am General Steedman, commanding the first division of the reserve corps." "And I am serving on the staff of General Thomas, who directed me to ascertain who you were, as an approach from this quarter was unexpected."

As Steedman rode up to General Thomas, the latter remarked, "General, I never was so glad to see you before." Then, pointing to the ridge which Hindman's division had just occupied, he said, "You must drive the enemy off that ridge." "It shall be done," was the reply; and it was.

The eight thousand men went forward. A sheet of flame illuminated the crest of the hill; a roar of thunder shook the earth on which they trod; shot and shell ploughed through their ranks; but on, on, strode the assailing force. Along their ranks but one cry was heard, but one command, "Forward! forward!" They reached the crest, drove the opposing foe to the woods in the valley below, and then held the spot they had gained against every attempt of the enemy to retake it.

The day was saved; the army was saved. Victory, in the sense that the Rebels had failed and we had succeeded in the objective point of the campaign and battle, was ours. At nightfall without molestation the army, under orders, retired to Rossville, and thence to Chattanooga, for whose possession and occupancy so many labors had been endured, so many lives given.

THE

IN AND OUT OF LIBBY PRISON.

BY CHARLES WARRINGTON EARLE.

[Read November 11, 1886.]

HE success of the Union armies during 1863 was most encouraging. In the West, Vicksburg had surrendered to General Grant. In the East, the glorious victory at Gettysburg had been achieved; and the triumphs of the centre, under General Rosecrans, until Chickamauga, were all that could be desired. In the military operations which gave to us Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga, "the gateway to Georgia," the three corps of Rosecrans had become widely separated. Whether this was the fault of Rosecrans or of the authorities at Washington, is not for me to discuss at this time.

With General McCook (Twentieth Corps) at Alpine, General Crittenden (Twenty-first Corps) at Rossville and Ringgold, and General Thomas (Fourteenth Corps) at or near Lafayette, and the Confederate Army greatly reinforced, it is not at all wonderful that the Rebel commander prepared to attack and exterminate these corps "in detail." Every probability of success was in his favor; but bad generalship on his part, and rapid concentration on ours, prevented the destruction of our isolated corps, and gave us a moderately compact army at the beginning of the battle of Chickamauga. The result of this battle is historical. The first day's fight closed without particular advantage to either army, and the Confederate leaders were not a unit in favor of renewing the contest on the following day. But the attack was ordered, and about noon, during an important move

ment of our troops, several of our divisions, with General Rosecrans and two of his corps commanders, McCook and Crittenden, were forced from the field.

While the Army of the Cumberland was achieving its successive victories during the summer, and engaged in the movements which culminated in the battle to which we have only briefly alluded, General Gordon Granger's corps had been in reserve, and had occupied the ground captured by those in front. It had guarded railroad bridges and escorted prisoners, but had not participated in any engagement. To this corps the Ninety-sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteers belonged. When the Eastern army achieved its victory at Gettysburg, we began to fear that our regiment would never see a battle; and when Vicksburg fell we were sure that it was to be our lot to be discharged, the war having been brought to a successful termination without our seeing a Rebel or firing a musket. Our experience during the days preceding Chickamauga, and on Sunday afternoon, the last day of that fight, dispelled forever the idea that we were only playing soldier, and gave to the regiment the opportunity to make a reputation. The time came to try the metal of that organization, and it did not fail. It was tried by fire, shot, and shell, and it was not found wanting. It met every expectation of its friends.

Two brigades of Granger's Reserve Corps occupied the position assigned to them at the terrible battle of Chickamauga, at two P. M., Sunday, September 20, 1863. Their arrival was most opportune. General Thomas, that brave and dear old commander, although using every available man, was severely pressed on right, centre, and left; and at the moment of our arrival a new danger presented itself. On a ridge, running nearly at right angles with his line, was a large body of Rebels massed ready to move down and crush his right and attack the rear. These were Longstreet's reinforcements, and one of his divisions up to this time had not been engaged. The position assigned to