tion. Lieut.-Gen. Polk was ordered to assail the enemy on the extreme right at day-dawn on the 20th, and to take up the attack in succession rapidly to the left. The left wing was to await the attack by the right, take it up promptly when made, and the whole line was then to be pushed vigorously and persistently against the enemy throughout its extent.

At dawn, Gen. Bragg was in the saddle, surrounded by his staff, eagerly listening for the sound of Polk's guns. The sun rose, and was mounting the sky, and still there was no note of attack from the right wing. Bragg chafed with impatience, and at last despatched one of his staff-officers, Maj. Lee, to ascertain the cause of Polk's delay, and urge him to a prompt and speedy movement. Gen. Polk, notwithstanding his clerical antecedents, was noted for his fondness of military ostentation, and carried a train of staff officers whose numbers and superb dress were the occasions of singular remark. Maj. Lee found him seated at a comfortable breakfast, surrounded by brilliantly dressed officers, and delivered his message with military bluntness and brevity. Gen. Polk replied that he had ordered Hill to open the action, that he was waiting for him, and he added: "Do tell Gen. Bragg that my heart is overflowing with anxiety for the attack-overflowing with anxiety, sir." Maj. Lee returned to the commanding-general, and reported the reply literally. Bragg uttered a terrible exclamation, in which Polk, Hill, and all his generals were included. Maj. Lee,” he cried, " ride along the line, and order every captain to take his men instantly into action." In fifteen minutes the battle was joined; but three hours of valuable time had been lost, in which Rosecrans was desperately busy in strengthening his position.

It was 10 o'clock when the battle opened on the right wing of the Confederates, and the command "forward" ran down their ranks. Breckinridge moved forward with his division, but, after a severe contest, was pressed back. Had the reserve ordered forward to Breckinridge's support come up in time, the enemy's position might have been carried, and prevented the conflict of the afternoon. As it was, notwithstanding the partial repulse, several pieces of artillery were captured and a large number of prisoners.

At the same time each succeeding division to the left gradually became engaged with the enemy, extending to Longstreet's wing. Walker's division advanced to the relief of Breckinridge, and, after an engagement of half an hour, was also compelled to retire under the severe fire of the enemy. The gallant Tennesseans, under Cheatham, then advanced to the relief of Walker, but even they wavered and fell back under the terrible fire of the enemy. Cleburne's division, which had several times gallantly charged the enemy, had also been checked, and Stuart's division, occupying the centre and left of our line, detached from Buckner's corps, had recoiled before the enemy.

BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA.

451

About three o'clock in the afternoon, Gen. Longstreet asked Gen. Bragg for some of the troops of the right wing, but was informed by him. that they had been beaten back so badly that they could be of no service. Longstreet had but one division that had not been engaged, and hesitated to venture to put it in, as the distress upon the Confederate right seemed to be almost as great as that of the enemy upon his right. He therefore concluded to hold Preston's division for the time, and urge on to renewed efforts the brave men who had already been engaged many hours. The enemy had obtained some heights near the Crawfish Spring Road, and strong ground upon which to rally. Here he gathered most of his broken forces, and reinforced them. After a long and bloody struggle, Johnson and Hindman gained the heights. Kershaw made a handsome attack upon the heights, simultaneously with Johnson and Hindman, but was not strong enough for the work. It was evident that with this position gained Longstreet would be complete master of the field. He therefore ordered Gen. Buckner to move Preston forward. Before this, however, Gen. Buckner had established a battery of twelve guns, raking down the enemy's line which opposed our right wing, and at the same time having fine play upon any force that might attempt to reinforce the hill that he was about to attack. Gen. Stewart, of his corps, was also ordered to move against any such force in flank. The combination was well-timed and arranged. Preston dashed gallantly at the hill. Stewart flanked a reinforcing column, and captured a large portion of it. At the same time, the fire of the battery struck such terrour into a heavy force close under it, that there were taken a large number of prisoners. Preston's assault, though not a complete success at the onset, taken in connection with the other operations, crippled the enemy so badly that his ranks were badly broken, and by a flank movement and another advance the heights were gained. These reinforcements were the enemy's last or reserve corps, and a part also of the line that had been opposing our right wing during the morning. The enemy broke up in great confusion along Longstreet's front, and, about the same time, the right wing made a gallant dash, and gained the line that had been held so long and obstinately against it. A simultaneous and continuous shout from the two wings announced our success complete. The enemy had fought every man that he had, and every one had been in turn beaten. The day had been certainly saved by Longstreet; but it is but justice to add that his masterly manœuvre was followed up, and completed by Gen. Polk, and that it was under their combined attack that the enemy at last gave up the field.

The enemy was totally routed from right, left, and centre, and was in full retreat to Chattanooga, night alone preventing further pursuit. Polk's wing captured twenty-eight pieces of artillery, and Longstreet's twentyone, making forty-nine pieces of cannon, both wings taking nearly an

equal number of prisoners, amounting to over eight thousand, with fifteen thousand stand of arms, and forty stands of regimental colours. The enemy's loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, could not have been less than twenty thousand. Our own loss was heavy, and was computed by Gen. Bragg as "two-fifths of his army." The enemy was known to have had all his available force on the field, including his reserve, with a portion of Burnside's corps, numbering not less than eighty thousand, while our force was not fifty thousand. Nothing was more brilliant in all of Napoleon's Italian campaigns. Chickamauga was equally as desperate as the battle of Arcola; but it was productive of no decisive results, and we shall see that it was followed, as many another brilliant victory of the Confederates, by almost immediate consequences of disaster.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

CONFERENCE OF GENS. BRAGG AND LONGSTREET THE DAY AFTER THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA.--LONGSTREET'S PLAN OF CAMPAIGN NORTH OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER.—WHY GEN. BRAGG DECLINED IT.—HIS INVESTMENT OF CHATTANOOGA.—HE OUTS OFF THE ENEMY'S SUPPLIES. HE HOPES TO STARVE THE GARRISON INTO SURRENDER.-REORGANIZATION OF THE FEDERAL ARMIES IN THE WEST.-GEN. GRANT'S NEW AND LARGE COMMAND.-HIS FIRST TASK TO RELIEVE THOMAS IN CHATTANOOGA.-HIS SUCCESSFUL LODGMENT ON THR SOUTH SIDE OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER.-SURPRISE OF LONGSTREET.-THE CONFEDERATES RETREAT TO LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.-LONGSTREET MAKES A NIGHT ATTACK ON THE ENEMY'S NEW POSITION, BUT IS REPULSED.—THE ENEMY ACCOMPLISHES THE RELIEF OF CHATTANOOGA.-DETACHMENT OF LONGSTREET FROM BRAGG'S FRONT TO OPERATE AGAINST KNOXVILLE. THIS UNFORTUNATE MOVEMENT THE WORK OF PRESIDENT DAVIS.-MILITARY PRAGMATISM AND VANITY OF THE CONFEDERATE PRESIDENT.-GRANT DETERMINES TO TAKE THE OFFENSIVE. THE BATTLE OF MISSIONARY RIDGE.-EXTRAORDINARY STRENGTH OF THE CONFEDERATE POSITION.-TWO ATTACKS REPULSED.-GENERAL ADVANCE OF THE FEDERAL LINES TO THE CREST OF MISSIONARY RIDGE.-AUDACITY OF THE MOVEMENT.-BAD CONDUCT OF THE CONFEDERATE TROOPS.-A SHAMEFUL PANIC.-CAUSES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY MISCONDUCT OF BRAGG'S ARMY.—IT FALLS BACK TO DALTON.-LONGSTREET'S EXPEDITION AGAINST KNOXVILLE.-HIS PURSUIT OF BURNSIDE.-HIS UNSUCCESSFUL ASSAULT ON FORT SANDERS AT KNOXVILLE. HE RETREATS TO ROGERSVILLE, 18 CUT OFF FROM VIRGINIA, AND SPENDS THE WINTER IN NORTH-EASTERN TENNESSEE.-OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA IN THE FALL OF 1863-LEE ATTEMPTS TO FLANK MEADE AND GET BETWEEN HIM AND WASHINGTON. AN EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE OF STUART'S CAVALRY.-MEADE RETREATS TO AND BEYOND BULL RUN.-FAILURE OF LEE'S FLANK MOVEMENT.-INCIDENTS OF SUCCESS FOR THE CONFEDERATES.-LEE RETIRES TO THE RAPPAHANNOCK.—AFFAIR OF RAPPAHANNOCK BRIDGE.-AFFAIR OF GERMANIA FORD.-DESULTORY OPERATIONS BETWEEN LEE'S LINES AND EAST TENNESSEE.-AVERILL'S RAID.-CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1863 IN VIRGINIA.

THE morning after the battle of Chickamauga, Gen. Bragg stopped at the bivouac of Longstreet, and asked his views as to future movements. Gen. Longstreet suggested crossing the river above Chattanooga, so as to make ourselves sufficiently felt on the enemy's rear, as to force his evacuation of Chattanooga-indeed, force him back upon Nashville, and, if we should find our transportation inadequate for a continuance of this move

ment, to follow up the railroad to Knoxville, destroy Burnside, and from there threaten the enemy's railroad communication in rear of Nashville.

The reasons which induced Gen. Bragg to decline this plan of campaign were detailed in a report to the War Department at Richmond, in which he wrote: "The suggestion of a movement by our right, immediately after the battle, to the north of the Tennessee, and thence upon Nashville, requires notice only because it will find a place on the files of the Department. Such a movement was utterly impossible for want of transportation. Nearly half our army consisted of reinforcements just before the battle, without a wagon or an artillery horse, and nearly, if not quite, a third of the artillery horses on the field had been lost. The railroad bridges, too, had been destroyed to a point south of Ringgold, and on all the road from Cleveland to Knoxville. To these insurmountable difficulties were added the entire absence of means to cross the river, except by fording at a few precarious points too deep for artillery, and the wellknown danger of sudden rises, by which all communication would be cut off, a contingency which did actually happen a few days after the visionary scheme was proposed. But the most serious objection to the proposition was its entire want of military propriety. It abandoned to the enemy our entire line of communication, and laid open to him our depots of supplies, whilst it placed us with a greatly inferiour force beyond a difficult and, at times, impassable river, in a country affording no subsistence to men or animals. It also left open to the enemy, at a distance of only ten miles, our battle-field, with thousands of our wounded and his own and all the trophies and supplies we had won. All this was to be risked and given up for what? To gain the enemy's rear, and cut him off from his depot of supplies by the route over the mountains, when the very movement abandoned to his unmolested use the better and more practicable route of half the length on the south side of the river.

Our supplies

of all kinds were greatly reduced, the railroad having been constantly occupied in transporting troops, prisoners, and our wounded, and the bridges. having been destroyed to a point two miles south of Ringgold. These supplies were ordered to be replenished, and as soon as it was seen that we could be subsisted, the army was moved forward to seize and hold the only communication the enemy had with his supplies in the rear. His important road, and the shortest by half to his depot at Bridgeport, lay along the south bank of the Tennessee. The holding of this all-important route was confided to Lieut.-Gen. Longstreet's command, and its possession forced the enemy to a road double the length, over two ranges of mountains, by wagon transportation. At the same time, our cavalry, in large force, was thrown across the river to operate on this long and difficult route. These dispositions, faithfully sustained, ensured the enemy's speedy evacuation of Chattanooga for want of food and forage. Possessed of the