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NOON TO MID-AFTERNOON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1863
The strength of Cheatham's Confederate division's attack necessitated
several reinforcements to Richard Johnson's and Palmer's Union
divisions. The help of Reynolds and Van Cleve's Federals finally caused
Cheatham's withdrawal.
On Cheatham's left, Stewart's division attacked in column and drove
back elements of Palmer, Van Cleve, and Reynolds. Stewart's momentum
carried him across the Lafayette Road near the Brotherton Farm,
penetrating the developing Federal line. Farther to the south, Jefferson
C. Davis's Federal division encountered Confederates east of the
Chattanooga-Lafayette Road.
As a result of the southward flow of the fighting, units that had
fought in the opening actions had disengaged and were resting and
reorganizing.
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The defeat of Cheatham's division by Johnson, Palmer, and Van Cleve
did not prove decisive, and again it was Bragg's turn to alter the
balance. Since early morning Major General Alexander Stewart's
division had been waiting patiently near Thedford's Ford. Around noon
Bragg ordered Stewart to report to Polk and enter the battle. Stewart
marched north through the forest to the Brock Farm, where he encountered
Wright's retreating brigade. Apprised of Van Cleve's position on his
left, Stewart resolved to strike that unit on his own authority. Forming
his division into a column of brigades, he turned west with Brigadier General
Henry Clayton's brigade in the lead. Confronting Beatty's Dick's, and
Grose's Federals, Clayton's troops stood their ground and fired until
their ammunition was expended. Stewart then replaced Clayton's men with
Brigadier General John Brown's brigade. With a yell Brown's regiments
drove Beatty's and Dick's troops from the woods east of the LaFayette
Road. There Brown paused, his energy momentarily spent.
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THE BROTHERTON FARMSTEAD WAS THE SCENE OF CONFEDERATE
PENETRATIONS ON BOTH SEPTEMBER 19 AND 20, 1863. THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN
CIRCA 1898. (NPS)
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Sensing that the Federals who had withdrawn behind Reynolds's guns in
the Brotherton Field were shaky, Stewart committed his last brigade,
Brigadier General William Bate's, Bate burst from the forest shortly
after 3:30 P.M. and quickly routed Van Cleve's division. Hazen's
brigade, which was nearby replenishing ammunition, attempted to assist
Van Cleve but was also swept westward. At approximately the same time,
Colonel James Sheffield's brigade from Hood's division entered the fight
on Bate's right and drove back Grose's and Cruft's brigades. A counterattack
by Brigadier General John Turchin's brigade of Reynolds's division
halted Sheffield, but for a time nothing could stop Bate's rampaging
Confederates. With Van Cleve's soldiers fleeing madly before him, Bate
raced through the Brotherton Field and finally into the south end of the
Dyer Field. There Stewart and Bate paused to survey their surroundings.
They had created a major rupture in the Federal line, but without
reinforcement they could not remain in their advanced position. Seeing
Federal troops approaching from both flanks, Stewart sadly ordered Bate
to withdraw east of the LaFayette Road.
During his march north Stewart had passed behind Bushrod Johnson's
division of Hood's corps. This division remained undisturbed until
shortly after 2:00 P.M. when it was approached by Brigadier General
Jefferson Davis's two-brigade division of the Twentieth Corps. Ordered
north by Rosecrans from Crawfish Spring, Davis quickly found himself in
trouble. On Davis's left Colonel Hans Heg's brigade was counterattacked
by Johnson, who forced it across the LaFayette Road. Having vanquished
the immediate Federal threat, Hood ordered the Confederate advance to
continue. Johnson crossed the LaFayette
Road with two brigades abreast and one in reserve, but his neat
formations soon unraveled. On his right Colonel John Fulton's brigade
drifted to the northwest, where it routed King's brigade and inadvertently
assisted Bate in clearing the Brotherton Field. On Johnson's
left Brigadier General John Gregg's regiments
were checked by Wilder's brigade, which now occupied a reserve
position at the western edge of the Viniard Farm. When Gregg was
seriously wounded, his brigade advanced no further, Called forward by
Johnson, Brigadier General Evander McNair's brigade also fragmented,
with two regiments briefly crossing the
LaFayette Road and the remainder following Fulton to the
northwest.
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MID-AFTERNOON TO DARK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1863
Stewart's penetration across Lafayette Road was a crisis for the
Federals. Stewart had attacked without support. As a result, Palmer's,
Reynolds's, and Van Cleve's divisions were able to stop Stewart. The
arrival of Negley's division, and the movement of Brannan's, forced
Stewart back to the east side of the road.
Bushrod Johnson's division attacked to the south of Stewart, but was
in turn driven back by Federals. In the area of the Viniard Farm,
Davis's division, aided by Wood's, fought elements of Confederate
divisions under Bushrod Johnson and Hood. Hood's attack drove Davis and
Wood back, but Wilder's brigade, fighting on foot from a well-chosen
position, stopped Hood's attack. The arrival of Sheridan's division
stabilized the situation for the Federals.
At the northern part of the field, Cleburne's fresh division,
supported by Cheatham's, attacked at dark striking Thomas's troops. This
confusing flight was inconclusive, and Thomas pulled back that night
to better defensive positions.
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As Johnson's attack stalled, Brigadier General Thomas Wood's
two-brigade division reached the field. Ordered northward around 3:00
P.M. from Lee and Gordon's Mill, Wood posted Colonel George Buell's
brigade north of the Viniard House, then continued up the LaFayette Road
with Colonel Charles Harker's brigade. Arriving in the rear of Fulton's
and McNair's regiments, Harker fired into the backs of the surprised
Confederates. The unexpected fire stunned Johnson's men, and they fled
to safety in the woods east of the road. Aware that he was isolated,
Harker quickly withdrew to the west, South of Harker, Buell's men had
hardly taken position when they were assaulted by part of Brigadier
General Evander Law's division. Passing behind Johnson's command, the
brigades of Brigadier Generals Jerome Robertson and Henry Benning pushed
southwest toward the Viniard Field. Brushing aside Brigadier General
William Carlin's brigade of Davis's division, they violently
struck Buell and sent him flying behind Wilder's line. Rushing forward,
Robertson's and Benning's men reached a drainage ditch in front of
Wilder's position but could advance no further.
Several times before sunset Crittenden, Wood, and Davis mounted
unsuccessful counterattacks to regain the ground around the Viniard
House. In one of these futile advances brigade commander Hans Heg was
mortally wounded leading his men toward the LaFayette Road. Finally,
late in the day Rosecrans threw into the fight at Viniard's virtually
his last reserve. When Wood's division had left Lee and Gordon's Mill,
its place had been taken by Sheridan's division of McCook's corps. Now
Sheridan was needed at Viniard's to strengthen the efforts to regain the
LaFayette Road. Leaving one brigade at the mill, Sheridan marched north
with the brigades of Colonels Luther Bradley and Bernard Laiboldt.
Bradley's brigade entered the fight first and, although its commander
was wounded, it carried the day. Heavily outnumbered, Robertson's and
Benning's men finally relinquished their hold on the Viniard Field and
withdrew eastward into the forest. Behind them the field was carpeted
with the dead and wounded of both sides, silent testimony to the
intensity of the struggle for its possession.
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THERE MONUMENTS REPRESENT UNION TROOPS
ENGAGED AT THE VINIARD FARM AGAINST SOLDIERS OF THE CONFEDERATE LEFT
FLANK. SEPTEMBER 19, 1863. (NPS)
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MAJOR GENERAL PATRICK RONAYNE CLEBURNE (BL)
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As night approached, the sounds of conflict were gradually dying away
when, suddenly, on the north end of the battlefield the roar of gunfire
broke out anew. Trying to preserve his original concept of driving the
Federals southward, Bragg in mid-afternoon had ordered Daniel H. Hill to
send Major General Patrick Cleburne's division to join Polk's effort on
the army's right. By 6:00 P.M. Cleburne was in position
behind Walker's corps facing the Winfrey
Field. That sector had been quiet for several hours as the fighting
had migrated to the south. Nor did the Federal units west of the Winfrey
Field desire to upset the equilibrium. Thomas had chosen a better
defensive position nearer the LaFayette Road, and he had begun to
withdraw his divisions to the new line. Momentarily left behind was
Richard Johnson's division, which would cover the withdrawal of Thomas's
other units. Ready to assist Johnson was Baird's division, now
reconstituted after its morning rout.
At sunset Cleburne's division swept forward with all three brigades
abreast. On Cleburne's right Brigadier General Lucius Polk's brigade overlapped
Colonel Philemon Baldwin's position. In the center Brigadier General
Sterling Wood's brigade crossed the Winfrey Field to hit Baldwin
frontally. On the left Brigadier General James Deshler's brigade headed
through the woods toward the brigades of Brigadier General August
Willich and Colonel Joseph Dodge. Amid the smoke from burning underbrush
and the gathering darkness, Cleburne's assault soon degenerated into chaos.
Advancing to support Baldwin, some of Baird's men mistakenly fired into
their friends, who returned the fire. Attempting to lead a
counterattack, Baldwin was killed. On the Confederate side part of
Wood's brigade disintegrated, while Deshler's brigade missed the Federal
line entirely. As Brigadier General Preston Smith led his brigade
forward to support Deshler, he mistakenly rode into Federal lines and
was shot down by Dodge's brigade. Smith's killers then found themselves
surrounded. By 9:00 P.M., when the confusing melee ended, Johnson and
Baird had been driven back to Thomas's new line, leaving the Winfrey Field
to Cleburne's exhausted men.
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ILLUSTRATION PROM HARPER'S WEEKLY SHOWS THOMAS'S MEN
REPULSING THE CHARGE OF THE CONFEDERATES.
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The Winfrey Field fight was sputtering to a close when the leaders
of the Army of the Cumberland gathered in the modest cabin of widow
Eliza Glenn on the south edge of the battlefield. The discussion quickly
focused upon courses of action for the next day. The choices were:
attack, retreat, or stand firmly on the
defensive. With only five relatively fresh brigades, the army had
been too badly hurt to go on the offensive. Retreat was also out of the
question, especially with Assistant Secretary of War Charles Dana
present. If the army held its ground on the next day, Bragg might
retreat, as he had done after Perryville and Stones River. Thus
Rosecrans concluded that the Army of the Cumberland must stand. Thomas
would maintain his present position, a roughly north-south line with a
salient bending east of the LaFayette Road to encompass the Kelly Farm.
On Thomas's right, McCook would withdraw from the Viniard Field and
anchor his right near the Widow Glenn's. Crittenden would place his two
weakened divisions in reserve behind the army's right center. Granger,
who had reached Rossville with part of the Reserve Corps, was
telegraphed to be prepared to support Thomas if necessary.
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THIS PAINTING BY THOMAS BUCHANAN REID DEPICTS THE MAIN
HOUSE OF THE KELLY FARMSTEAD THAT BURNED THE AFTERNOON OF SEPTEMBER
20, 1863. (NPS)
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Little more than two miles away at Thedford's Ford, Bragg met
individually with his commanders. Unhappy with the disjointed way in
which the battle had been fought and perhaps distrustful of Hill and
Buckner, Bragg had decided to divide
his army into two wings. First to arrive was Leonidas Polk. Although
he harbored grave reservations about Polk's competence, Bragg felt
compelled to give his most senior subordinate a wing commander's role.
Polk's right wing consisted of Hill's corps, Walker's corps, and
Cheatham's division. With those forces Polk would initiate the army's
assault on the Federal left at daybreak. Beginning with Polk's
rightmost division, the attack would roll southward sequentially and drive
the Federals away from Chattanooga. Aware that James Longstreet had
reached the area, Bragg assigned him the left wing, composed of Hood's
corps, Buckner's corps, and Hindman's division of Polk's corps. When
Longstreet finally appeared around 11:00 P.M., he too received his
instructions, then lay down in the woods to rest. Only the army's third
lieutenant general, Harvey Hill, was unapprised of the plan, although he
learned from a staff officer that he had been subordinated to Polk.
Upon leaving Bragg, Polk rode to his own headquarters near
Alexander's Bridge. He was accompanied by Major General John
Breckinridge, one of Hill's division
commanders. While Polk and Breckinridge chatted, Polk's staff
prepared written orders for Hill, Walker, and Cheatham and dispatched
them by courier. Walker and Cheatham received their assignments, but the
courier seeking Hill could not find him. Returning to headquarters, the
courier was not permitted to disturb anyone, so he returned to his unit
without transmitting the vital information that Hill had not received
his orders. Similarly, Breckinridge apparently left Polk's camp with no
inkling that a dawn attack was contemplated and that his division was to
initiate it. As for Hill himself, when he reached Alexander's Bridge
around 4:00 A.M. the guards that had been posted to guide him had
retired for the evening. Disgusted, Hill turned and rode to join his
corps near the Winfrey Field. He was still unaware of his role in the
coming day's fight.
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THE WOODEN BREASTWORKS OF THOMAS'S MEN
ARE MISSING FROM THIS DRAWING BY HARRY J. KELLOGG OF THE UNION LINE AT
KELLY FIELD. (NPS)
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During the night of September 19 a weather front passed over the
battlefield, causing the temperature to plummet and increasing the
suffering of the thousands of wounded lying in the woods. In the valley
of Chickamauga Creek dense fog developed. Elsewhere, the smoke from the
previous day's battle hung heavily in the air. Awakening around 5:00
A.M., Polk soon discovered that no orders had reached Hill. In haste,
Polk's staff drafted new orders to Breckinridge and Cleburne and sent
them off shortly after 5:30 A.M. Thirty minutes later, a courier found
Hill in company with his two subordinates just west of the Winfrey
Field. In a written response to Polk, later amplified verbally to Bragg,
Hill complained that several things would have to be done before his
corps could attack. His line overlapped adjacent units and would have to
be adjusted; the enemy line had not been reconnoitered and would
have to be scouted; and his own troops had not finished receiving
their breakfast rations. Disgruntled, Bragg acquiesced in the delay.
While the Confederates dawdled, Rosecrans rode to the north end of
his line. There he found the intersection of the Lafayette and
McFarland's Gap roads unprotected. To cover the junction, Thomas
requested Major General James Negley's division, a Fourteenth Corps unit
in McCook's sector. Rosecrans approved the request, specifying that
McCook was to replace Negley. Riding southward a little later, Rosecrans
discovered that Negley had not been relieved. Ordering Negley to send
his reserve brigade to Thomas at once, Rosecrans told Crittenden to fill
Negley's place. After visiting McCook, Rosecrans again rode northward,
He found Negley still in position, with Wood's division just arriving. Impatiently
Rosecrans ordered Wood to expedite the relief of Negley's remaining
brigades. Camp gossip later asserted that Rosecrans had
sulfurously berated Wood in front of his staff, but Wood categorically
denied that such an altercation had occurred. Chastised or not, Wood
placed Buell's and Harker's brigades, plus Colonel Sidney Barnes's
brigade from Van Cleve's division, into Negley's position.
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