Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-27
TCincinnati Commercial Gazette. /

lNdlCl1HHll OCi01lerClal 0dHOLtc'I
On the second day OF the battle Of Chick
amauga. after The right wing of Rosecrans
army had been routed, aud the whole BUR
den of the field had come upon the lett
wing. under command of General Thomas,
the right of his position, which ran aicng
ridge turning inTeros, was held oy
General Reynolds, then By General WOOD
with part Of his division, then by General
Brannan with part of his division. Posi-
tions had been taken in the emergencies
of battle. and organizations had been much
broken. These commands had now to re-
sist the attack of Bragg's left wing,
flushed with the rout OF our right.
Meanwhile, during all the forenoon,
Braggss right wing continued its attempt
to gain the road to the rear of Thomas
left, and was repeatedly repuls d with
great slaughter. At noon Thomas he ,rd
firing on his right in the rear OF his ST
position, and rode in that direction. SaIs
Van Hornes "Life of Thomas"
"a small force on these hills was row to
fight desperate battle, not to win wet ~,
but to save an army. The situation on h
right of Reynolds was now exceedingly critical.
There wide space between Reynolds and
Wood, aa0' her more narrow between the latter
and BranT o.. And on the ris ht of Brannan to
tie Dry Va ~ road there was no supporting
force.
General \ sley, with his Third brigade and
all his artillery had stopped for a time in
strong position, but had disappeared, and with
him had goneBeatty's brigadefrom the left of the
line, while its commander was doing service in
the combination which drove the enemy from
the rear of that line. Although Brsnnan's and
Woods divisions were not connected, the
strength in the two positions compensated in
great degree for the lack of continuity of line.
In Brannan' and Woods com
mands there were nominelly Six hrigades, bat
the aggregate, including broken forces, was
about {, 900 men. The successful resistance of
these men to several fierce assaults by the left
wing of Brasg's army made it possible for help
to come from unexpected source whom the
envy in heavy force had wheeled upon the hills
on the right of BranEan. and was moving to his
rear.''
"Opportunely, General Gordon Granger, COM
handing the reserve corps, reported to him
the advance of two OF his brigades. This corps
commander had been maueuveriug for several
days south and east from the Rossville Gap, near
the Lafayette road, and having observed that
the noise of the battle at night nearer than
In the morn. Bg, had directed General James B.
Steedman, with General Whitakers and John g.
toward the manifest conflict"
general Thomas ordered these troops to
charge the enemy and drive him over the hills.
The charge accompanied the grand result, and
thea the troops extended the line of battle from
Brannan's right to the Dry Valley road. In
the meantime, General Thomas had put Hazen's
brigade of ealmer's division between Wood and
Reynolds. The line Of battle was then neasly
continuous throughout its length'
In repeated assaults on this line the left
wing of Bragg's army was broken, as its
right was by Thomas left, and at night its
attacking force was completely spent.
Granger's movement was soldierly; but
not to have moved to the battle field on
the second day, when the enemy had dis
appeared from the quarter which he was
guarding, and the sound denoted the death
grappls, would be unsoldierly, not to say
disgraceful, although without special or
deIs. His arrival was timely, and the
fighting of these fresh troops was as
heroic as that of those who held the line
against the repeated assaults OF greater
numbers for two whole days, with hardly
any rest in the night.
Such unexpected aid in crisis ooncen-
trates attention on the action. and brings
most generous praise. Many brigadss
saved that day, when any hinching would
have broken the strained line which had
exhausted its reserves and had become
much thinned; but this change conspicu-
ously saved the day. They who knew Gen
ersl Thomas and the character of those
soldiers will not suppose that even in this
desperate situation he would not have
drawn in his right and still repuised
every attack, and then fought his way to
Chattanooga. But this rear movement
I ~,
posed him to be surrounded, and therefore
General Changers timely arrival saved the
army.
Thomas generously said SO. Rosecrans
in a private letter, in which he calls Gran
ger "that gallant and distinguished officer
who was crest ia battle" relates that
Thomas, at his headquarters few days
after the battle said to him in Granger's
presence, General, here is the man that
saved me.n The press correspondents at
the battle testified to General Grancer's
conspicuous gei'dutry ia the action. Gen
era! S-eedaau'a report Of the action of his
command refers 10 the orders aud pres
enco OF GenerSl Granger. He says:
g. a; baG past Il, September 81, General
tfftmser becoming satisfied, from ths heavy fir
ing and iseediug sounds of artillery that the
enemy was pressing the Left OF cur line severely.
oriora u'e t1 romoye t1 the battlefield as rap
IDLY as possible with Two hrigajes of lny com
mead, aenesyG Wh.taker's and Colonel Mitch
ellis. Immediately after reaching
General Thomas, { received orders 10 move on
the eaeuy ul the lefJ os General Woods divi-
sion. Af,or getting into position TO execute this
order. Major General Granger ordered me to
move to the right of General Branusn' division.
which order was promptly executed, and the
moment my troops were in position they moved
on the enemy, and after a severe fight of about
twenty-five minutes the enemy was driven from
his position, and my troops occupied the ridge
from which they had forced the enemy.
'Uu6er other circumstances it might be
proper for me to make moro elaborate and de-
tailed port of the part taken by my command
in the terrible conflict OF Sunday, but as ny
troops fought Urder the eye Of the major general
e0mmuafin1 hc corps General Grangerl, 1
haye doomed It proper TO Just briefly state in
general terms, the prominent features of the en-
gagcme1t.'"
The official reports Of Generals Thomas
and Rosecrsns corrobore4s General Steed-
mans as to Gordon Changers movement,
and give him high credit 10 was gal
liant officer, and commanded the two divis-
ions of Wood asd Sheridan ia ire demon
stration ordered by Grant on Mission
Ridge. when the troops by their own i'm
pulse tnr1ed into an assault which saved
thai