The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-04-02
The Broken Battle Line.

L AO olSdStSI W AIC0OOh anu SAltlChdtil D
corps of Rosecranss army was, no doubt,
greatly exaggerated by the fevered imagina-
ton of the rank and file of the shattered
commands. 1t seems to have been serious
enough, however, to be called demoralizing
defeat. Among all the splendid officers that
commanded in the two corps that were
broken not one could be found who could re-
form his lines. Sheridan did get his troops
back to Rossvlle in something like order,
and Wilder seems to have kept his mounted
infantry in good condition, for he secured
the commentator of Thomas and the much
coveted star for his work upon this field.
His official report furnishes a striking piece
of evidence as to the general decentralization
when Longstreet cut the army in two. 1t
reads
aforementioned Thurston, chief of
McCook's staff, soon appeared, and notified
me that the line to my left was driven back
and dispersed, and advised that Il had better
fall back to Lookout Mountain. | deter
mined, however, to cut my way through and
Join General Thomas, and was arranging my
line for that purpose when Charles A. Dana,
Assistant Secretary of War, came up, and
said that our troops had fled in utter panic;
that it was worse route than Bull Run;
that General Rosecrans was probably killed
or captured, and strongly advised me to fall
back and occupy the passes over Lookout
Mountain to prevent the rebel occupancy of
them" Mr.. Dana had come West represent
ing the War Department to observe military
operations on the field. Wilder's report
would seem to indicate that his experiences
here were not pleasant while Mr.. Dana
furnishes the best of testimony that Rose
Grams was pretty badly whipped here. The
Union loss was great, The gallant and gifted
General Lytle, who wrote Il am Dying,
Egypt, Dying" lost mis- life during the heat
of this portion of the fight
"No, cannot give you description of the
field as my troops drove McCook and Crit
tenden before them," said General Longstreet
to-day, as he refined up his horse right on the
ground where his command broke the Fed
eral line that day. Those two corps were
simply a wreck. Rosecrans's whole army
was saved from destruction by Bragg's fail
ure to follow up his advantages The fight
ing had been serious all the morning, but
without results This break was the turning
point of the battle, and it gave us substan
tial victory that Bragg threw away by allow
ing Rosecrans to escape and reorganize his
army"
Rosecrans and Longstreet had been class
mates and friends at West Point. Longstreet
had earnestly urged General Lee to make the
campaign against his former friend that re-
suited in this battle The irony of fate was
fully exemplifed in the fact that it remained
for him to first break the Federal line and to
sweep Rosecranss right and center from the
field.
When Bragg planned his battle here upon
the same gauge as he did Murfreesboro he
had made no provisions for the changes that
the tide of the conflict might make in it.
Therefore, Longstreet, when he had broken
the lines and swept the greater portion of
Crittenden's and McCooks troops through
the Gapin Missionary Ridge, reversed Braggs
order of battle and swung to the right in
stead of the left, with the intention of envel-
oping Thomas and making the defeat of the
army complete.
My first thought after facing toward
Thomas" said Longstreet to-day, when
speaking of this important phase of the bat
tie, was to cease the fighting in his front,
leave a force strong enough to engage his at
tention, move around to his rear, cut him off
from Chattanooga, and he would he at our
mercy. | spoke of this plan to Bragg He
replied No, you must engage him here. l
haven'ta man except yours that has any
fight in him. With this libel upon such
fine soldiers as Cleburne, Breckenridge,
Cheatham, Walker and several other gen.
erals of Folks wing commanding in
this fight he left me. His first move seems
to me TO have been to countermand my
order to Wheeler to hotly pursue Crittenden
and McCook with his cavalry. He directed
him to turn his attention TO collecting the
small arms left on the field and driving in
the stragglers When / spoke to him about