Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-09-26
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Lining Up at a ;s; II: Isl,
':' ;:::: ,.., Chickamauga
A FORTIETH
AfNIvERSARY
WAR STORY

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But Rosecrans had not sent McCook
away beyond recall. Furthermore, he
had not merely posted picket guards on
The Chattanooga roads. Thomas had
placed at least brigade on every road
leading from the numerous fords of the
Chickamauga to Rossville and in a
manner to be quickly concentrated up
on threatened point. Rosecrans
brought back two divisions of Nc
Cooks column to aid Thomas and also
called up. three divisions of reserves
Under General Crittenden This mass
Ing OF troops around Thomas made his
line the pivot of the great. battle to
come. As the lines were, he had the
left wing and stood as a bulwark be-
tween the enemy and the roads to
Chattanooga.
War writers use the phrase "bringing
on battle" to illustrate how some tri-
ding affair precipitates a fight where
hone was intended in the plans of the
leaders. So Thomas brought on the
battle Of Chickamauga by going out to
smash the Confederates who had cross
ed the dead line and might get trouble
some If let alone. Bragg hadn't intend
ed to fight at that time and place any
thing more serious than skirmishes to
clear the Chattanooga roads. Rose
Grams hadn't intended to fight then and
there either, for the battle ground was
too far from the Rossyille road.
Half score of little fights, starting
with brigade and drawing in a divi-
sion, took place Sept. 10, and that night
Bragg's army was lined up west of
the Chickamauga. Leonidas Polk CON-
manded the right wing and Longstreet,
Lees old warhorse from the Army of
Northern Virginia, the left. Longstreet
had brought two divisions of his old
corps with him to help save Chattanoo-
ga. General D. II. Hill, another of
Lees marshals, commanded a corps Of
western troops. Buckner Of Donelson
fame led corps. Hood and McLaws,
who had led the fierce fight In front of
Round Top at Gettysburg, were there.
Pat Cleburne, the "Stonewall of the
West;" Breckenridge, the fighting Ken
tuckian; Joe Wheeler, the cavalryman,
and Forrest, the all round fighter, were
there with their hardened veterans
from Shiloh and Murfreesboro.
| With Rosecrans were Thomas, Nc
Cook and Thomas L. Crittenden as
leaders Of army corps. With Thomas
were Baird and Negley and Brannan
and ]. J. Reynolds, with McCook JEFF
G. Davis, R. w. johnson and Phil Sher-
idan, leaders of divisions, and with
Crittenden T. J. Wood, Palmer and
Van Cleve. Gordon Granger command
ed reserve of three brigades stationed
well back on the Rossville road, and
two divisions Of cavalry under Edward
McCook and General Crook watched
over the wagon trains.
When morning dawned on the Goth
a heavy fog hung over the valley. The
Confederate chiefs had been given
their orders for attack, and at 8 o'clock
the battle opened near where the fight
ing ended the night before, the center
of Thomas line. During the night
Thomas troops had built rude breast
works Of rails and logs in front Of
state road running through the battle
field parallel to the creek and connect
ing with the Rossville road three miles
away. A road from the creek led into
this at the point in the line held by
Baird's division.
With prelude of skirmish fire, the
divisions of Cleburne and Breckenridge
dashed forward upon Baird's line The
famous Kentucky phalanx known as
the Orphan brigade was in the lead,
and in their eagerness the Kentuckians
rushed upon Baird's breastworks, only
to be beaten back. Baird's line was
Joined on the left by Beatty's brigade,
which had moved up in the night and
lay in the woods without breastworks.
Seeing the Kentuckians recoil from
Baird, Beatty brought out two guns of
Bridges Illinois battery and opened
! fire. The Fifteenth Kentucky regi-
ment Of Federals lay behind the bat
terry.
Bridges guns must be swept out of
the way or the Confederate charge
upon Baird would end in useless
slaughter. The leader of the Orphans,
Ben Hardin Helm, lined up the Sixth
Kentucky and rode along the ranks to
| infuse courage into the men for des-
perate deeds. The scene was battle
picture not to be put on canvas. Helm
was noble soldier, a friend of Lin
coin and a man he sought to win over
to the northern cause in 1861.
/ With few words, Helm led his Ken
tuckians forward into the battery, kill
ing its commander and all the horses
and cannoneers. Some of the Kentuck-
ians turned the guns upon Beatty's
men, and while Helm was directing
their fire the marksmen of the FIT
teenth Kentucky shot him dead in tho
saddle.
Pushing through the gap in Beatty's
broken line, the Confederates charged
past the flank of Baird and penetrated
to the state road. For an hour Thorn
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