The National tribune., 1906-06-28
ARMY OF THE
CUMBERLAND.
tcontinsed from page ID

flank. He captu.edtfour guns and the
colors of the 26th Tenn. The 21st
Ohio was accorded the guns, and the
18th Pa the -colotssc Miller's men were
disorganized by thetimpetuosity OF the
movement. and hes halted them to
straighten his lines for he knew that
he was too weak to push his charge
home on the whole of Bragg's army.
| This gave time foe other troops to come
up, and Gen. JEFF c. Davis, eager to re-
trieve his misfortunes of the first days
battle. hurried across the river, sending
forward one brigade and following with
the other two. Some time was taken
up in reorganizing his lines, and this
gave the enemy time to. recover some
what from the panic. and when Davis
pushed forward his skirmish line II was
met with sharp resistance which pres
emily drew in the artillery. Night came
on, and Davis therefore halted his lines
in strong position, where he threw up
breastworks and went int bivouac-
This startling event changed the
whole aspect of the battle. Rosecrans
was now in force on the. heights on his
left. where he could attack Bragg s
right wing to advantage and enfilade
his center. He was no longer on the
defensive. but in an admirable posi-
ton to take the offensive very effec-
lively. The loss which Breckinridge
of power by weakening Bragg far more
than he had so far succeeded in weak
ening RosecranS. If Bragg had not
been able to force the Union line before
this period. he certainly was not after
the sickening battue of Mendenhal's
50 massed guns firing at short range
Again the army settled down around
their camp fires to think over the events
of the day and speculate on the prob
abilities of the morrow, with the spir-
its of the Union soldiers rising to Ella
tion and those of the Confederates
sinking into gloomy depression. 1t be-
gan to seem to the latter that all they
had done, suffered and lost was for
naught.
Saturday, Feb. 3.
dreary rain set I'm, which increased
in violence during Saturday, Jan. 3,
becoming so overpowering in its down
pour as to substantially prohibit all
movement. All the day long both sides
gathered around their smoky, sooty,
fires, which blackened hands and faces
to the complexion of Guinea negroes,
and waited for the next thing to hap
pen. 1t did not happen until 6 o'clock
in the evening. Spears Brigade, which
had taken no part in the fight, having
been engaged in guarding the line 10
Nashville, had come up, and with 1t and
BeattyS Brigade, TnOmaS, VINO nad
carefully selected time and place
went forward with rush which drove
the enemy out of the woods from which
they had been assailing the Center.
He continued the pressure upon the
Confederates until they were driven
back across their works. This made a
wide fracture in Bragg's line, separating
his two wings.
This was the end of the bloody bat
tie of Stone River. That night, under
cover of the rain and darkness, Bragg
began withdrawing his army. and IL
was high time f9f after Thomas's
movement Hardee was in serious dan
ger, and Breckintidge not by an means
safe. Bragg claimed that he thought
it advisable to retreat because of the
reception of reinforcements by Rose
Grams. AS matter of fact, Spears
Brigade was the only additional troops
Rosecrans had received.
The fact of Bragg's retreat was dis
covered early in the morning of the 4th
by the skirmishers finding no enemy in
front of them. AS the light of day
strengthened 1t, could be seen that ali
the country between them and Muir
freesboro, which, had for days been
swarming with armed masses, was now
deserted by all but a few stragglers
and the sorry Inmates of the hospitals.
ITO be continued.)