After the arduous fighting that had already taken place during the Battle of Murfreesboro, Braxton Bragg expected Rosecrans to retreat. When this did not happen, Bragg decided to renew his assaults and attack a part of Rosecrans’s line on the east side of Stone’s River that had considerable artillery support. Given the clear artillery strength of this position, his lieutenants were against this attack. When this attack finally went through, it backfired abysmally.