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success in such cases (when success is possible), follows theuse of proper means. The total number of casualties inMcMillan’s brigade was 118, of which not more than two-thirds occurred in the final assault, and they were less thanhalf of those which occurred in Hubbard’s brigade, whichwent forward on its left against the works in the lowerground, and where Bate’s centre and right, holding on withbetter cover, were able to inflict considerable loss beforethe crushing of the whole of Hood’s left made their posi-tion untenable. The Twenty-third Corps was in reservenearly all of the first day, and its only losses worth men-tioning were in Couch ’s division, when carrying the hillclose to Shy’s in the evening. The position was of inestima-ble importance for one so cheaply gained, for the casualtieswere only 150. Those of the other division in the finalassault were less than twenty. As nearly always happens ina panic, the break of the enemy’s line was so sudden andcomplete that the loss was almost wholly on one side. Theloss in the cavalry corps was 329, and when distributedamong the three divisions, it must also be regarded astrifling, and the larger part, even of this, undoubtedly oc-curred in carrying the redoubts on the 15th.
These considerations show that the success was due chieflyto the tactical combination of a superior force, and thatmoral causes, growing out of the preceding part of thecampaign, must have had a great effect in producing dis-couragement among Hood’s men, and predisposing them topanic when the break in the line occurred. Hood was evi-dently in fault, as a tactician, on the 15th, when he allowedThomas to array his whole force diagonally beyond his leftflank, and awaited an attack in such a position. His onlyhope was to have drawn back to the Brentwood Hills atonce, without allowing his troops to become engaged. He