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HOLDING KENTUCKY FOR THE UNION.

389

trees who fired and wounded Fry’s horse. Fry at once fired on the manwho had accosted him, and several of his men, observing the incident,fired at the same time. The shots were fatal, and the horseman fell dead,pierced by a pistol-shot in his breast and by two musket-balls. It wassoon ascertained that it was Zollicoffer himself who had fallen. In themean time, the enemy were pressing Fry in front and overlapping hisright. On his right front only the fence separated the combatants. The leftof his regiment not being assailed, he movedtwo companies from that flank to his right.

As he was making this change GeneralThomas appeared on the field, and at onceplaced the 10th Indiana in position to coverFry’s exposed flank.

The fall of Zollicoffer and the sharp firingthat followed caused two of his regiments toretreat in confusion. Crittenden then broughtup Carroll’s brigade to the support of the othertwo, and ordered a general advance. Thomasmet this by placing a section of Kenny’s bat-tery on the left of the 4th Kentucky , whichwas overlapped by Carroll’s line, ordered the12th Kentucky to the left of Kenny’s twoguns, and Carter with the two East Tennesseeregiments, and Wetmore’s battery still fartherto the left, in front of the Somerset road.

Standart’s battery and Kenny’s remainingguns were held in the rear of the center, and McCook’s two regiments wereordered up, the 9th Ohio on the right of the 10th Indiana, and the 2d Minne-sota in reserve behind the latter regiment and the 4th Kentucky . Duringthese movements Kenny’s section was so threatened that it was withdrawnsome distance to the rear. There was little opportunity for the effective useof artillery on either side, and that arm played an insignificant part in theengagement, Thomas’s superiority in that particular availing him little. Car-roll’s attack was pressed with great courage, and the ammunition of the 4thKentucky and 10th Indiana beginning to fail, the 2d Minnesota was orderedto relieve them, which it did under severe fire. Both of McCook’s regimentswere admirably drilled and disciplined, and moved to the attack with theorder and steadiness of veterans. Thomas’s disposition of his troops hadbegun to tell. The advance of the 12th Kentucky on the left, the firing ofWetmore’s battery, and the movement of Carter’s East Tennesseeans checkedthe enemy’s right, and it soon began to give back. The 2d Minnesota wasslowly pushing forward over the ground that had been the scene of the mostpersistent fighting from the first, and the 9th Ohio , on the right, was forcing-back the enemy through open ground, when, slightly changing direction, itmade a bayonet charge against the enemy’s left, which gave way in confusion.Their whole line then broke into a disorderly retreat. After replenishing

BRIG.-GEN. FELIX K. ZOLLICOFFER, C. S. A.FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.