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His men “ watered their horses in the Tennessee River.” All now felt thatthe victory was won. Bragg, Polk, Hardee, Breckinridge, all the corps com-manders, were at the front, and in communication. Their generals werearound them. The hand that had launched the thunder-holt of war wascold, but its influence still nerved this host and its commanders. A lineof battle was formed, and all was ready for the last fell swoop, to compelan “unconditional surrender” by General Grant. *
The only position on the high grounds left to the Federals was held by Col-onel Webster, of Grant’s staff, who had collected some twenty guns or moreand manned them with volunteers. Soon after 4 o’clock Chalmers and Jack-son, proceeding down the river-bank while Prentiss’s surrender was going on,came upon this position. The approaches were bad from that direction; never-theless, they attacked resolutely, and, though repeatedly repulsed, kept up theirassaults till nightfall. At one time they drove some gunners from their guns,and their attack has been generally mistaken by Federal writers for the finalassault of the Confederate army— ivhich tvas never made. The Federal gen-erals and writers attribute their salvation to the repulse of Chalmers, and thehonor is claimed respectively for Webster’s artillery and for Ammen’s brigadeof Buell’s army, which came up at the last moment. But neither they nor allthat was left of the Federal army could have withstood five minutes the unitedadvance of the Confederate line, which was at hand and ready to deal thedeath-stroke. Their salvation came from a different quarter. Bragg, in hismonograph written for the rise of the writer in preparing the “ Life of A. S.Johnston, ” gives the following account of the close of the battle:
“ Concurring testimony, especially that of the prisoners on both sides,— our captured beingpresent and witnesses to the demoralization of the enemy, and their eagerness to escape or avoidfurther slaughter by surrender,— left no doubt but that a persistent, energetic assault wouldsoon have been crowned by a general yielding of his whole force. About one hour of daylightwas left to us. The enemy’s gun-boats, his last hope, took position opposite us in the river, andcommenced a furious cannonade at our supposed position. From the elevation necessary toreach the high bluff on which we were operating, this proved 1 all sound and fury signifyingnothing,’ and did not in the slightest degree mar our prospects or our progress. Not so, how-ever, in our rear, where these heavy shells fell among the reserves and stragglers; and to theutter dismay of the commanders on the field, the troops were seen to abandon their inspiringwork, and to retire sullenly from the contest when danger was almost past, and victory, sodearly purchased, was almost certain.”
Polk, Hardee, Breckinridge, Withers, Gibson, Gilmer, and all who werethere confirm this statement. General Buell says of Grant’s army that therewere “ not more than five thousand men in ranks and available on the battle-field at nightfall. . . . The rest were either killed, wounded, captured, or
scattered in inextricable and hopeless confusion for miles along the banks ofthe river.” General Nelson describes them as “ cowering under the river-bank, . . . frantic with fright and utterly demoralized.”
At this crisis came from General Beauregard an order for the withdrawalof the troops, of which his chief of staff says : “ General Beauregard, in themeantime, observing the exhausted, widely scattered condition of his army,directed it to be brought out of battle, collected and restored to order as far