Band 
Volume III.
Seite
650
JPEG-Download
 

650

CHICKAMAUGA—THE GREAT BATTLE OF THE WEST.

*

CRAWFISH SPRINGS. FROM A PHOTOGRAPHTAKEN IN 1884.

captured at the same time. The de-feat had become a panic, and Baird’sand Brannan’s men were going pell-mell to the rear, when the victorious^ Liddell found himself in the pres-

ence of a long line of Federal troopsoverlapping both flanks of his little force. These were the troops of Bran-nan’s reorganized division on his right, and of the freshly arrived divisionof R. W. Johnson from McCook. Liddell extricated himself skillfully, losingheavily, however, and being compelled to abandon his captured guns. Itwas by Rosecrans’s own order, at 10:15 A. m., that R. W. Johnson had beenhurried forward five miles from Crawfish Springs, just in time to save theFederal left from a grave disaster. At 11 a. m. Bragg ordered Cheatham tothe relief of Liddell, but he reached the ground after Johnson—too late todrive Brannan as well as Baird off the field. Cheatham’s veteran divisionof seven thousand men advanced gallantly, driving the enemy before it,when it was in its turn hurled back by an attacking column which Thomashad organized after the defeat of Liddell and the arrival of two fresh di-visions, viz., Palmer’s of Crittenden’s corps and Reynolds of his own corps.

Unfortunately for the Confederates, there was no general advance, as theremight have been along the whole line—an advance that must have given amore decisive victory on the 19th than was gained on the 20th. It was desul-tory fighting from right to left, without concert, and at inopportune times-It was the sparring of the amateur boxer, and not the crushing blows of the