Chapter XV. Stone River

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　Dick awoke at sunrise of the last day of the year, and Warner andPennington were up a moment later. There was no fog. The sun hung a low,red ball in the steel blue sky of winter. No fires had been lighted,cold food being served.

　　He heard far off to right a steady tattoo like the rapid beat of manysmall drums. A quiver ran through the lads who were now gathering inthe wood and at its edge. But Dick knew that the fire was distant. Theother wing had opened the battle, and it might be a long time beforetheir own division was drawn into the conflict.

　　He stood there as the sound grew louder, a continuous crash of rifles,accompanied by the heavy boom of cannon, and far off he saw a great cloudof smoke gathering over the forest. But no shouting reached his ears,nor could he see the men in combat. Colonel Winchester, who was standingbeside him, shrugged his shoulders.

　　"They're engaged heavily, or they will be very soon," he said.

　　"And it looks as if we'd have to wait," said Dick.

　　"Things point that way. The general thinks so, too. It seems that Bragghas moved his forces in the night, and that the portion of the enemy infront of us is some distance off."

　　Dick soon confided this news to Warner and Pennington, who lookeddiscontented.

　　"If we've got to fight, I'd rather do it now and get it over," saidPennington. "If I'm going to be killed the difference between morningand afternoon won't matter, but if I'm not going to be killed it'll beworth a lot to get this weight off my mind."

　　"And if we're far away from the enemy it's easy enough for us to go upclose to him," said Warner. "I take it that we're not here to keep outof his way, and, if our brethren are pounding now, oughtn't we to go inand help them pound? Remember how we divided our strength at Antietam."

　　Dick shrugged his shoulders. His feelings were too bitter for him tomake a reply save to say: "I don't know anything about it."

　　Meanwhile the distant combat roared and deepened. It was obvious that agreat battle was going on, but the division lay quiet obeying its orders.The sun rose higher in the cold, steely blue heavens and then Dick,who was watching a forest opposite them, uttered a loud cry. He had seenmany bayonets flashing among the leafless trees.

　　The cry was taken up by others who saw also, and suddenly a long Southernline, less than half a mile away, emerged into the open and advanced uponthem in silence, but with resolution, a bristling and terrific front ofsteel. After all their watching and waiting the Northern division hadbeen surprised. Many of the officers and soldiers, too, were in tentsthat had been set against the cold and damp. The horses that drew theartillery were being taken to water.

　　It was an awful moment and Dick's heart missed more than one beat,but in that crisis the American, often impatient of discipline, showedhis power of initiative and his resolute courage. While that bristlingfront of steel came on the soldiers formed themselves into line withoutwaiting for the commands of the officers. The artillerymen rushed totheir guns.

　　"Kneel, men! Kneel!" shouted Colonel Winchester to his own regiment.He and all his officers were on foot, their horses having been left inthe rear the night before.

　　His men threw themselves down at his command, and, all along the Northernline formed so hastily, the rifles began to crackle, sending forth asheet of fire and bullets.

　　The Northern cannon, handled as always with skill and courage, wereat work now, too, and their shells and shot lashed the Southern ranksthrough and through. But Dick saw no pause in the advance of the men ingray. They did not even falter. Without a particle of shelter they cameon through the rain of death, their ranks closing up over the slain,their front line always presenting that bristling line of steel.

　　It seemed to Dick now that the points of the bayonets shone almost inhis face, gleaming through the smoke that hung between them and the foe,a gap that continually grew narrower as the Southern line never ceased tocome.

　　"Stand firm, lads; steady for God's sake, steady!" shouted ColonelWinchester, and then Dick heard no single voice, because the roar of thebattle broke over them like the sudden rush of a storm. He was consciousonly that the tips of the bayonets had reached them, and behind them hesaw the eyes in the brown faces gleaming.

　　Then he did not even see the brown faces, because there was such a stormof fire and smoke pouring forth bullets like hail, and the tumult ofshouts and of the crash of cannon and rifles was so awful that it blendedinto one general sound like the roaring of the infernal regions.

　　Dick felt himself borne back. It seemed to him that their line hadcracked like a bow bent too much. It was not anything that he saw but asense of the general result, and he was right. The Northern line whichhad not found time to form properly, was hurled back. Neither cannon norrifles could stop the three Southern brigades which were charging them.

　　The South struck like a tornado, and despite a resistance made with allthe fury and rage of despair, the Northern division was driven from itsposition, and its line broken in many places. A Northern general wastaken prisoner. The guns which could not be carried, because the horseswere gone, were taken by the triumphant Southerners, and over all theroar and tumult of the frightful battle Dick heard that piercing andtriumphant rebel yell, poured forth by thousands of throats and swellingover everything, in a fierce, dominant note.

　　Dick bumped against Warner as they were borne back in the smoke. He sawthe Vermonter's blackened lips move, and his own moved in the same way,but neither heard what the other said. Nevertheless Dick read the wordsin his comrade's eyes, and they said:

　　"Surprised again, Dick! Good God, surprised!"

　　Yet the young troops fought with a courage worthy of the toughestveterans. They gave ground, because the rush against them wasoverpowering, but they maintained a terrible fire which strewed the earthin front of them with dead and wounded.

　　"Behind those trees! Behind those trees!" suddenly called ColonelWinchester as they continued their sullen and fighting retreat, and heand the remnants of his regiment darted into a little wood just in time.There was a sudden rush of hoofbeats on their flank, and a cloud ofSouthern cavalry swept down, shearing away the entire side of theNorthern division as if it had been cleft with the slash of a mightysword. Besides the fallen a thousand prisoners and seven cannon fellinto the hands of the cavalrymen, who rushed on in search of freshtriumphs.

　　Dick shuddered with horror, but he saw that all his own immediate friendswere safe in the wood. A swarm of fugitives poured in after them,and then came colonels and generals making desperate efforts to reformtheir line of battle. But the Southern brigades gave them no chance.Their leaders continually urged on the pursuit. The broken regimentsfell back still loading and firing, and they would soon be on the banksof the creek again.

　　After a time that seemed almost infinite, Dick heard the roar of shellsover their heads. In their retreat the regiments had come upon anotherNorthern division which opposed a strong resistance to the Southernadvance. Winchester's men welcomed their friends joyfully. But thefresh troops could not stop the advance. The fire of the Southern cannonand rifles was so deadly that nearly all the Northern artillerymen werekilled around their guns.

　　The North again gave ground, seeking point after point for freshresistance. They rallied strongly around a building used as a hospital,and filled it with riflemen. But they were driven from that, too,although they inflicted terrible losses on their enemy.

　　"We've got to stop this backward slide somewhere," gasped Pennington.

　　"Yes, but where?" cried Dick.

　　Whether Warner made any reply he did not know, because he lost him thenin the flame and the smoke. An instant or two later the charging swarmsof infantry and cavalry drove them into one of the woods of red cedars,where they lay shattered and gasping. The smoke lifted a little, andDick saw the field which he already regarded as lost. Then there was arenewed burst of firing and cheering, as a regiment of veteran regularsgalloped into the open space and drove off the Southern cavalry which wasjust about to seize the ammunition wagons and more cannon.

　　Encouraged by the charge of the regulars, the men in the cedar wood roseand began to reform for battle. Now chance, or rather watchfulness,interposed to save Dick and his comrades from destruction. Rosecrans,at another point, confident that McCook could hold out against allattacks, listened with amazement to the roar of battle coming nearer andnearer. His officers called his attention to the fact that save at theopening there was no cannon fire. All that approaching crash was made byrifles. They judged from it that their cannon had been taken, but theydid not know that the rush of the Southern troops had been so fast thattheir own batteries were not able to keep up.

　　Rosecrans read the signs with them and his alarm was great and justified.Then a dispatch came from McCook telling him that his right wing wasrouted and he took an instant resolve.

　　Many regiments were marching to another point in the line, and thecommander at once changed their course. He meant to save his right wing,but at the same moment a tremendous attack was begun upon the center ofhis army. He struck his horse smartly and galloped straight toward therolling flame.

　　Dick and his friends, driven from the defense around the hospital,lost touch with the rest of the troops. Colonel Winchester held togetherwhat was left of his regiment, and presently they found themselves in thewoods with the troops of the young officer, Sheridan, who had saved thebattle of Perryville. Here they took their stand, and when Dick saw thequick and warlike glance of Sheridan that embraced everything he believedthey were not going to retreat.

　　He heard cheers all around him, men shouting to one another to standfirm. They refused to take alarm from the fugitives pouring back uponthem, and sent volley after volley into the advancing gray lines.The artillery, too, handled with splendid skill and daring, poured astorm along the whole gray front. The combat deepened to an almostincredible degree. The cannon were compelled to cease firing because themen were now face to face. Regiments lost half their numbers and more,but Sheridan still held his ground and the South still attacked.

　　Dick began to shout with joy. He saw that the indomitable stand ofSheridan was saving the whole Northern army from rout. The South mustcontinually turn aside troops to attack Sheridan, and they dared notadvance too far leaving him unbeaten in their rear. Rosecrans in thecenter was urging his troops to a great resistance and the battle flamedhigh there. It now thundered along the whole front. Nearly every manand cannon were in action.

　　Dick was glad that chance had thrown his regiment with Sheridan, when hesaw the splendid resistance made by the young general. Sheridan massedall his guns at the vital point and backed them up with riflemen.Nothing broke through his line. Nothing was able to move him.

　　"He'll have to retreat later on," Colonel Winchester shouted in Dick'sear, "because our lines are giving way elsewhere, but his courage andthat of his men has saved us from an awful defeat."

　　The battle in front of Sheridan increased in violence. The Confederateswere continually pouring fresh troops upon him, and it became apparentthat even he, with all his courage and quickness of eye at the vitalmoment, could not withstand all day long the fierce attacks that werebeing made upon him. The Southern fire from cannon and rifles grew moreterrible. Sheridan had three brigades and the commanders of all three ofthem were killed. The Confederate attack had been repulsed three times,but it was coming again, stronger and fiercer than ever.

　　Dick, aghast, gazed at Colonel Winchester and somehow through the thunderof the battle he heard the colonel's reply:

　　"Yes, we'll have to give up this position, but we have saved so much timethat the army itself is saved. Rosecrans is forming a new line behindus."

　　Rosecrans, no genius, but a brave and resolute fighter, had indeedbrought up fresh troops and made a new line. Sheridan, having thatgreatest of all gifts of the general, the eye to see amid the terribletumult of battle the time to do a thing, and the courage to do it then,sounded the trumpet. Nearly all his wagons had been captured by theSouthern cavalry, and his ammunition was beginning to fail. Around himlay two thousand of his best men, dead or wounded. Rosecrans and thefresh troops were appearing just in time.

　　Yet the retreat of Sheridan was made with the greatest difficulty.A part of his troops were cut off and captured. Others drove backthe Confederate flankers with a bayonet charge, and then the remnantretreated, the new lines opening to let them through. Dick, as he passedthrough the gap, saw that he was among countrymen. That is, a Kentuckyregiment, fighting for the Union was standing as a shield to let hiscomrades and himself through, and the people of the state were relatedso closely that in the flare of the battle he saw among these new men atleast a half dozen faces that he knew.

　　It was this Kentucky regiment, led by its colonel, Shepherd, that nowformed itself in the very apex of the battle. The remains of theWinchester regiment, forming behind it, saw a terrible sight. Some ofthe regiments crushed earlier in the action had entirely disbanded.The woods and the bushes were filled with fugitives, soldiers seeking therear. Vast clouds of smoke drifted everywhere, the air was filled withthe odors of exploded gunpowder, cannon were piled in inextricable heapsin the road, and horses, killed by shells or bullets, lay on the guns orbetween the wheels.

　　Dick had never beheld a more terrible sight. Their army was defeated sofar, the dead and the wounded were heaped everywhere, terrified fugitiveswere pouring to the rear, and the enemy, wild with triumph, and shoutinghis terrible battle yell, was coming on with an onset that seemedinvincible.

　　Colonel Winchester darted among the fugitives and with stinging words andthe flat of his sword beat many of them back into line. Dick, Warner,Pennington and other young officers did likewise. More Kentucky troopsbringing artillery came up and joined those who were standing so sternly.It became obvious to all that they must hold the ground here or thebattle indeed was lost once and for all.

　　Thomas, the silent and resolute Virginian, had arrived also, and hadjoined Rosecrans. Dick observed them both. Rosecrans, tremendouslyexcited, and reckless of death from the flying shells and bullets,galloped from point to point, urging on his soldiers, telling them to dierather than yield. Thomas, cool, and showing no trace of excitement alsodirected the troops. Both by their courage and resolution inspired themen. The beaten became the unbeaten. Dick felt rather than saw thestiffening of the lines, and the return of a great courage.

　　The new line of battle was formed directly under the fire of a victoriousand charging enemy. Three batteries were gathered on a heightoverlooking a railroad cut, where they could sweep the front of the foe.

　　Just as they were in battle order Dick saw the faces of the Southernerscoming through the woods, led by Hardee in person. Then he saw, too,the value of presence of mind and of a courage that would not yield.The three batteries planted by the Kentuckian, Rousseau, on the railwayembankment suddenly opened a terrible enfilading fire upon the Southernadvance. The Kentucky regiment standing so firmly in the breach alsoopened with every rifle firing directly into the ranks of their brotherKentuckians, who were advancing in the vanguard of the South. Here againpeople of the same state and even of the same county fought one another.

　　The Confederates pursuing a defeated and apparently disorganized enemywere astounded by such a sudden and fierce fire. One of their generalswas killed almost instantly, and a part of their line was hurled backwith great violence. Thomas pushed forward with a portion of the troops,and after a desperate assault the Southern line reeled and then stoppedin the wood. Courage and presence of mind had saved a battle for thetime being, at least.

　　At that point the combat sank for a while, and Dick, unwounded butexhausted, dropped upon the ground. Around him lay his friends, and they,too, were unwounded. It was with a sort of grim humor that he remembereda conversation they had held before the battle.

　　"Well, Frank," he said, "you've escaped."

　　"So far only," said Warner. "The hurricane has softened down a lot here,but not everywhere else. Listen!"

　　He pointed through the woods toward the left where another battle wasswelling with a mighty uproar. Bragg having driven in the Union rightwas now seeking to shatter the Union left, but at this point there wasa Northern commander, Hazen, who was no less indomitable than Sheridan.Sheltering themselves along the railway embankment his men, alwaysencouraged by their commander, and his officers, resisted every effort todrive them back. Noon came and found them still holding tenaciously totheir positions. For a while now the whole battle sank through sheerexhaustion on both sides. Each commander reformed his line, disentangledhis guns, brought forward fresh ammunition and prepared for the greatcombat which he knew was coming. Bragg, as he noticed the advance of theshort winter day, resolved upon the utmost effort to crush his enemy.Victory had seemed wholly in his grasp in the morning, but he had beenchecked at the last moment. He would make good the defeat in theafternoon.

　　The armies had disentangled themselves from the woods and bushes.They were now in the open and face to face on a long line. TheWinchester regiment had risen to its feet again, and stood directlybehind and almost mingled with the Kentucky regiment that had saved it.

　　"They're coming!" exclaimed Warner in quick, excited tones. "Look,there on the flank!"

　　It was the division of Cleburne, in the hottest of the battle all throughthe morning advancing to a fresh attack upon the Union lines, but it wasreceived with such a powerful fire that it was driven back in disorderinto some woods.

　　Dick, however, did not have a chance to see this as the Southerners,reinforced by fresh troops from Breckinridge's division, were charging inthe center with great violence. So terrible was the fire that receivedthem that some of the regiments lost half their numbers in five minutes.Yet the remainder, upheld by their cannon, returned a fire almost asdeadly. Rosecrans, absolutely fearless, stood in the very front wherethe danger was greatest. A cannon ball blew off the head of his chiefof staff who stood by his side. "Many a brave fellow must fall!" criedRosecrans, a devoted Catholic. "Cross yourselves, and fire low and fast!"

　　Many a brave fellow did fall, but his men fired low and fast, and,while the Southern troops charged again and again to the very mouths ofthe cannon they were unable to break down the last desperate stand ofthe Northern army. They had driven it back, but they had not driven itback far enough. Then the sun set as it had set so often before on anundecisive battle, terrible in its long list of the slain, but leavingeverything to be fought over again.

　　"They didn't beat us," said Dick as the firing ceased.

　　"No," said Colonel Winchester, "nor have we won a victory, but we'resaved. Thank God for the night!"

　　"They'll attack again to-morrow, sir," said Sergeant Whitley.

　　"Undoubtedly so," said Colonel Winchester, who felt at this moment notas if he were speaking as colonel to sergeant, but as man to man, "and Ihope that our artillery will be ready again. It is what has saved us.We have always been superior in that arm."

　　The colonel had spoken the truth, and the fact was also recognized byRosecrans, Thomas and the other generals. While they rectified theirlines in the darkness, the great batteries were posted in good positions,and fresh gunners took the place of those who had been killed. BothRosecrans and Thomas were made of stern stuff. Afraid of no enemy, and,despite their great losses of the day and the fact that they had beendriven back, they would be ready to fight on the morrow. Sheridan,Crittenden, McCook, Van Cleve and the others were equally ready.

　　Food was brought from the rear and the exhausted combatants sank down torest. Dick was in such an apathy from sheer overtasking of the body andspirit that he did not think of anything. He lay like an animal that hasescaped from a long chase. Silence had settled down with the darknessand the Confederate army had become invisible.

　　Dick revived later. He talked more freely with those about him, and hegathered from the gossip which travels fast, much of what had happened.The Union army, so confident in the morning, was in a dangerous positionat night. Nearly thirty of its guns were taken. Three thousandunwounded and many wounded men were prisoners in the hands of the South.Arms and ammunition by the wholesale had been captured. The Southerncavalry under Fighting Joe Wheeler had gone behind Rosecrans' whole armyand had cut his communications with his base at Nashville, at the sametime raiding his wagon trains. Another body of cavalry under Wharton hadtaken all the wagons of McCook's corps, and still a third under Pegramhad captured many prisoners on the Nashville road in the rear of theNorthern army.

　　Dick became aware of a great, an intense anxiety among the leaders.The army was isolated. The raiding Southern cavalry kept it fromreceiving fresh supplies of either food or ammunition, unless itretreated.

　　"We're stripped of everything but our arms," said Warner.

　　"Then we've really lost nothing," said the valiant Pennington, "becausewith our arms we'll recover everything."

　　They had a commander of like spirit. At that moment Rosecrans, gatheringhis generals in a tent pitched hastily for him, was saying to them,"Gentlemen, we will conquer or die here." Short and strong, but everyword meant. There was no need to say more. The generals animated by thesame spirit went forth to their commands, and first among them was thegrim and silent Thomas, who had the bulldog grip of Grant. Perhaps itwas this indomitable tenacity and resolution that made the Northerngenerals so much more successful in the west than they were in the eastduring the early years of the war.

　　But there was exultation in the Confederate camp. Bragg and Polk andHardee and Breckinridge and the others felt now that Rosecrans wouldretreat in the night after losing so many men and one-third of hisartillery. Great then was their astonishment when the rising sun of NewYear's day showed him sitting there, grimly waiting, with his back toStone River, a formidable foe despite his losses. Above all the Southerngenerals saw the heavily massed artillery, which they had such goodreason to fear.

　　Dick, who had slept soundly through the night, was up like all the othersat dawn and he beheld the Southern army before them, yet not moving,as if uncertain what to do. He felt again that thrill of courage andresolution, and, born of it, was the belief that despite the first day'sdefeat the chances were yet even. These western youths were of a toughand enduring stock, as he had seen at Shiloh and Perryville, and thebattle was not always to him who won the first day. A long time passedand there was no firing.

　　"Not so eager to rush us as they were," said Warner. "It's amathematical certainty that an army that's not running away is notwhipped, and that certainty is patent to our Southern friends also.But to descend from mathematics to poetry, a great poet says that he whoruns away will live to fight another day. I will transpose and otherwisechange that, making it to read: He who does not run away may make theother fellow unable to fight another day."

　　"You talk too much like a schoolmaster, George," said Pennington.

　　"The most important business of a school teacher is to teach the youngidea how to shoot, and lately I've had ample chances to give suchinstruction."

　　It was not that they were frivolous, but like most other lads in the army,they had grown into the habit of teasing one another, which was often arelief to teaser as well as teased.

　　"I think, sir," said Dick to Colonel Winchester, "that some of our troopsare moving."

　　He was looking through his glasses toward the left, where he saw a strongUnion force, with banners waving, advancing toward Bragg's right.

　　"Ah, that is well done!" exclaimed Colonel Winchester. "If our men breakthrough there we'll cut Bragg off from Murfreesborough and his ammunitionand supplies."

　　They did not break through, but they maintained a long and vigorousbattle, while the centers and other wings of the two armies did not stir.But it became evident to Dick later in the afternoon that a mightymovement was about to begin. His glasses told him so, and the thrillof expectation confirmed it.

　　Bragg was preparing to hurl his full strength upon Rosecrans.Breckinridge, who would have been the President of the United States,had not the Democrats divided, was to lead it. This division of fivebrigades had formed under cover of a wood. On its flank was a battery often guns and two thousand of the fierce riders of the South under Whartonand Pegram. Dick felt instinctively that Colonel Kenton with hisregiment was there in the very thick of it.

　　Dick's regiment with Negley's strong Kentucky brigade, which had stoppedthe panic and rout the day before, had now recrossed Stone River andwere posted strongly behind it. Ahead of them were two small brigadeswith some cannon, and Rosecrans himself was with this force just asBreckinridge's powerful division emerged into the open and began itsadvance upon the Union lines.

　　"Now, lads, stand firm!" exclaimed Colonel Winchester. "This is thecrisis."

　　The colonel had measured the situation with a cool eye and brain.He knew that the regiments on the other side of the river were worn downby the day's fighting and would not stand long. But he believed that theKentuckians around him, and the men from beyond the Ohio would not yieldan inch. They were largely Kentuckians also coming against them.

　　The rolling fire burst from the Southern front, and the cannon on theirflanks crashed heavily. Then their infantry came forward fast, and witha wild shout and rush the two thousand cavalry on their flanks charged.As Colonel Winchester had expected, the two weak brigades, althoughRosecrans in person was among them, gave way, retreated rapidly to thelittle river and crossed it.

　　The Confederates came on in swift pursuit, but Negley's Kentuckians andthe other Union men, standing fast, received them with a tremendousvolley. It was at short range, and their bullets crashed through thecrowded Southern ranks. The Winchesters were on the flank of thedefenders, where they could get a better view, and although they alsowere firing as fast as they could reload and pull the trigger, they sawthe great column pause and then reel.

　　Rosecrans, who had fallen back with the retreating brigades, instantlynoted the opportunity. Here, a general who received too little rewardfrom the nation, and to whom popular esteem did not pay enough tribute,rushed two brigades across Stone River and hurled them with all theirweight upon the Southern flank. Sixty cannon posted on the hillocks justbehind the river poured an awful fire upon the Southern column. The firefrom front and flank was so tremendous that the Southerners, veterans asthey were, gave way. The men who had held victory in their hands felt itslipping from their grasp.

　　"They waver! They retreat!" shouted Colonel Winchester. "Up, boys,and at 'em!"

　　The whole Union force, led by its heroic generals, rushed forward,crossed the river and joined in the charge. The two thousand Southerncavalry were driven off by a fire that no horsemen could withstand.The division of Breckinridge, although fighting with furious courage,was gradually driven back, and the day closed with the Union army inpossession of most of the territory it had lost the day before.

　　As they lay that night in the damp woods, Dick and his comrades, allof whom had been fortunate enough to escape this time without injury,discussed the battle. For a while they claimed that it was a victory,but they finally agreed that it was a draw. The losses were enormous.Each side had lost about one third of its force.

　　Rosecrans, raging like a wounded lion, talked of attacking again, but therains had been so heavy, the roads were so soft and deep in mud that thecannon and the wagons could not be pushed forward.

　　Bragg retreated four days later from Murfreesborough, and Dick and hiscomrades therefore claimed a victory, but as the winter was now shuttingdown cold and hard, Rosecrans remained on the line of Murfreesborough andNashville.

　　The Winchester regiment was sent back to Nashville to recuperate and seekrecruits for its ranks. Dick and Warner and Pennington felt that theirarmy had done well in the west, but their hopes for the Union wereclouded by the news from the east. Lee and Jackson had triumphed again.Burnside, in midwinter, had hurled the gallant Army of the Potomac invain against the heights of Fredericksburg, and twelve thousand men hadfallen for nothing.

　　"We need a man, a man in the east, even more than in the west," saidWarner.

　　"He'll come. I'm sure he'll come," said Dick.