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to the left, the whole army wheeling on Longstreet's extreme left as a pivot.
And now began some of the mischances of a foggy night in an enchanted wood filled with ten thousand camp-fires and fifty thousand exhausted sleepers, with no guides and no landmarks.
It was easier to order an attack for daybreak than to bring it about.
The battle did not begin at dawn.
Many annoying miscarriages prevented it, the wearied staff riding all night in vain in bewildering circles; but the delay gave a breakfast to many of the troops who had been without food for twenty-four hours. Cold comfort, but some there was, I hope, for those ragged heroes in the unsavory bread and meat served out on that foggy September morning after one day of bloody battle and on the perilous edge of another!
A pot of coffee might have cheered their hearts a little; but the taste of that had long been forgotten by the Confederate soldier.
The necessary preparations being at length completed, Breckinridge, of Hill's corps, at half-past 9 advanced rapidly to the attack, and within seven hundred yards his left regiments found themselves confronted by the enemy's breastworks.
The Lafayette road indicatedthe general direction of the Federal line,1 their left being on the east of it near Kelly's, and their right crossing it and bending back to the southwest.
Before the works which the Federals had hastily thrown up occurred a sanguinary fight in which was again illustrated the natural
1 The Federal line on the 20th began on their left at a point four hundred yards east of the Lafayette highway, northeast of Kelly's house, and several hundred yards south of the road leading down from McDonald's house (now occupied by a son of the original Kelly) to Reed's bridge, ran nearly south through the fronts of Baird's, Johnson's and Palmer's divisions, the latter refusing its right to rest upon the Lafayette highway; and, crossing that road, it continued in a southerly and then in a southwesterly direction along the fronts of Reynolds's, Brannen's, Negley's, Davis's and Sheridan's divisions till its right rested near the widow Glenn's house. That part of the line east of the Lafayette road occupied the crest of a slight undulation, and along nearly the whole Federal.front breastworks of logs and fence rails had been thrown up. At the extreme left, the line bent back in a westerly direction towards the Lafayette road. Wood's and Van Cleve's divisions were at first in reserve behind the right and right centre. Gordon Granger's small corps was in observation to the east of Rossville about three miles from Thomas's left. The line seems to have crossed the Lafayette road a little north of Poe's house, to have extended parallel to the road on its western side to a point a little south of Brotherton's house, and then to have bent back to the south. west.
The best map of the field and the adjacent country which I have found is that prepared by the Confederate Engineers, a copy of which made by Mr. W. L. Sheppard, in November, 1863, is among the papers of the Southern Historical Society.
Richmond, VA. 1881.
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