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should be gained by the Confederates. CHAPTER IV THE FIRST DAY'S BATTLE Crittenden's corps on the left of the Army of the Cumberland,--which had been selected by Rosecrans to make the initial move in the fight,--was separated from Breckenridge's entrenched division, on Bragg's right, by two miles of distance and Stone's River, which in that immediate vicinity could be crossed at only one ford. Between the heavily-massed regiments on Bragg's left flank and McCook's corps, to the contrary, there were only a few hundred yards. Therefore, though McCown,--who had moved in the night,--found some difficulty in adjusting his line to suit Hardee's taste, the Confederates had ample time to strike the first blow. A dense fog shielded the movement from the Union pickets. McCown's troops swung off in a semi-oblique direction, leaving an ever-widening interval between him and Withers's division, of Polk's corps, into which at the proper instant Cleburne slipped. In a few moments the crackling of rifle-fire heralded the opening of the battle. That the brigades on the extreme right of the Union Army were surprised upon that fateful morning has been repeatedly denied; but it is certain that they were not properly prepared for the storm that was about to burst upon them. August Willich was actually away from his command, and his men were at breakfast, with their arms stacked. The captain of the battery that was posted at the left of the brigade had sent his horses off to water, so little did he dream of impending danger. The men of the other brigade were scarcely,--if any,--better prepared, and upon them fell the brunt of the first assault. Right on the heels of the pickets, whose shots were of little apparent effect, appeared a long line of gray-clad infantry that extended far beyond either flank of the hapless Union brigades. The advancing troops fired as they came, and many Northern soldiers were shot down before they could grasp their arms. General Kirk sent a vain summons to Willich for aid, and fell mortally hurt in an heroic effort to form his men. Old Willich himself, spurring in hot haste to rejoin his command, rode straight into the enemy's line. This scion of a royal house,--for he was reputed to be the natural son of William of Prussia,--had several months in a Southern prison in which to reflect upon whatever error he may have committed that morning. The two brigades did not flee without an effort at resi
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