ga winding its serpentine way along with a sluggish
flow. It was also a lovely day; nature was at her best, with the
fields and woods autumn tinged--the whole country rimmed in the golden
hue of the Southern summer. The battling ground chosen, or rather say
selected by fate, on which the fierce passions of men were to decide
the fortunes of armies and the destiny of a nation, was rolling,
undulating, with fields of growing grain or brown stubble, broken by
woods and ravines, while in our front rose the blue tinted sides of
Mission Ridge.

Both commanders were early in the saddle, their armies more evenly
matched in numbers and able Lieutenants than ever before, each willing
and anxious to try conclusions with the other--both confident of
success and watchful of the mistakes and blunders of their opponent,
ready to take advantage of the least opportunity that in any way would
lead to success. The armies on either side were equally determined and
confident, feeling their invincibility and the superiority of their
respective commanders. Those of the North felt that it was impossible
for the beaten Confederates to stand for a moment, with any hope
of triumph, before that mighty machine of armed force that had been
successfully rolling from the Ohio to the confines of Georgia. On the
other hand, the Army of Tennessee felt that, with the aid from Joe
Johnston, with Buckner, and the flower of Lee's Army to strengthen
their ranks, no army on earth could stay them on the battlefield.

The plan of battle was to swing the whole army forward in a wheel,
Preston's Division on Longstreet's extreme left being the pivot, the
right wing to break the enemy's lines and uncover the McFarland and
Rossville Gaps, thus capturing the enemy's lines of communication to
Chattanooga.

The Union Army was well protected by two lines of earthworks and log
obstructions, with field batteries at every salient, or scattered
along the front lines at every elevation, supported by the pieces of
position on the ridges in rear.

The Confederate commander made no secret of his plan of battle, for it
had been formulated three days before, and his manoeuvers on the 18th
and 19th indicated his plan of operations. Early in the morning Bragg
saluted his adversary with thirty pieces of artillery from his right
wing, and the Federal Commander was not slow in acknowledging the
salutation. The thunder of these guns echoed along the mountain sides
and up and down t