ly
seen. The corps of the Confederate army which were advancing or
forming for the attack could also be seen, though less clearly on
account of their greater distance, while the Confederate cavalry
could be dimly discerned moving to the fords of the river above
Franklin. Only a momentary view was permitted of this scene of
indescribable grandeur when it was changed into one of most tragic
interest and anxiety. The guns of the redoubt on the parapet of
which I stood with two or three staff officers had fired only a
few shots over the heads of our troops at the advancing enemy when
his heavy line overwhelmed Wagner's two brigades and rapidly followed
their fragments in a confused mass over our light intrenchments.
The charging ranks of the enemy, the flying remnants of our broken
troops, and the double ranks of our first line of defense, coming
back from the trenches together, produced the momentary impression
of an overwhelming mass of the enemy passing over our parapets.

HOOD'S FORMIDABLE ATTACK

It is hardly necessary to say that for a moment my "heart sank
within me." But instantly Opdycke's brigade and the 12th and 16th
Kentucky sprang forward, and steadily advanced to the breach. Up
to this moment there had been but little firing at that point,
because of our own troops and the enemy coming in pell-mell; hence
there was not much smoke, and the whole could be seen. But now
all became enveloped in a dense mass of smoke, and not a man was
visible except the fragments of the broken brigades and others,
afterward known to be prisoners, flocking to the rear. A few
seconds of suspense and intense anxiety followed, then the space
in the rear of our line became clear of fugitives, and the steady
roar of musketry and artillery and the dense volume of smoke rising
along the entire line told me that "the breach is restored, the
victory won"! That scene, and the emotion of that one moment, were
worth all the losses and dangers of a soldier's lifetime.

It would hardly be possible to frame language that would do more
than justice to the magnificent conduct of Emerson Opdycke's brigade
and Laurence H. Rousseau's 12th Kentucky and John S. White's 16th
Kentucky, which were also in reserve, and their commanders, in that
battle. Their action was beyond all praise, and nothing that can
justly be said in respect to the battle can detract one iota from
their proud fame. Ye