l's battery; then the siege-guns,
under Surgeon Cornyn and Captain Madison; then two ten-pounders, under
Lieutenant Edwards, and two more under Lieutenant Timony. There are more
guns beyond,--Taylor's, Willard's, and what is left of Schwartz's
battery, and Mann's, Dresser's, and Ross's,--about sixty guns in all.
The broken regiments are standing or lying down. The line, instead of
being four miles long, as it was in the morning, is not more than a mile
in length now. The regiments are all mixed up. There are men from a
dozen in one, but they can fight notwithstanding that.

The Rebel commanders concentrate all their forces near the river, to
charge through the ravine, scale the other side, rush down the road and
capture the steamboats. They plant their batteries along the bank,
bringing up all their guns, to cut their way by shot and shell. If they
can but gain a foothold on the other side, the day is theirs. The Union
army will be annihilated, Tennessee redeemed. Buell will be captured or
pushed back to the Ohio River. The failing fortunes of the Confederacy
will revive. Recognition by foreign nations will be secured. How
momentous the hour!

Beauregard's troops were badly cut to pieces, and very much
disorganized. The Second Texas, which had advanced through the
peach-orchard, was all gone, and was not reorganized during the fight.
Colonel Moore, commanding a brigade, says: "So unexpected was the shock,
that the whole line gave way from right to left in utter confusion. The
regiments became so scattered and mixed that all efforts to reform them
became fruitless."[14]

[Footnote 14: Colonel Moore's Report.]

Chalmers's brigade was on the extreme right. What was left of Jackson's
came next. Breckenridge, with his shattered brigades, was behind
Chalmers. Trabue, commanding a brigade of Kentuckians, was comparatively
fresh. Withers's, Cheatham's, and Ruggles's divisions were at the head
of the ravine. Gibson, who had been almost annihilated, was there.
Stewart, Anderson, Stephens, and Pond were on the ground from which
Wallace had been driven. As the brigades filed past Beauregard, he said
to them, "Forward, boys, and drive them into the Tennessee."[15]

[Footnote 15: Ruggles's Report.]

The Rebel cannon open. A sulphurous cloud borders the bank. The wild
uproar begins again. Opposite, another cloud rolls upward. There are
weird shriekings across the chasm, fierce howlings from things unseen.
Great oaks are torn as