Bushrod Johnson entered the lists with his division, and routed the enemy in his front, taking the first line of breastworks without much difficulty.  Hindman’s Division followed Johnson, but his left and rear was assailed by a formidable force of mounted infantry which threw Manigault’s (South Carolina) Brigade on his extreme left in disorder, the brigade being seriously rattled.  But Twigg’s Brigade, from Preston’s pivotal Division, came to the succor of Manigault and succeeded in restoring the line, and the advance continued.  Kershaw had advanced to within forty paces of the enemy’s line, and it seemed for a time that his troops would be annihilated.  Colonel Bland, then Major Hard, commanding the Seventh, were killed.  Lieutenant Colonel Hoole, of the Eighth, was killed.  Colonel Gist, commanding the Fifteenth, and Captain Jennings, commanding the Third Battalion, were dangerously wounded, while many others of the line officers had fallen, and men were being mown down like grain before a sickle.

General Kershaw ordered his men to fall back to the little ravine a hundred paces in rear, and here they made a temporary breastwork of the torn down fence and posted themselves behind it.  They had not long to wait before a long line of blue was seen advancing from the crest of the hill.  The enemy, no doubt, took our backward movement as a retreat, and advanced with a confident mien, all unconscious of our presence behind the rail obstruction.  Kershaw, with his steel-gray eyes glancing up and down his lines, and then at the advancing line of blue, gave the command repeatedly to “Hold your fire.”  When within a very short distance of our column the startling command rang out above the din of battle on our right and left, “Fire!” Then a deafening volley rolled out along the whole line.  The enemy halted and wavered, their men falling in groups, then fled to their entrenchments, Kershaw closely pursuing.

From the firing of the first gun away to the right the battle became one of extreme bitterness, the Federals standing with unusual gallantry by their guns in the vain hope that as the day wore on they could successfully withstand, if not entirely repel, the desperate assaults of Bragg until night would give them cover to withdraw.

The left wing was successful, and had driven the Federal lines back at right angles on Thomas’ right.  The Federal General, Gordon Granger, rests his title to fame by the bold movement he now made.  Thomas was holding Polk in steady battle on our right, when General Granger noticed the Twentieth Corps was being forced back, and the firing becoming dangerously near in the Federal’s rear.  General Granger, without any orders whatever, left his position in rear of Thomas and marched to the rescue of McCook, now seeking shelter along the slopes of Mission Ridge, but too late to retrieve losses—­only soon enough to save the Federal Army from rout and total disaster.

But the turning point came when Longstreet ordered up a battalion of heavy field pieces, near the angle made by the bending back of the enemy’s right, and began infilading the lines of Thomas, as well as Crittenden’s and McCook’s.  Before this tornado of shot and shell nothing could stand.  But with extraordinary tenacity of Thomas and the valor of his men he held his own for a while longer.