Summary

In Chapter 15, the surviving Federal soldiers are “force-marched into Tennessee” (185) in search of the Rebel army. The new regiment leader, Colonel Callaghan, is useless and drunk most of the time. Thomas, John Cole, Dan FitzGerald and their comrades must substitute the boys who have been holding up the front line. When they enter the battlefield, they see exhausted men who are relieved to be replaced. Darkness falls, the fighting stops, and the men try to get some rest. Many are dead or injured and they realize they do not have the numbers to defeat the Rebels. The next morning, thousands of Rebels attack them by surprise, and the regiment leaders surrender. While the Rebel army spares many of the Federal soldiers, they single out many of the black men and shoot them.

They march to Andersonville and are placed in a dismal compound...