route of his late retreat. Plainly, they must pass through the gaps, and place themselves between Bragg and Chattanooga before the stronghold -beyond a mere tentative possession-could be within their grasp. grasp. And so it came about that a battle the bloody one of Chickamauga-was fought to enable the Federal army to concentrate in the position one of its corps had already occupied for days without firing a shot.

Unfortunately, the concentration was not speedy enough. Indeed, there are some plausible reasons for believing that Rosecrans was, perhaps for a few days, deceived by his easy success, into a belief that Bragg was still in full retreat. Certainly the general-in-chief and the War Department did all they could to encourage such an idea, and even after Rosecrans, every nerve tense with the struggle to concentrate his corps, was striving to prepare for the onset of the re-enforced rebel army, General Halleck informed him of reports that Bragg's army was re-enforcing Lee, and pleasantly added, that after he had occupied Dalton it. would be decided whether he should move still further southward!

By this time, Bragg had gathered in every available re-enforcement, Longstreet from the east, Buckner from Knoxville, Walker from the army of Joseph E. Johnston, militia from Georgia and, together waiting near Lafayette, hoped to receive the isolated corps of Rosecrans's army as they

debouched through the gaps, and annihilate them in detail. For a day or two, it looked as if he would be successful. One way or another, however, he failed. Rosecrans gathered together his army, repelling whatever assaults sought to hinder the concentration, yielding part of the line of the Chickamauga, and marching one of the corps all through the night of the battle. On September 19th, Bragg made his onset with cer tainly not less than seventy-five thousand men, Rosecrans claimed for him ninety-two thousand. Rosecrans had fifty-five thousand. Of the battle, Whitelaw Reid gives the following account:

"Bragg's plan was to turn his antagonist's left and thus clear the way into Chattanooga, but most unfortunately for Bragg, the left was held by Geo. H. Thomas, and shortly after the attack began, Rosecrans, divining the danger, strengthened Thomas's corps with one or two divisions. Disaster overtook us at first, artillery was lost and ground yielded, but Thomas reformed and advanced his lines, regained all that had been lost, sustained every shock of the enemy, and at night held his position firmly.

"Meanwhile the contest on other parts of our line had been less severe, and had ended decidedly in our advantage. But it was seen that we were outnumbered, and as they came to think how every brigade in the whole army, two only excepted, had been drawn into the fight-the soldiers began to realize the dispiriting nature of the situation.

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'Through the night, the last of Longstreet's corps came up, led by himself and Bragg, prepared for a vigorous onset on the National left. Rosecrans transferred another division (Negley's) to Thomas, and placed two more in reserve to be hurried to Thomas's aid if needed. At daybreak, he galloped along the front to find McCook's line ill-formed, and also to learn that Negley had not yet been forwarded to Thomas. The errors were corrected as well as possible; but long before Thomas's needed re-enforcements had come, the battle was raging on his front and flank. Profoundly conscious of the danger, Rosecrans sought to render still further aid, and ordered over Van Cleve's division from the right, directing the several division commanders and the corps general to close up the line on the left. In the heat of the battle, which by this time was broken out along the right also, one of these division commanders— T. J. Wood, of Kentucky-misunderstood his orders, and though he has subsequently stated that he knew the consequences of his action must be fatal, he chose to consider himself bound by the order to break the line of battle and march to the rear of another division. Longstreet perceived the gap and hurled Hood into it. The battle on the right was lost. The whole wing crumbled; the enemy poured forward and all that was left of McCook's corps, a broken rabble, streamed back to Chattanooga.

"General Rosecrans, himself, was caught in this rout and borne along, vainly striving to stem its tide. Finally conceiving that if the wing least pressed was thus destroyed, Thomas, upon whom he knew the main efforts of the enemy were concentrated, could not hold out beyond nightfall he hastened to Chattanooga to make dispositions for the retreat and defense which he already regarded as inevitable. Meanwhile, his chief of staff, General Garfield, was sent to Thomas, to convey to him information of what had happened and of the plans for the future."

As chief of staff, it was Garfield's duty to remain with General Rosecrans, and it happened that the latter established his head-quarters for the day in the rear of the right wing and centre, leaving to General George H. Thomas the duty of directing the fortunes of the left wing. McCook and Crittenden, it will be remembered, were commanders of the other two corps. Shortly after the fog, which for the most of the morning enveloped the field, and made manœuvring almost impossible, the rebels, under Longstreet, who had come from Lee's Virginia army to take part in the great contest, made a grand assault on the right and centre. They were just in time to take advantage of Wood's fatal mistake, which left a gap in the Union line. The rebels penetrated far to the rear of the Federal line at this point, and turning, drove back the right of Thomas's forces and

the left of the other two corps. The latter were eventually routed, driven across the ridge of hills to roads leading to Chattanooga, toward which they retreated in dreadful disorder and panic. In the tumult of defeat of the centre and right, McCook, Crittenden and Rosecrans, with their staff officers, were driven beyond the ridge named, and they, too, started for Chattanooga, not knowing whether Thomas had been annihilated or had escaped.

Garfield followed his commander about half way to Chattanooga. Riding up to Rosecrans, he said, "General, I ask permission to return and join General Thomas." Some slight remonstrance was made, but Garfield persevered in his desire, and obtained permission. Captain William B. Gaw, of the engineers, upon this offered to act as guide, knowing the country thoroughly, and sharing the general's wish to be where there was danger. Accompanied by Gaw and his orderly, Garfield set out on his now famous ride. Striking through the Rossville Gap, in the mountain range, he rapidly pushed southward in search of General Thomas, the firing of whose guns, indicating that the Union troops were by no means in retreat, could be plainly heard. The sounds borne on the peaceful breeze were as fire to the heels of Garfield's horse, and on he dashed, his whole energy bent upon reaching the scene of action. For his was the true soldier's spirit; his the true soldier's