Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/410

 404 Southern Historical Society Papers.

on our right, we could hear the sound of brisk fighting on the left of Bragg's line, and these sounds showed us that our troops under Long- street were driving back Rosecranz's right. The troops of Thomas had ample opportunity to hear it, too, and doubdess understood it as we did.

The weakening of their right to reinforce their left, which had been so desperately assaulted, placed the Federal right wing in a con- dition to be more easily handled by General Longstreet's command, and right gallantly did the veterans from the Virginia army, assisted by their we.stern brethren, drive back their ri^ht and break their cen- tre. This was doubtless the turning point in the battle. Besides routing their right, Longstreet's success no doubt had a demoralizing effect on Thomas's men, who, while they did not know the extent of the disaster on their right, could not lail to understand from the sounds which reached their ears during the period of waiting at their end of the line, that the Confederates had the best of the fight. But your correspondent's account would appear to give all the credit to General Longstreet, and leave upon the mind of his readers the im- pression that having broken up the right of Rosecranz's army, Long- street changed front to the right and drove Thomas from his strong position on the left. This is not distincUy claimed for General Long- street, but the inference is clearly conveyed to the mind of the reader, not only by what your correspondent states in his account of the battle, but from the language which he quotes as from the mouth of General Longstreet himself. As an eye-witness to the disposition of the troops, and of the final charge which drove Thomas from his de- fences, I wish to correct that impression and state what did occur on our right. In the new arrangement of the lines on this wing, a por- tion of Cleburne's command was to the right of the angle in the Federal works — Lucius E. Polk's brigade being placed, if I remem- ber correctly, somewhat to the right of where Helm had made his assault. Preparatory to the assault a heavy artillery fire had been concentrated on the strongest point of Thomas's defences. In reply- ing to our artillery and in repelling minor attacks of our infantry the writer noticed that the Federal artillery used solid shot from their smooth bore guns, and recognizing the significance of this, as an artillery man. he called General Polk's attention to the fact that they had probably exhausted their most effective ammunition. As they also showed a disposition to spare their infantry fire except when forced, we concluded that their supply of ammunition of all kinds was getting short. The ordnance wagons being driven close up in