Carroll, commanding the 10th Indiana Infantry, was
the first field officer to be killed at Chickamauga. By noon the
fighting was general throughout the lines.
During the afternoon the most severe fighting took place near the
opposite ends of the lines in the Vineyard field. Fighting at this point
was all at close range and some was hand-to-hand. About 4:00 P. M., Col.
Hans C. Heg, 15th Wisconsin Infantry, was mortally wounded. Col. Heg
commanded the 3rd brigade of Davis’ division. With death staring him in
the face, he again rallied his men and rode nearly one-quarter of a mile
before the loss of blood weakened him to such an extent that he was
forced to give up his command. His brigade was taken over by Col. John
A. Martin of the 8th Kansas Infantry. Col. Heg was the first brigade
commander to fall on the Chickamauga battlefield. After a restless night
in a hospital, he passed away near noon of the 20th. After sundown the
fighting ceased at all portions of the field. Neither side had gained
any worthwhile advantage during this first day of battle, although the
Union forces had been driven much closer to the main road. The left of
the Union line under Thomas was well anchored across the main highway;
the center under McCook was just west of the highway, and the right end
of the line under Crittenden was still east of the highway. The
Confederate line was very close to the Union line at all points. Shortly
after dark the battle was renewed near the north end of the lines.
Cleburne and Cheatham encountered Johnson and Baird. The fighting lasted
only about an hour but the losses were heavy. Two brigade commanders
lost their lives about 7:00 P. M. On the Union side, Col. Philemon P.
Baldwin of Indiana, was killed. Col. Baldwin commanded the 3rd brigade
of Johnson’s division. Col. William W. Berry of the 5th Kentucky
Infantry, assumed command of Baldwin’s brigade. On the Confederate side,
Brig.-Gen. Preston Smith of Tennessee was killed. Gen. Smith commanded a
brigade of Cheatham’s division. Col. Alfred J. Vaughn, Jr., 13th
Tennessee Infantry, assumed command of Smith’s brigade. During the night
both armies rearranged their lines in preparation for the next day’s
battle. The right end of the Union line was shifted from the vicinity of
the Vineyard field westward to the Crawfish Springs road near Widow
Glenn’s. The Confederate line remained east of the highway at all
points, slightly over-lapping the Union line on either end. The troops
on the left of the Union line fortified their positions during the night
by falling trees, stacking rails, stumps, etc., in preparation for
Sunday’s battle. On the Confederate side Longstreet, the South
Carolinian, arrived with his corps about 11:00 P. M. At this time Bragg
divided his army into two wings, the left and right. Longstreet was
given command of the left wing; Gen. Leonidas Polk, the North
Carolinian, who was the first Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana,
was placed in command of the right wing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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