254 The American Civil Warhaste, Rosecrans consolidated his command
near a stream known as Chickamauga.
Since the spring. Confederate officials had
debated the possibility' of reinforcing Bragg or
Pemberton from Lee's army. At the time, Lee
had his own plans, a raid into Pennsylvania,
and he demurred. With Bragg in need that
fall, and the Union Army of the Potomac
exhibiting little initiative, President Davis
sent west two divisions from Lee's Army of
Northern Virginia, under the command of
Lee's 'Old War Horse,' lieutenant-General
James Longstreet. Traveling in a roundabout
way, it took them nine days to reach Brad's
army. Major-General John Bell Hood's
division arrived the day before the fight,
giving Bragg numerical superiority. The next
evening, Major-General Lafayette McLaws's
division reached the battlefield.
On 19 September, Union and Confederate
troops began to skirmish over control of
a clearing. Reinforcements joined the fray
piecemeal. Each time that one side extended
beyond the enemy flank, a fresh batch of
troops stretched beyond them. Neither
Bragg nor Rosecrans could coordinate
anything effective, in part because of the
heavy timber around the battlefield. All
they had to show for the day of fighting
were lengthy casualty lists.
That night, Longstreet arrived with
McLaws's division. A frustrated Bragg gave
him command of the Rebel left wing and
directed Polk to initiate the fight on the
right the next morning. As usual, Polk
made little progress, due partly to his
tardiness and partly to the stout resistance of
Major-General George H. Thomas's corps. InMurfreesboro to Chickamauga