the river bent toward Hanson’s men, caus-
ing them to bunch as they squeezed right,
the brushwood provided a measure of cover
unavailable to the Tennessee, Florida, and
North Carolina troops marching through a
cornfield to Hanson’s right.
The Federals facing Hanson were lying
low in a ridge line at the base of the hill,
invisible to the general and his men. Iron-
ically, Hanson’s Kentucky troops were
attacking Colonel Price’s Brigade, which
included two Kentucky regiments of its
own. Price’s men let the Confederates
come to within 100 yards before leaping to
their feet and firing a severe volley.
Momentarily staggered, the Orphan
Brigade closed ranks, advanced a few
paces, and delivered a sharp return volley.
The bullets hit their mark and dozens of
Federals keeled over. Other Yankees
flinched instinctively before attempting to
reload. Suddenly a thunderous Rebel yell
rent the air as Hanson’s Kentuckians low-
ered bayonets, charging the enemy. A
handful of Yankees fired a parting shot
before the entire Union force broke for the
rear. An admiring Breckinridge shouted
approvingly, “Look at old Hanson!”
Their blood rising, the Orphan Brigade
eagerly pursued their routed foes. Farther
up the hill the Union second line vainly
tried to draw a bead on the advancing
Rebels, whose charge was screened by the
retreating Yankee first line. Confusion
gave way to panic when some enterprising
Confederates crossed the river and began
hitting the second Federal line with flank
fire. The Union line would not hold long.
But things were not going as smoothly
on the Confederate right. In the absence of
the promised dismounted cavalry support,
the Rebel line was too short. Union
Colonel James Fyffe saw his opportunity
and began shifting his mixed Indiana/Ohio
Brigade to rake the Confederate right
flank. The front Rebel brigade had diffi-
culty adjusting to this threat as Brig. Gen.
Gideon Pillow, appointed to its command
by Bragg moments before the attack, was
skulking behind a tree.
Lt. Col. F.M. Lavender of the 20th Ten-
nessee on the far end of Pillow’s secondline saw the problem, and wheeled his unit
around to cover the first line’s exposed
flank. He was shortly joined by Captain
E.E. Wright’s Tennessee battery (unlike
Captain Robertson, Breckinridge had
advanced his division artillery with the
infantry). Wright’s added firepower decid-
edly tipped the balance in the Rebel’s favor
and the Federals pulled back.
Colonel Fyffe now faced a dilemma.
With Price’s Brigade breaking up to his
right and Confederate infantry and artillery
to his front, he realized he was outflanked
and outgunned, and reluctantly ordered a
retreat. As Fyffe tried to direct his men back
to Grose’s reserve line, a shell exploded
nearby, panicking his horse. The frightened
animal bucked Fyffe off his back and
bolted for the rear, dragging the unfortu-
nate colonel, whose boot was caught in the
stirrup. Fyffe’s men, completely demoral-
ized, ran panic-stricken for their lives.
Although badly bruised, Fyffe recovered
sufficiently to write his wife and mother
about the incident shortly after the battle.
With Fyffe’s Brigade routed, the two
Confederate right-flank brigades of Pillow
and Preston continued forward, pushing
back Grose and the remaining elements of
Fyffe’s command. On the left, Hanson’s
Kentucky troops and Colonel Randall
Gibson’s Louisiana Brigade appeared
ready to sweep the hill. Things looked
grim for the Yankees.
Still, Colonel Beatty kept his head and
almost stabilized the situation for the
Union. After Hanson’s Orphan Brigade
smashed Colonel Price’s troops at the base
of the hill, Beatty called up his reserve
under Grider. Precious moments were lost
as Grider’s men grabbed their rifles and fell
into position. Up the hill they came, as
Price’s fugitives scrambled madly past
them in the opposite direction. Grider
formed his men at the hill crest. When all
was ready, his men fired a volley. Then
another. And another.
The telling blows staggered the Confed-
erates. Colonel Grider shouted to Beatty,
“Colonel, we have them checked. Give us
artillery and we will whip them!” Beatty
promised to round up some cannon.As the Orphan Brigade traded volleys
with Grider’s men, a shell exploded,
wounding its commander, Brig. Gen. Han-
son. Breckinridge raced to his friend’s side
in a desperate attempt to stop the bleed-
ing. Then, realizing that Hanson was
beyond help, he called for an ambulance to
take his comrade away from the carnage.
Hanson died of his wounds.
Grider’s Brigade had stopped Hanson,
but now the Rebel reserve line under
Colonel Gibson moved forward. Indeed,
the narrow spacing between the two
brigades made it impossible for Gibson’s
men not to advance to the firing line where
they became so intermingled with Han-
son’s troops that all command control of
the two brigades was lost. However, the
added firepower gave the Confederates an
advantage in their stand-up fight with
Grider’s troops.
Grider still thought he could slug it out
with his gray-clad foes until the promised
artillery support arrived, when he noticed
his right flank regiment, the 19th Ohio, giv-
ing way. Grider attempted to halt its
retreat, but the 19th Ohio’s commander,
Colonel Charles Manderson, pointed to
flank fire he was receiving from Rebels who
had crossed Stones River. Grider and Man-
derson concluded that the brigade should
be pulled back to the rear base of the hill.
But the Confederates gave Grider no time
to re-form. Under intense pressure, his men
bolted across McFadden’s Ford to safety.
By now the three Union brigades near
the hill had been routed from the field,
while the fourth brigade—Grose’s—had
been pushed north. The Union battery east
of Stones River, the 3rd Wisconsin
Artillery, was retreating by sections to the
river’s west bank. Even so, the Confeder-
ate advance was beginning to lose cohe-
sion. Breckinridge’s attack formation was
too tight and his men were now hopelessly
intermingled, as brigade and regimental
integrity disintegrated.
When Grider’s Federal Brigade pulled
back, the mass of Rebels surged forward,
the hill now theirs for the taking. Bragg
had directed Breckinridge to halt his divi-
sion once the hill had been captured. HadCWQ-EW16 Stone's River_Layout 1 10/22/15 1:14 PM Page 52