Stewart's Corps on the Eastern Flank

Stewart's Corps on the Eastern Flank. . As the sun headed toward the horizon behind you, the spectacle in front of you, looking east, along the ground the ground just south of the main Federal line, was one of unparalleled pageantry and horror: Almost 12,000 Confederate soldiers in four divisions, composed of eleven brigades, began crashing into the Federal earthworks. Those further east, in Lt. Gen. A.P. Stewart's Corps, were hitting the main line somewhat before the men in this area did, who were delayed by Wagner's advanced line., The distance from here to the Harpeth River is barely six-tenths of a mile, and close to 20,000 Federal and Confederate soldiers were engaged east of Columbia Pike, which is directly in front of you. The combat from Lewisburg Pike toward the Carter cotton gin, which stood slightly northeast of here, was a furious maelstrom that shocked even the veterans. Onto this ground, for moments that were fleeting but seemed slowed down by the wild scenes of violence and chaos, came waves of men from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, and Georgia. Gen. George Wagner's men were fleeing toward the main line with Gen. John Browns troops close behind. The soldiers along the main Federal line, just north of here, held their fire as long as possible. Just before sundown that all changed, and this entire area became a killing zone. Some laggard Federal troops became casualties, but losses among the onrushing and howling Confederates were catastrophic., (captions) , Lt. Gen. A.P. Stewart Courtesy Alabama Department of Archives and History, Carter cotton gin, circa 1880 , Courtesy Battle of Franklin Trust