Union soldiers were positioned on the east side of Stones River, threatening the Confederate right wing. General John C. Breckinridge's powerful attack forced Colonel John Beatty's Union division back across the river at McFadden's Ford. Confederates assembled artillery on the east bank and their infantry began wading the river. Captain John Mendenhall quickly concentrated cannon here. Their bombardment halted the Confederate thrust and sent the Southerners reeling in retreat. Union soldiers regained the opposite bank. More than 1,800 Confederates fell in the brief engagement that ended the Battle of Stones River, the climax of the three-day conflict.