The three corps of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s Army [CS] were withdrawn from north and west of Cassville to this ridge east and south of the town. Hardee was posted astride the railroad near Cass Station on the south; Polk centered here and Hood’s line skirted the cemetery north. This shift from an aggressive to a defensive position resulted in a council of war at Polk’s headquarters, where it was claimed the line was untenable, whereupon Johnston ordered a retreat to the Etowah River that night.