Donelson's Attack

Confederate Brigadier General Daniel Donelson’s brigade was assigned to open the Confederate attack by assaulting the northern end of the Union defensive line so that other Southern troops could then enter the battle. Before his infantry deployed, Confederate cavalry rode through these fields, scouting the Federal position and driving off a Union advance guard, but they failed to detect Union troops forming on the ridges to the northwest. As a result, Donelson’s brigade, formed in two lines on flat ground, advanced while Federal troops were still deploying and, instead of striking the northern end of the Union line, moved more toward the Union center. This faulty deployment, caused by inadequate reconnaissance, nearly destroyed the opening Confederate attack, even as one reporter observed the men advancing in beautiful order with cool composure into a harvest of death.

Kentucky · United States