The Second Day Begins

On the morning of September 20, 1863, General Braxton Bragg organized his Confederate army into two wings, with Longstreet on the left and Polk on the right, and ordered Polk to attack at dawn. The attack was delayed, allowing Federal forces to use the first critical hours of daylight to strengthen their log breastworks. At 9:30 a.m., Major General John C. Breckinridge's Confederate division struck the Union breastworks here, and other Confederate units joined as the attacks spread southward along the line. The pressure of these attacks forced Union commander Major General William Rosecrans to move men from his center to support his left. About noon, the futile and costly Confederate charges ended and were not resumed until late afternoon, while the Federals remained firm behind their log wall as fighting continued farther south.

Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia · United States