he army from rout at
Murfreesboro by his heroic holding of the centre. But his most famous
exploit was the defence of Horseshoe ridge, against overwhelming odds,
at the battle of Chickamauga.

The Union right wing had been routed, and the Confederates, certain of a
great victory, turned against the left wing, twenty-five thousand
strong, under command of Thomas. They swarmed up the slope on which
Thomas had taken his position, only to be hurled back with heavy loss.
Again and again they charged, sixty thousand of them, but Thomas stood
like a rock against which the Confederates dashed themselves in vain.
For six hours that terrific fighting continued, until nearly half of
Thomas's men lay dead or wounded, but night found him still master of
the position, saving the Union army from destruction. Ever afterwards
Thomas was known as "The Rock of Chickamauga."

In the following year, he again distinguished himself by defeating Hood
at Nashville, in one of the most brilliant battles of the war. The
defeat was the most decisive by either side in a general engagement, the
Confederate army losing half its numbers, and being so routed and
demoralized that it could not rally and was practically destroyed.
Thomas's plan of battle is studied to this day in the military schools
of Europe, and has been compared with that of Napoleon at Austerlitz.

After Grant, Sherman, Sheridan and Thomas, there is a wide gap. No other
commanders on the Union side measured up to them, although there were
many of great ability. McPherson, Buell, Sumner, Hancock, Meade,
Rosecrans, Kilpatrick, Pope--all had their hours of triumph, but none of
them developed into what could be called a great commander. Whether from
inherent weakness, or from lack of opportunity for development, all
stopped short of greatness. It is worth noting that every famous
general, Union or Confederate, and most of the merely prominent ones,
were graduates of West Point and had received their baptism of fire in
Mexico, the only exception being Sheridan, who did not graduate from
West Point until after the war with Mexico was over.

* * * * *

Turning now to the Confederate side, we find here, too, four supremely
able commanders, the first of whom, Robert E. Lee, is believed by many
to be the greatest in our country's history. No doubt some of the renown
which attaches to Lee's name is due to his desperate championship of a
lost cause, and to the