night was an anxious
one for both the colonel and the young captain, and the morning brought
small comfort. Deck was out of his mind, and the doctor was afraid he
had inhaled too much smoke, and possibly some of the flames.

"The boy meant well, but he overdid the matter," said Colonel Lyon,
sadly. "I warned him over and over again to be more careful; but he was
too anxious to make a record for himself to listen to me. If anything
happens to him, what will his mother and the others say?"

CHAPTER XIII

AN ADVANCE ALL ALONG THE LINE

General Bragg, the Confederate commander, had established his
headquarters at Tullahoma, but his troops lay some twenty or thirty
miles to the north of that town, in a grand semicircle extending from
Wartrace on the east, through Shelbyville to Columbia on the west. The
troops numbered about forty thousand, of all sorts, according to the
commander's own report, and a larger portion of them were sheltered
behind hastily constructed intrenchments.

Although Bragg occupied this advanced position, General Rosecrans was
certain that should the Confederate be unable to hold Shelbyville and
the surrounding territory, he would retreat to his stronger
intrenchments at Tullahoma. This town, situated on the rocky bank of
Duck River and surrounded by mountainous passes, was an ideal
stronghold. Once the Southern forces should retreat to it, to follow
them would be extremely hazardous, for the Confederates could easily
command the river and every defile, and pour in a hot fire without
permitting the Union troops to get a shot in return.

Under these circumstances, General Rosecrans determined, if possible, to
cut off the Confederate's chances of retreating to Tullahoma, or, at
least, of retreating by the direct way. To do this, he determined to
turn the enemy's right, and then make a dash for the railroad bridge at
Elk River. Once he had turned the enemy's right and gained the bridge,
Bragg, if he retreated, would have to go to Tullahoma by side roads,
where both armies would have an equal chance in fighting, so far as the
lay of the land was concerned.

In all military operations, one of the main elements of success lies in
the fact of keeping the other fellow guessing what you are going to do
until you do it; and, in order to blind General Bragg as to his real
intention, General Rosecrans started in by making an attack on the
Confederate centre, as though he intended to push through at