From atop Pea Vine Ridge, Minty could see long lines of Confederate infantry marching toward Dyer’s Bridge and ford a mile to his north. Both crossings were unprotected. Minty sent a courier to Wilder asking him to send reinforcements to guard the crossing points. Shortly after 11 a.m., Wilder received Minty’s request and promptly dispatched seven companies of the 72nd Indiana, along with the 123rd Illinois and a section of Lilly’s battery.

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After sending the units northward, Wilder deployed the 17th Indiana to the right of Alexander’s Bridge, with the 98th Illinois on the left side. Dense woods in the immediate area around the bridge on the west side of the creek helped shield the two units. The creek at that point was narrow and deep with steep banks. The enemy had no choice but to try to take the bridge or find another place to ford the creek. Four hundred yards southwest of the bridge, the four remaining guns of Lilly’s battery were emplaced on a knoll. Wilder had fewer than 1,000 men to oppose 8,000 Confederate infantry, plus part of Forrest’s vaunted cavalry, all supported by artillery.

At Reed’s Bridge, the 123rd Illinois was deployed to occupy and hold Dyer’s Bridge, while the 72nd Indiana was sent to guard the ford farther downstream. As one company of the 72nd moved near the ford, it was ambushed by enemy troops who had already crossed the ford. A sharp skirmish ensued, driving the 72nd back toward Dyer’s Bridge. A few minutes later, the 72nd was ordered to withdraw and report back to Minty.

Minty, in the meantime, had regrouped his command east of the bridge and ordered an advance against the lead elements of the enemy corps, driving them over the ridge and back into the Pea Vine Valley. The Confederates now established a crescent-shaped line that extended from the creek above Dyer’s Ford across the ridge into Pea Vine Valley. The men in gray numbered nearly 10,000, including 15 regimental stands of colors.

Minty’s men were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the enemy and unable to hold on to the eastern side of the bridge. The best they could do would be to try to delay the Confederates as long as possible before withdrawing across the bridge. To that end, Minty formed a new line 500 yards east of the bridge with the 4th Michigan, two battalions of the 4th U.S. and the remaining companies of the 7th Pennsylvania. He ordered the artillery and one squadron of the 4th U.S. to set up an ambush near the bridge in a densely wooded patch. The rest of the 4th U.S. was ordered back across the bridge. There they formed on the high ground immediately west of the creek.

As the Confederates swept by the Reed house on the battlefield, the ambush was sprung. The four guns of the Board of Trade Battery opened up on the surprised Rebels, raking them with double-shotted canister. When the Southerners stopped to redeploy, Minty sent the 4th Michigan across the bridge, followed closely by the 7th Pennsylvania. To cover the withdrawal, a squadron of the 4th U.S., led by the Lieutenant Wirt Davis, made a brave saber charge that gave the beleaguered cavalrymen time to get across the bridge. Crossing the bridge behind them, Davis and his men stopped under heavy fire and ripped up the flooring on the bridge, tossing the planks into the creek.

Minty now formed a line on the high ground west of the bridge. For the next two hours his brigade held the entire Rebel force in check. But by 3 p.m. the Confederates had crossed the bridge, and other forces were finding shallow places to cross the creek as well. Seeing that he could no longer hold out against vastly superior numbers being brought to bear on his tired troopers, Minty sent word to the 123rd Indiana to withdraw, adding that he was unable to hold out much longer.

Meanwhile, at Alexander’s Bridge, Wilder and his two regiments were engaging another large Confederate force. At 10 a.m., a company of Southern infantry made the first attempt to cross the bridge, but was quickly driven back by the pickets of the 72nd Indiana. After the initial attack, members of the regiment ripped up the planking on the bridge and built a lunette fort on the west side of the bridge astride the road. Thirty-seven men from Company A then took up positions in the lunette, waiting for the next Confederate attack.

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