Minty himself rode up a few minutes later and reported to Crittenden that the Rebels were now on the west side of the creek and advancing toward his position. Crittenden, still believing that the enemy did not have such a force in front of them, ordered Wood to take a brigade of infantry and drive off the Rebel units. While Wood was organizing his brigade, Wilder and Minty rode back to their units.

Wood moved his brigade up to Wilder's position and, accompanied by Crittenden, rode up to Wilder and demanded to know where the enemy was. Wilder replied, "Ride forward, General, ten paces, and you will see for yourself." Wood ordered his brigade to form a line of battle in front of Wilder's men. Crittenden added a further dig at Wilder, smirking, "Colonel, we expect to hear a good report for you."

Wood's infantry advanced into the woods and suddenly met a tremendous volume of musketry from both front and flank. The infantry broke and ran, bowling over Wilder's and Minty's men in panic. Wilder turned to Minty and remarked loudly, "Well, Colonel Minty, the general has got his report." Wilder and Minty then rushed forward to counter the enemy attack. Meanwhile, Wood galloped off toward Lee and Gordon's Mill, but not before exclaiming, "By Gad, they are here!"

The Confederates advanced toward the rail barricades behind which Wilder's and Minty's men waited. When the Rebels got within 30 yards, Wilder ordered his men to open fire. Both brigades sent a hail of bullets from their Spencers into the enemy. The Confederates were cut down in droves. The graybacks wavered and fell back, leaving many casualties on the field.

The survivors of the first attack re-formed in the tree line and emerged again with fresh units, advancing toward the men of the Lightning Brigade. As soon as they were close enough, the brigade again opened fire, supported by Lilly's battery, and whole sections of the Confederate line ceased to exist. Again the Rebels were forced to withdraw to the safety of the woods. The Confederates gave up and broke off the attack around 10 p.m.

For the men of Wilder's and Minty's brigades, the fighting finally came to an end. The night of September 18 was cold and miserable, made even worse by the lack of blankets and food for the men because their horses had been moved to the rear, along with their bedrolls and equipment. No fires were allowed, so the exhausted men just lay down in their positions and went to sleep.

All night long, as Wilder's men tried to catch some sleep, the sounds of thousands of marching infantry and hundreds of caissons and wagons filled the night air. The entire Union army was on the march. Rosecrans had ordered a realignment of his three corps, and Thomas was ordered to march his XIV Corps north beyond Crittenden and extend the line northward in order to neutralize Bragg's flanking maneuver.

At 4 a.m., Wilder and Minty were relieved and moved their brigades to the west out of the Viniard house. For the first time in 24 hours the men and horses were fed–sweet potatoes for the men and two ears of corn for each horse. Wilder and his officers met to discuss the actions of the previous day and to prepare plans for the upcoming battle. The day before they had been the left flank of the Union army. Now they found themselves protecting the right flank, as the Union forces had shifted position during the night.

The bravery of the men of Wilder's Lightning Brigade and Minty's cavalry had prevented total disaster from befalling the Army of the Cumberland. Without the valiant Union stand on the banks of Chickamauga Creek, the Confederate army would have swept down the Union flank, and the Battle of Chickamauga would have been lost on the very first day. Once again, the Spencer rifles had proved their worth.

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Author Hubert Jordan's great-grandfather served in the 17th Indiana, part of Wilder's Lightning Brigade. For further reading, see Lightning at Hoover's Gap: The Story of Wilder's Brigade, by Glenn W. Sutherland; or Chickamaiga: Bloody Battle in the West, by Glenn Tucker.

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