Walt, I think you’re talking about Wilder’s brigade. Wilder personally signed for a bank loan so that his men could all carry new 7 shot Spencer rifles, and it made his unit one of the best in the war. (Many Union staff officers at the time didn’t like the idea of repeating weapons since they thought it would just make the soldiers waste bullets.) Rosecrans was an idiot and never had any idea of how to make use of Wilder and his men.

I’ve been to the battlefield, like all battlefields it’s a fascinating walk. I could easily feel why Thomas made his stand where he did on the end of that second day, on the top of three small hills where the surging confederates were funnelled into deep ravines subject to intense crossfire.

One of my ancestors was the Colonel in command of the 21st Wisconsin, taken prisoner when his unit was overrun on the 2nd day of Chickamauga. A few months later he became one of the leaders of the famous Libby jailbreak in Richmond, a legendary tale.