Hey everyone, welcome to episode number 413 of our Civil War podcast.

My name is Rich.

And I'm Tracy.

Hello y'all.

Thanks for tuning into the podcast.

It was full dark on the evening of September 20th by the time the days combat ended in

both the Horseshoe Ridge and Kelly Field sectors of the battlefield.

The final stages of the battle had been confusing for both sides.

Because of the dark, a number of Confederate officers worried about the dangers of friendly

fire.

Since Polk's wing attacked from multiple directions into Kelly Field, that set up potential collisions

between formations of ripple troops as their lines of advance converged.

Many feared that Long Street's wing was likely to blunder into similar situations.

As a result, nearly all Confederate officers halted their units forward movement.

And most rebel soldiers, once the shooting stopped, simply slumped to the ground where they

stood, exhausted.

A staff officer at Bragg's headquarters wrote, quote, about dark the enemy was routed.

We expect him to rally though, and the fight to be continued a few miles on tomorrow.

Hope he will.

Some though hope it is over, as our loss is heavy.

The Confederates made some effort to reorganize during the night, but the task proved exceedingly

difficult.

...