Now shell and shot were teaching them the terrible realities.

He saw many a face grow pale, as his own had often grown pale, in the first minutes of battle, but he did not see any one flinch.
The Northern cannon posted in the intervals and along the edges of the woods opened with a mighty crash, and as the enemy came nearer the riflemen began to send a hail of bullets.

But the charge did not break.
It was led by Buckner, taken at Donelson, but now exchanged, and some of the best troops of the South followed him.
"Steady! Steady!" shouted Colonel Winchester.

The ranks were so close that he and all of his staff, having no room for their horses, had dismounted, and they stood now in the front rank, encouraging the men to meet the charge.

But the rush of the Southern veterans was so sudden and fierce that despite every effort of valor the division gave way, suffering frightful losses.
Two of the Union generals seeking to hold their men were killed.