Sherman, like others, gave ground, but still held his men
together, except for the stragglers he could not control. In the
center C.F. Smith's division, with Hurlbut's in support, and all
that was left of Prentiss's, defended themselves so desperately
that their enemies called their position the Hornet's Nest. Here
the fight swayed back and forth for hours, with ghastly losses on
both sides. C.F. Smith himself was on his deathbed at Savannah.
But he heard the roar of battle. His excellent successor, W.H.L.
Wallace, was killed; and battalions, brigades, and even
divisions, soon became inextricably mixed together. There was now
the same confusion on the Confederate side, where Johnston was
wounded by a bullet from the Hornet's Nest. It was not in itself
a mortal wound. But, knowing how vital this point was, he went on
encouraging his men till, falling from the saddle, he was carried
back to die.

Grant still felt confident; though he had seen the worst in the
rear as well as the best at the front. Two of his brand-new
battalions, the very men who afterwards fought like heroes, when
they had learned the soldier's work, now ran like hares. "During
the day," says Grant, "I rode back as far as the river and met
General Buell, who had just arrived. There probably were as many
as four or five thousand stragglers lying under cover of the
river bluff, panic-stricken. As we left the boat Buell's
attention was attracted by these men. I saw him berating them and
trying to shame them into joining their regiments. He even
threatened them with shells from the gunboats nearby. But all to
no effect. Most of these men afterward proved themselves as
gallant as any of those who saved the battle from which they had
deserted."