After losing Brown’s Ferry the day before, Confederate Lieut. Gen. James Longstreet ordered Brig. Gen. Micah Jenkins’ division to mount a nighttime attack on Union forces under Brig. Gen. John W. Geary near Wauhatchie Station on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. While Jenkins attacked Wauhatchie, Brig. Gen. Evander M. Law and Brig. Gen. Jerome B. Robertson’s brigades were assigned to block reinforcements from reaching the scene of the battle. The attack, scheduled for 10 pm on October 28th, was delayed until 12:30 am on October 29th. Even though Union forces were aware that an attack might occur, they were still surprised by the attack.
After hearing shots being fired at Wauhatchie, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker ordered Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz’s division to march toward the area to reinforce Geary’s division. However, due to miscommunication, Brig. Gen. Adolph von Steinwehr’s division left instead. As they were marching toward Wauhatchie, Law’s division fired upon Steinwehr’s division and diverted their attention before they could reach the battle. They were occupied there until Law retreated. Meanwhile, the Union forces were successful in holding off Confederate attacks at Wauhatchie but were running low on ammunition. Confederate forces seemed poised to win until they were called to retreat after reports that Union reinforcements were arriving from the rear. After three hours of intense combat in the dead of night, the Battle of Wauhatchie was over. (Account from American Battlefield Trust website)