"To Draw the Enemy to Attack"

The following account appears in the regimental history of the Confederate 19th Tennessee Regiment, describing a high level view and then the delaying skirmishing action performed by the regiment ahead of the Battle of Chickamauga.

Rosecrans thought Bragg was in haste to retreat and had no intention of fighting. So he divided his army into three divisions of 20,000 each. One he sent forward to head off Bragg; another to strike him in the flank, and the other he had in Bragg's rear, as he supposed. These three divisions were twenty miles apart. Bragg was informed of this state of things, and indeed sent General Hindman to fight the advance of Rosecrans' army, in McLemore's Cove. But for some unaccountable reason, without blame fixed upon any one, the enemy were allowed to escape. Instead of Bragg falling upon these three corps and destroying them in detail, he waited until Rosecrans corrected his stupid blunder and consolidated his 60,000 men in one compact army. Then Bragg fought the battle of Chickamauga.

The Sunday before the battle of Chickamauga, I, in command of the Nineteenth, deployed as skirmishers, was set out in front of the army to draw the enemy to attack. When some mile or more in front of our line, skirmishing began. The continued in intensity until from the right it was reported that the enemy was in such force, that I ordered the right to fall back slowly. Then from the center I heard the enemy's cannon stop and unlimber. I heard the command to load and fire. My line being hotly pressed along its whole front I ordered it to fall back. This we did across an open field for over a half a mile, with the bullets flying most uncomfortably near. But the enemy did not attack, and so the day of battle was delayed and the place changed to Chickamauga, Georgia.

Source:

William J. Worsham and Carrick White Heiskell, Old Nineteenth Tennessee Regiment, C.S.A. June, 1861-April, 1865, (1902)