Had the Sixteenth Corps given way the rebel army would have been in the rear of the Seventeenth and Fifteenth Corps, and would have swept like an avalanche over our supply-trains, and the position of the Army of the Tennessee would have been very critical.
Dodge emphasizes the critical importance of the Sixteenth Corps in maintaining the army's position during a pivotal moment.
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They proved they might be wiped out but never made to run.
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