would eventually silence Bledsoe's guns. Gregg's Texans hit the 20th Ohio Infantry Regiment and the 68th Ohio Infantry Regiment hard. The former regiment held, but the latter broke for the rear. The Union line began to buckle, but it was rallied by the division commander Major General John A. Logan. McPherson, in his inexperience, overestimated the strength of the Confederate force he was facing. The 3rd Tennessee counterattacked the Indianans, who were driven back across the creek and reformed beside the 20th Ohio and the 20th Illinois Infantry Regiment. The attacking Tennesseans shifted to the southeast and advanced towards the 45th Illinois Infantry Regiment. Gregg brought the 41st Tennessee up from the reserve, but he did not have the Union line scouted and was thus uninformed of its true strength. Heavy smoke and dust limited Gregg's ability to see the battle, and events began to escape his control. Chaotic escalation A third Union brigade, under the command of Brigadier General John D. Stevenson, had held back in the rear due to dust clouds kicked up by Smith's brigade. As the battle grew in intensity, Stevenson began moving his men to a position behind the 8th Michigan Battery but was initially held back until Confederate intentions became clearer. The brigade was then ordered by McPherson to support Dennis and Smith after the Confederate attack hit. Stevenson's four regiments were split up, two being sent to support Smith and Dennis, and the others moving to shore up the Union right flank. The latter movement meant that Gregg's two flanking regiments would not strike an exposed Union position. When some of the men of the 50th Tennessee opened fire on the Union line, the element of surprise was lost. The unit's commander tried to inform Gregg that the Union force was much larger than expected, but the messenger could not find him. The 50th Tennessee fell back to a defensive position without informing other Confederate units. The commander of the 10th and 30th Tennessee (Consolidated) had orders not to engage until after the 50th Tennessee had entered the fighting. Gregg's flank attack had stalled, one unit hanging out of the fighting and the other waiting for the former to enter the battle. On the other end of the Confederate line, an attack by the 20th Illinois drove back the 7th Texas. At this point in the fighting, the lines had realigned so that