Pictured above is the area referred to as "The Slaughter Pen"

The Hill: After the slaughter pen, there was a hill that Braxton Bragg wanted to capture. The commander that he had assigned to carry out the mission had major concerns because to get to the hill his men would have to cross an open field where they could easily be gunned down. Bragg overruled the commander and ordered him to carry out the mission. The commander and his men were easily shot down by Union soldiers. This mission if successful, would have been a huge gain for the Confederates, but the decision was a major mistake for Bragg.

Slaughter Pen: The "Slaughter Pen" is an area on the battlefield where a very deadly engagement happened. The Confederate army almost destroyed the Union lines. This area is nestled in a very wooded area and the area is also very rocky. When visiting the area today, it is hard to imagine that a battle could have been fought there. This area is where a lot of the causalities within the battle happened.

Further Readings: 1.Battle of Stones River : The Forgotten Conflict Between the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland by Larry J. Daniel 2. No Better Place to Die : The Battle of Stones River by Peter Cozzens

Battle of stones river presentation from reedtodd11

William S. Rosecrans (1819-1898)
Rosecrans was born in Ohio. He would attend West Point and he graduated 5th in his class. He was a civil engineer before he was involved in the Civil War. Rosecrans moved around from different divisions of the army. He served time as general for the Ohio Infantry, Army of the Potomac, and others. It is said that there was an instance where George McClellan didn't give Rosecrans credit for a certain operation, thus creating a  sour relationship between the two. Rosecrans first major victory as a General was at the Battle of Stones River. From there he would go on and be a successful general and would later retire from the army and he returned to engineering.

Braxton Bragg (1817-1876) Bragg replaced General Albert Sydney Johnston as the head general of the Army of Tennessee. Bragg focused mainly on battles in Tennessee and Kentucky. The two major battles that he was apart of was the battles of Shiloh and Stones River. Bragg had a series of loses starting with Shiloh then ending with Chattanooga. During the Battle of Stones River his plan was to attack with several offensives. Bragg's offensives were countered by the Union Army and he was defeated at Murfreesboro. After Brag's stint in the Civil War he became an advisor to President Jefferson Davis.