Hardee and Cleburne preserved a route out of the rout

As Bragg's center broke, William J. Hardee's northern command was the only major part of the line to withdraw without panic and became the army's rear guard. Patrick Cleburne's action at Ringgold Gap helped pull the retreating Army of Tennessee out of deeper danger. The orderly resistance contrasts with the collapse around Breckinridge's sector, where Hooker had already passed through an unsecured Rossville Gap. A disciplined rear guard can preserve an army after the battle itself has been lost.