The Chattanooga campaign was a series of battles between the Union Army of the Cumberland and the Confederate Army of Tennessee for control over the vital rail junction of Chattanooga, Tennessee that occurred from September to November 1863. The Union victory at Chattanooga reversed the Confederate victory at the Battle of Chickamauga and opened a path for a Union invasion of the Southern heartland and a march on Atlanta.
Background[]
Despite their victory, the Confederates were in disarray after Chickamauga. Meanwhile, the Union leadership rallied to redeem what it could from defeat.
Braxton Bragg's lethargy after Cickamauga caused his principal generals to turn against him, claiming he was unfit for command. But James Longstreet did not wish to take command of the army himself, so Bragg was retained, leaving morale low. Bragg's forces controlled the high ground to the east of Chattanooga and prevented supplies from reaching the town except by one circuitous route. This did not allow enough food to reach the besieged Union army. Lincoln knew something must be done. The man he chose to resolve the crisis was Ulysses S. Grant, fresh from his triumph at Vicksburg.
History[]
In mid-October, Lincoln reorganized the Union's Western geographic command structure. The new Division of the Mississippi, which included all of the territory between the Appalachians and the river, fell under the command of Ulysses S. Grant. With his new authority, Grant headed for Chattanooga, where he relieved William S. Rosecrans and installed George Henry Thomas as commander of the Army of the Cumberland.
One Federal officer wrote about Grant's arrival, "We began to see things move. We felt that everything came from a plan." By the end of October the crisis in the city had ended. New supply lines were in place, and 17,000 fresh troops had arrived under Sherman. Union morale was restored. Conversely, their Confederate foes, though still occupying the high ground that dominated the Federal positions, were again outnumbered and racked with command and morale problems.
The Battle of Lookout Mountain[]
Trench warfare at Chattanooga
Grant's plan to push the Rebels off their positions overlooking the town and return to a war of maneuver was simple: attack both flanks and fix the enemy in the center. Major General Joseph Hooker, now reinstated to command the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, would attack Bragg's southern flank, anchored on Lookout Mountain; Thomas and his Army of the Cumberland would keep Bragg's attention in front of Missionary Ridge; and William Tecumseh Sherman would attack the northern flank at Tunnel Hill.
On 24 November Hooker and Sherman moved out. Hooker sent three divisions against Lookout Mountain, and with the help of some fog, drove off its Southern defenders at the cost of only 500 casualties. Next morning a huge Union flag could be seen waving from the summit, inspiring Federal troops in the valley below. Sherman's men initially made good progress toward their objective, but poor reconnaissance led them to the wrong position. Undeterred, on 25 November they fiercely attacked General Patrick Cleburne's Confederate division, but were repeatedly repulsed. Cleburne commanded the best division in Bragg's army, and his men had not been infected with low morale. They resolutely held their ground, inflicting heavy casualties on Sherman's troops. Meanwhile, Grant became increasingly frustrated. After storming Lookout Mountain, Hooker had been held up by poor roads and a destroyed bridge, and now Sherman was stalled.
Missionary Ridge[]
The fighting for Missionary Ridge
At 2 PM, Grant ordered Thomas to probe the Confederate center at Missionary Ridge, to relieve some of the pressure on Sherman. Though Grant had intended a limited assault, Thomas sent four divisions - 23,000 men - headlong against the heavily defended ridge. It could have been a repeat of Pickett's Charge, the ill-fate Confederate attack at Gettysburg, but instead, eager to redeem themselves from the stain of Chickamauga, the soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland surged over three Confederate trench lines, up the rugged slope of the imposing ridge, and over its summit. They captured much of Bragg's artillery and sent his defenders fleeing to northern Georgia. Watching the assault go forward from their command post, Grant and Thomas were astonished. An angry Grant asked who had ordered the men up the ridge, and Thomas denied that he had done so. Had the men failed, Thomas' career would have ended right there. His troops had prevailed, however, partly because of confusion among Southern soldiers in trenches at the base of the ridge about how many volleys to fire before retreating, and partly because of the poor placement of the Rebel artillery.
Union troops advancing at Chattanooga
Low morale in Bragg's army also had much to do with their defeat. Bragg wrote to Davis after the battle, "The disaster admits of no palliation. I fear we both erred in the conclusion for me to retain command here." Casualties were relatively light for both armies at this point, but the results were clear: Grant had won the battle and opened a path to Atlanta and the Southern heartland.
Aftermath[]
The Union victory at Chattanooga reinforced Northern resolve after the defeat at Chickamauga had tarnished the jubilation of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Copperhead politicians who appeared poised to win control of key districts in the lower North now doubted their chances. In the South the optimism of September was destroyed. The Confederates now faced the possibility of an invasion into northern Georgia, while Joseph E. Johnston replaced Bragg in command.