Third Battle of Chattanooga
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{{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Battle of Chattanooga |partof=the American Civil War |image=Image:Battle of Chattanooga III.png |caption= |date=November 23–25, 1863 |place=Chattanooga, Tennessee |casus= |territory= |result=Union victory |combatant1=United States of America |combatant2=Confederate States of America |commander1=Ulysses S. Grant |commander2=Braxton Bragg |strength1=Military Division of the Mississippi (~80,000) |strength2=Army of Tennessee (~50,000) |casualties1=5,815 |casualties2=6,670 }} Template:Campaignbox Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign
The Third Battle of Chattanooga (popularly known as The Battle of Chattanooga) was fought November 23–25, 1863, in the American Civil War. By defeating the Confederate forces of General Braxton Bragg, Union Army Major General Ulysses S. Grant eliminated the last Confederate control of Tennessee and opened the door to an invasion of the deep South that would lead to the Atlanta Campaign of 1864.
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Prelude to battle
After their disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga, the 40,000 men of the Union Army of the Cumberland under Major General William Rosecrans retreated to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee besieged the city, threatening to starve the Union forces into surrender. His pursuit to the city outskirts had been leisurely, giving the Union soldiers time to prepare defenses. Bragg's troops established themselves on Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, both of which had excellent views of the city, the river, and the Union's supply lines. Confederate troops launched raids on all supply wagons heading toward Chattanooga, which made it necessary for the Union to find another way to feed their men.
The Union government, alarmed by the potential for defeat, sent reinforcements. On October 17, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant received command of the Western armies, designated the Military Division of the Mississippi; he moved to reinforce Chattanooga and replaced Rosecrans with Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas. Devising a plan known as the "Cracker Line", Grant's chief engineer, William F. "Baldy" Smith, launched a surprise amphibious landing at Brown's Ferry that opened the Tennessee River by linking up Thomas's Army of the Cumberland with a relief column of 20,000 troops led by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, thus allowing supplies and reinforcements to flow into Chattanooga, greatly increasing the chances for Grant's forces. In response, Bragg ordered Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet to force the Federals out of Lookout Valley. The ensuing Battle of Wauhatchie (October 28–29, 1863) was one of the war's few battles fought exclusively at night. The Confederates were repulsed and the Cracker Line was secured.
Bragg weakened his forces by sending Longstreet's corps moving against Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside near Knoxville. When Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman arrived with his four divisions (20,000 men) in mid-November, Grant began offensive operations.
November 23: Initial movements
On November 23, Union forces under Thomas struck out and advanced east to capture a line from Orchard Knob to Bushy Knob, placing them halfway to the summit of Missionary Ridge. The advance was made in broad daylight and met little Confederate resistance. Bragg moved Walker's division (under Brig. Gen. States Rights Gist) from Lookout Mountain to strengthen his right flank.
November 24: Battle of Lookout Mountain
Image:Chattanooga Battle.png The plan for November 24 was a two-pronged attack—Hooker against the Confederate left, Sherman the right. Hooker's three divisions struck at dawn at Lookout Mountain and found that the defile between the mountain and the river had not been secured. They barreled right through this opening; the assault ended around 3:00 p.m. when ammunition ran low and fog had enveloped the mountain. This action has been called the "Battle Above the Clouds" due to that fog. Bragg withdrew his forces from the southern end of the mountain to a line behind Chattanooga Creek, burning the bridges behind him.
Sherman crossed the Tennessee River successfully, but his assault was then delayed and the division of Patrick Cleburne was rushed in to reinforce the Confederate right flank. No attack would occur on this flank on the 24th.
November 25: Battle of Missionary Ridge and the aftermath
On November 25, Grant changed his plan and called for a double envelopment by Sherman and Hooker. Thomas was to advance after Sherman reached Missionary Ridge from the north. The Ridge was a formidable defensive position, manned in depth, and Grant knew that a frontal assault against it would be suicidal, unless it could be arranged in support of the flanking attacks by Sherman and Hooker. As the morning progressed, Sherman was unable to break Cleburne's line and Hooker's advance was slowed by the burned bridges on the creek. At 3:30 p.m., Grant was concerned that Bragg was reinforcing his right flank at Sherman's expense. Hence, he ordered Thomas to move forward and try to seize the first of three lines of Confederate entrenchments to his front. The Union soldiers moved forward and captured the first line, but were subjected there to punishing fire from the two remaining Confederate lines up the ridge. Without orders, the Union soldiers continued the attack against the remaining lines. The Union soldiers dashed madly up the ridge, shouting "Chickamauga, Chickamauga!" until they finally overwhelmed and captured the remaining Confederate lines. Bragg had misplaced his artillery on the crest of the ridge, rather than the military crest, and it was unable to provide effective fire. Nonetheless, the Army of the Cumberland's ascent of Missionary Ridge was one of the war's most dramatic events. A Union officer recalled that "little regard to formation was observed. Each battalion assumed a triangular shape, the colors at the apex. ... [a] color-bearer dashes ahead of the line and falls. A comrade grasps the flag. ... He, too, falls. Then another picks it up ... waves it defiantly, and as if bearing a charmed life, he advances steadily towards the top ..."<ref>Catton, p. 439.</ref>
Grant was initially furious that his orders had not been followed exactly. Thomas was taken by surprise as well, knowing that his head would be on the chopping block if the assault failed. But it succeeded. By 4:30 p.m., Bragg's troops had broken and fled in panic.
One of the Confederacy's two major armies was routed. The Union held Chattanooga, the "Gateway to the Lower South." It became the supply and logistics base for Sherman's 1864 Atlanta Campaign, and Grant had won his final battle in the west prior to receiving command of all Union armies in March 1864.
See also
References
- National Park Service battle summary
- Catton, Bruce, The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War, 1982 ed., American Heritage Publishing, 1960, ISBN 0517385562.
Notes
<references/>de:Schlacht von Chattanooga sv:Slaget vid Chattanooga