TIME MACHINE: Battle of Chickamauga

TIME MACHINE: BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA

Last month marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga, during the U.S. Civil War. Fought in southwestern Tennessee and northeastern Georgia, the battle served as the last Union offensive in that region between September 19-20, 1863. It was the first major U.S. Civil War battle to be fought in Georgia.

Following his successful Tullahoma Campaign, General William Rosecrans, who commanded the Union's Army of the Cumberland, set out to force the Confederate Army of Tennessee, under General Braxton Bragg out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. In early September 1863, Rosecrans consolidated his forces scattered around Tennessee and Georgia and forced the Army of Tennessee out of Chattanooga. Bragg and his troops were forced south of the city and the Union troops followed them. The two armies engaged in a brief clash at Davis's Cross Roads. Bragg became determined to reoccupy Chattanooga by meeting a part of Rosecran's army, defeat it and move back into the city. 

On September 17, his army marched north, intending to attack the Union's isolated XXI Corps. While Bragg marched north on September 18, his cavalry and infantry fought with Union cavalry and mounted infantry. The actual Battle of Chickamauga between the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of Tennessee began in earnest on September 19, 1863; near Chickamauga Creek in northwestern Georgia. This small body of water flows into the Tennessee River. Although the Confederate troops engaged in a strong assault, they could not break the Union line. 

General Bragg resumed his assault on the following day, September 20. In late morning, Rosecrans received erroneous information that he had a gap in his line. While moving units to close the alleged gap, Rosecrans had accidentally created an actual gap, directly in the path of a Confederate eight-brigade assault on a narrow front by Lieutenant General James Longstreet. Longstreet's attack drove one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans himself, away from the field. Other Union forces spontaneously rallied to create a defensive line on Horseshoe Ridge, forming a new right wing for the line ofMajor General George H. Thomas, who assumed overall command of remaining Federal forces. Although the Confederates launched costly and determined assaults, Thomas and his men held until twilight. The actions of Thomas earned him the nickname of "The Rock of Chickamauga. He led the Union forces to Chattanooga, while the Confederates occupied the surrounding heights and commenced upon a siege of the city.

Unable to break the Confederates' siege of Chattanooga, General Rosecrans was relieved of his command of the Army of the Cumberland on October 19, 1863. He was replaced by General Thomas. During the siege, General Bragg commenced upon a battle against those subordinates he resented for failing him in the campaign. This conflict led to General D.H. Hill being relieved of his command and General Longstreet's corps being sent to fight in the Knoxville Campaign against General Ambrose Burnside. These actions seriously weakened Bragg's army at Chattanooga. General Bragg's siege of Chattanooga remained in effect for two months, until General Ulysses S. Grant broke it during the Chattanooga Campaign in late November.

For more information on the Battle of Chickamauga, read the following books:

"The Chickamauga Campaign [Civil War Campaigns in the Heartland] (2010) Edited by Steven E. Woodworth

"The Battle of Chickamauga: The Fight for Snodgrass Hill and the Rock of Chickamauga" (2012) by Robert L. Carter