THE BATTLE OF CHATTANOOGA

Grant sent Sherman and Hooker to surround the border of the Confederate site between November 23rd and 24th. On the 24th of Novemeber, Hooker's forces caused Bragg’s loss of Lookout Mountain1. Shortly after, Hooker continued on to Rossville, to pressure Bragg.

“Showing outstanding generalship, Grant did not make the error of throwing troops from his center into the planned frontal attack before some decisive results had been achieved on the flanks. Sherman's situation, however, was critical, and the original plan had to be modified.” – From "The Civil War Dictionary" by Mark M. Boatner III

 
November 25th, Sherman's troops attacked Confederates at Tunnel Hill, but were held off by Cleburne's and Stevenson's groups. Also on November 25th, four groups of Thomas' Corps pressed on up Missionary Ridge1 and disrupted the Confederate Center, meanwhile Hooker attacked their absentees. Bragg's Army was defeated and withdrew deep into Georgia.

       

Major battles following the battle at Chattanooga include the Battle of Atlanta (May 1 – September 8, 1864), the battle of Cold Harbour (June 1-3, 1864), and the Battle of Appomattox(April 2 –9, 1865).

LEADERS INVOLVED

General Braxton Bragg2 

Braxton Bragg was born in Warren County, N.C., on March 22, 1817. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1837 and served in the Seminole and Mexican wars.

He resigned from the Army in 1856 but later returned to the military as a general in the Confederate Army in 1861. Bragg fought in several engagements and was noted for leading the South to victoryat Chickamauga. He later served as a military advisor to Jefferson Davis. After the war he had a career in civil engineering. He died in Galveston, Tex., on Sept. 27, 1876.

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant3

Born on April 27, 1822, From humble beginnings, Ulysses S. Grant rose to command all the Federal armies in the Civil War and lead them to victory. So great was his popularity that the people twice elected him to the presidency.

He attended West Point university and not long after graduating served in the Mexican War and married Julia Dent. He left the army after their first son was born, but later returned when the civil war began. He originally never had any intentions of being a politician, but he ended up serving two terms as president. He died on July 23 1885, a week after finishing his personal memoirs, from throat cancer.

General William Starke Rosecrans4

William S. Rosecrans was born in Delaware County, Ohio, on September 6, 1819. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1842. He left the Army in 1854 but returned to it at the start of the American Civil War. Rosecrans later became the commanding general of the Department of Ohio.

After losing the battle of Chickamauga he lost his command and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was made commander of all the western armies. Regardless of the loss, he was considered the best strategist of the Union forces. After the war he was minister to Mexico from 1868 to 1869, and he represented California in Congress from 1881 to 1885. He eventually retired to Redondo, California, where he died on March 11, 1898.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BATTLE

The battle of Chattanooga was very significant towards the Civil War effort. Numbers and losses are weighty and the surrounding events such as the railroad expansion had great impacts on the situations. The battlefield was of vital importance to many and was later established as the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in 1890.1 

Chattanooga was named after an Indian expression meaning “rock rising to a point” and is located on the Moccasin Bend of the Tennessee River near the Georgia border. The most momentous landmark would be Lookout Mountain, which was home to a great deal of The Chattanooga Campaign’s battles.

In the 1840s and 1850s, the state of Georgia extended its railroads northwest from Atlanta to embrace the Tennessee Valley, and a network of railroads soon radiated from the place. Chattanooga was a vital communications location for the Confederate army during the American Civil War. This is most likely the main reason it was a heavy fighting ground.

The scale of people to area was a noteworthy observation. Over a battleground of approximately 200km2, roughly 120508 people fought over the course of the battle. This means there were about 63 people per km2.

The timing of this battle was generally in the very middle of the American Civil War. The war began in 1861 and continued to 1865 and obviously 1963 is right towards the center. The battle was a part of the Chattanooga campaign and there were just about the same amount of battles before and after this reasonably short-lived battle.

The battle of Chattanooga would have been very significant to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. The reason being that this was the first battle he participated in after he had been placed in command of all the federal armies in the West.

Grant would have had to look at the same issues he’d recently viewed during other battles, however, from a different perspective. He would have needed to be more responsible, mature and considerate when making vital decisions.

Numbers and losses at Chattanooga were rather large considering the extremely short time period that the battle took place in.1256,359 Union effectives participated, and in total 753 were killed, 4,722 were wounded and 349 went missing. 64,165 Confederate effectives participated with 361 killed, 2,160 wounded and 4,146 went missing.

These numbers were extremely similar to the Battle of Fredricksburg. At Chattanooga for every 1000 effectives in the Union Army 97 where shot. At Fredricksburg for every 1000 Union effectives engaged 103 were shot. Similarly at Chattanooga for every 1000 Union effectives they shot 44 Confederates. At Fredricksburg for every 1000 Union effectives they also shot the exact same 44 Confederates.

The South was deeply affected by the great loss at Chattanooga which actually led to the dismissal of Bragg and Rosecrans. In turn, it was a great victory for the North and Grant was greatly respected after the wise decisions he made during this time.

“Now it was Rosecran's turn to be discredited. Remarking that the general was "stunned and confused, like a duck hit on the head," Lincoln relieved him of command and placed the perilous situation in the hands of the North's most trusted leader, Ulysses S. Grant. Losing no time, Grant launched assaults that cleared the Confederates for m their positions on the heights of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. The South would never recover from the loss of Chattanooga, which brought Bragg's dismissal and opened the gateway to the Confederate heartland.” - From  "Echoes of Glory, Civil War Battle Atlas" published by Time Life Books.

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