Visited: Sept 2017
Nearby city: Chattanooga, TN
“This...is the death-knell of the Confederacy.”
From the journal of an unnamed Confederate Soldier, Nov 1863
It was September 1863. A few months prior, the Union had secured two major victories, at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, that had effectively split the Confederacy in two and stymied any attempt by the Confederates to invade Union territory, respectively. Confederate morale was extremely low. However, the Confederates had a lot of fight left in them.
Despite the Union victories, Lincoln realized that the Union army needed to deliver a death blow to the Confederacy to accomplish the war’s goals. There were rumblings that some foreign powers (France and UK) were seeking to recognize the Confederacy as a sovereign state, and there were also interludes for a brokered peace, a peace where the Confederacy would remain separate from the Northern States, or at least a reunited country where slavery still existed. Lincoln knew that either of these actions would be disastrous. His Gettysburg address had made things clear: this was now a war to preserve the Union AND free the slaves.
Lincoln knew that the Union must occupy the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia to deliver that death blow. But how? Previous invasions of Richmond (from Washington DC and the Peninsular Campaign) had been an utter failure. It was now time to attempt to cut off Richmond from the South. The Union Army (which already controlled portions of Tennessee), would advance southward towards Chattanooga, known as “the Gateway to the Deep South.” Chattanooga would then serve as an ideal home base to launch an advance, or a “march to the sea,” thereby enabling the Union Army to completely surround the capital of Richmond, lay siege, and force an unconditional surrender of the Confederate Army and reunify the Nation.
The battlefields of the Chattanooga Campaign are now preserved at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Established and dedicated in 1895, it was the first national park unit set aside to preserve a battlefield of the Civil War. It preserves a number of battlefields surrounding Chattanooga in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. The two main sites are (1) Chickamauga Battlefield: here you will find the main visitor center and the self-guided auto tour that takes you all around the battlefield. And (2) Point Park: this beautiful site that overlooks the city of Chattanooga and a wide bend of the Tennessee River, and is the site of the important Union victory of Lookout Mountain Battlefield. There are also additional sites, such as Missionary Ridge, Orchard Knob, the Chattanooga National Cemetery, and Moccasin Bend National Archeological District. However, we only had time to visit the two main sites.
Our first stop was at Chickamauga Battlefield. The visitor’s center is really good and has lots of excellent info about the entire campaign.
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| Errant cannon balls that have been lodged and stuck in tree trunks |
Rosecrans was able to take Chattanooga, with Bragg retreating across the border into Georgia and holding ground outside of the small village of Chickamauga. Rosecrans decided to pursue Bragg’s army and crush them. Meanwhile, Bragg began to plot how to strike back and retake Chattanooga. Rosecrans was not expecting Bragg to counter-attack. The first day of the battle (September 19 1863) was fierce, but neither army was able to break through the other’s line. The next day, Bragg resumed his assault on the Union line. And the unthinkable happened...due to a miscommunication, Rosecrans was misinformed that he had a large gap in his line. He decided to move a number of units to the north to plug the supposed “gap” in the line. However, once those units arrived, they discovered that there actually was no gap. Even worse, by moving those units, Rosecrans had actually CREATED a gap in the southern end of the Union line. A gap that Lt. General James Longstreet (who had fought alongside Lee at Gettysburg) was able to march right through and pierce the Union’s defenses. The entire southern flank of the Union Army collapsed. At this point, Rosecrans had no choice but for his Army to hastily retreat back to Chattanooga.
This was a resounding Union defeat. However, there was a saving grace that helped preserve the Chattanooga campaign. Upon receiving the order to retreat, General Major George H. Thomas volunteered to remain and hold his position on Horseshoe Ridge, giving the retreating Army time to reach Chattanooga, fortify the position, and live to fight another day. Thomas rallied a number of scattered units and ferociously stalled the Confederate advance for sufficient time to allow Rosecrans to fortify Chattanooga. Thomas’s efforts were aided by a mounted infantry unit, “The Lightning Brigade” commanded by Colonel John T. Wilder. His brigade was equipped with the newly invented Spencer repeating rifle, a superior weapon that was able to fire at a much greater rate than the guns used by the Confederates. The soldiers had paid for the rifles themselves, for the U.S. government hadn’t yet budgeted for the new technology. The actions of Thomas and Wilder saved thousands of Union lives, and avoided a total rout by allowing the Union Army to retreat to Chattanooga. For his actions, Thomas was nicknamed “The Rock of Chickamauga.”
Take your time to drive the auto tour route and see the battlefield. The highlight is the monument to Wilder and the “Lightning Brigade.”
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| The Wilder Monument |
After the victory at Chickamauga, the Confederates were able to hold the high ground overlooking Chattanooga, at Lookout Mountain and at Missionary Ridge, and began plans to retake the city. But the victory would prove to be short-lived. Rosecrans’ defeat had rattled him severely, leaving him unfit to continue command. Lincoln relieved him of duty of the Army of the Cumberland and replaced him with General Ulysses S. Grant (who had recently achieved a great victory at Vicksburg). General William Tecumseh Sherman had also been sent to reinforce the Union Army at Chattanooga. Fortunately, the Confederates were unable to completely cut off Chattanooga from the North, allowing the supplies and reinforcements to arrive. This gave the Union the manpower and firepower they needed in the battle ahead.
Grant knew he had a tough road ahead of him, but he knew that the only way to victory was to drive Bragg off the high ground at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Although the Confederates held the strategic high ground, they were outmanned and outgunned. The Union staged a simultaneous attack on both defenses on November 24 and November 25, 1863. Bragg simply did not have enough units to defend all the high ground he held all at once, and no reinforcements arrived (the Confederates simply couldn’t spare anyone). The Union was able to overrun Bragg’s Army in the “battle above the clouds” and Bragg’s army fled south to Atlanta.
Point Park (on top of Lookout Mountain) preserves the site of this important Union victory, and was later used as a training ground for U.S. troops during the Spanish-American War. It provides beautiful sights overlooking the city and the Tennessee River.
With Chattanooga secured, Gen. Sherman was now able to conduct his brutal “march to the sea,” which devastated and decimated the South. Sherman’s campaign signaled the beginning of the end of the Confederate Army, which would later surrender in April 1865. As the nameless Confederate soldier penned in his journal, the loss at Chattanooga was indeed the “death-knell of the Confederacy.”
BONUS:
Be sure to visit Rock City on the top of Lookout Mountain. Rock City is a kitschy, touristy spot. It’s one of those places that’s advertised for miles around (the small red barns that proudly implores visitors to “See Rock City” are ubiquitous in this part of the country), but don’t let that drive you away. It’s a great place to visit. You get to hike though narrow, cavernous walkways; a beautiful, intricate garden; see a spectacular (albeit man-made) waterfall at Lover’s Leap; and it offers fantastic panoramic views (boasting that one can see seven states from one spot). We enjoyed our visit here.
Chattanooga is a great place for scenic beauty and Civil War history. If you find yourself passing through Chattanooga, take some time to explore the area. More info: https://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm
cool pictures. never been but its on my bucket list
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