November 23–25, 1863
Fought from November 23 through November 25, 1863, the Battle of Chattanooga ended Confederate General Braxton Bragg's investment of Federal troops at Chattanooga and paved the way for for the Union's successful Atlanta Campaign in 1864.
On December 26, 1862, Major General William S. Rosecrans led the Union Army of the Cumberland out of Nashville, Tennessee with orders to capture Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chattanooga was an important railroad junction that connected the upper Confederacy with the Deep South. Between Rosecrans and Chattanooga was Lieutenant General Braxton Bragg and the Confederate Army of Tennessee. On December 31, the two armies clashed at the Battle of Stones River (December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863) near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Union army prevailed, and Bragg retreated south towards Tullahoma, Tennessee. In June, the Federals moved on the Rebels at Tullahoma, forcing Bragg to withdraw his army to Chattanooga.
In mid-August, Rosecrans prepared to assault Chattanooga, but a series of maneuvers on his part convinced Bragg that the city was indefensible. On September 9, Bragg abandoned Chattanooga and led the Army of Tennessee through the mountains into northern Georgia. Although Rosecrans had achieved his objective of capturing Chattanooga, he decided to pursue Bragg's army into Georgia. Stung by criticism that he received for abandoning Chattanooga, Bragg was determined to win the city back. On September 19, the Army of Tennessee attacked the Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19-20, 1863). Bragg's army drove the Federals back toward Chattanooga, forcing them to occupy the defensive works previously constructed by the Rebels. Bragg seized the high ground overlooking Chattanooga (Lookout Mountain, Seminary Ridge and Raccoon Mountain) and laid siege to the city.
Due to the Army of the Cumberland's dire situation, Northern authorities sent twenty thousand soldiers under the command of General Joseph Hooker, as well as sixteen thousand men that General William T. Sherman led, to assist the Army of the Cumberland. Officials placed General Ulysses S. Grant in command of all Northern soldiers in the vicinity of Chattanooga and also replaced Rosecrans with General George Thomas as the commander of the Army of the Cumberland.
With the arrival of some of the reinforcements in late October 1863, Grant immediately embarked upon a plan to alleviate the supply woes of the Army of the Cumberland. By October 28, Grant's men managed to open a narrow supply line that became known as the "Cracker Line." Northern Brigadier-General William F. Smith had proposed the line, but Rosecrans had failed to act on his subordinate's recommendation. Grant endorsed the plan, and thanks to Confederate General James Longstreet's refusal to attack the Northern forces carrying out the movement, Union soldiers established the supply line. At Commanding General Braxton Bragg's orders, Longstreet did finally launch a night attack on October 28 and the early morning hours of October 29. Longstreet sent in far fewer men against the Union position, which was commanded by General Hooker, than Bragg had ordered. Known as the Battle of Wauhatchie, Hooker's response was confused, but Union forces managed to hold the position. Longstreet's failure prompted Bragg to dispatch Longstreet and his men to eastern Tennessee to deal with a potential Northern threat. This action greatly weakened Bragg's army.
Following the opening of the Cracker Line and the Battle of Wauhatchie, Grant began planning an assault on the Confederate forces. He intended to wait until Sherman's men arrived on the battlefield. Sherman's men began to arrive on November 20, but the vast majority of the force was delayed. On November 23, rumors circulated through Northern lines that the Confederate forces were retreating. Grant ordered General Thomas to reconnoiter the center of the Confederate line at the base of Missionary Ridge. Early in the afternoon, fourteen thousand Northern forces under Brigadier-General Thomas J. Wood easily overpowered the six hundred Confederates at Orchard Knob. Initially, Grant had ordered the men to return to Northern lines, but upon seeing the ease the Union men had in securing the position, he ordered his soldiers to hold the position and to entrench.
Union forces continued their assault on the Confederate position the next day. On November 24, General Hooker's men attacked Confederate forces on Lookout Mountain, which was located on the Southerners' left flank. By mid afternoon the Union assault had stalled, primarily due to a thick fog that enveloped the mountain, causing soldiers to nickname the Battle of Lookout Mountain as the Battle Above the Clouds. Although Hooker's men did not take the mountain, he correctly predicted that Southern forces would withdrawal from the mountain that night.
Bragg concentrated his Confederate soldiers on Missionary Ridge. On November 25, Grant chose to assault this Southern position. Sherman, who still did not have his entire force on the battlefield, was to attack the Confederate right flank, while Hooker was to make some demonstrations against the left flank but was not to launch a determined assault. Hooker did, slowly pushing Confederate forces north along Missionary Ridge. General Thomas, who led the Northern troops across from the center of the Confederate line, was to assist Sherman in his assault. Unfortunately for Grant, Sherman's advance was slowed by stiff Confederate resistance. Late in the afternoon, Grant ordered Thomas to advance against the Confederate center, but he only wanted the Army of the Cumberland to take Southern rifle pits at the bottom of Missionary Ridge. Thomas's men advanced, seized the rifle pits, and then proceeded, against their original orders, to drive the Confederates from Missionary Ridge. Bragg's army retreated from the ridge, finishing the Battle of Chattanooga.
Among the Ohio units involved in the Battle of Chattanooga were:
Infantry units:
2nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
3rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
6th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
11th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
14th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
15th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
19th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
21st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
24th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
30th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
33rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
35th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
36th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
37th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
38th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
41st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
46th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
47th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
49th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
51st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
52nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
54th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
55th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
59th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
61st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
64th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
65th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
69th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
70th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
73rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
74th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
82nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
89th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
92nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
93rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
97th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
99th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
101st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
105th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
108th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
113th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
121st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
124th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
125th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
4th Regiment Virginia Volunteer Infantry (primarily recruited in Ohio)
7th Company Ohio Independent Sharpshooters
Cavalry units:
1st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
3rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
5th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
Artillery units:
1st Regiment Ohio Light Artillery
4th; Regiment Ohio Light Artillery
6th Regiment Ohio Light Artillery
18th Regiment Ohio Light Artillery
Of the approximately fifty-six thousand Northern soldiers engaged in the Chattanooga Campaign, including the Battle of Chattanooga, Confederates killed 753 men and wounded 4,722. The North had another 349 men missing. Southerners had 361 men killed, 2,160 wounded, and 4,146 men missing or captured. Bragg's army numbered nearly forty-four thousand men at the campaign's start. As Northern soldiers were burying the Confederate dead, one chaplain asked General Thomas if the Union troopers should bury the Confederates in groups according to their respective states. Thomas responded, "Mix 'em up. I'm tired of States' rights."
Related Entries
- Battle of Lookout Mountain
- Battle of Ringgold Gap
- Battle of Wauhatchie
- Ulysses S. Grant
- William Tecumseh Sherman
- Chattanooga Campaign
- Braxton Bragg
- William Starke Rosecrans
- George Henry Thomas
- James Longstreet
- Battle of Chickamauga
- Battle of Stones River
- Ohio Volunteer Infantry
- Battle of Orchard Knob
- Joseph Hooker
- 99th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
- Army of the Cumberland
- William F. “Baldy” Smith
- Thomas John Wood