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Battle of Chickamauga
Historian Page


When

The battle occurred during September 19-20, 1863.

Where

The battle took place in the Catoosa County and Walker County next to Chickamauga Creek. I guess that's why they called the battle Chickamauga because it was next to Chickamauga Creek. There was also many parts of the field, so they just wanted to call it by one name.

What

This is my brief description of the Battle of Chickamauga. Major General William S. Rosecrans had renewed his offense, aiming to force the Confederates out of Chattanooga. The three army corps of Rosecrans's army split and had set our for Chattanooga by separate routes. In September, Rosecrans had consolidated his forces in Tennessee and Georgia and forced General Braxton Bragg's army out of Chattanooga. The Union troops followed. General Bragg was determined to go back to Chattanooga and decided to meet a part of General Rosecrans's army, try to defeat them, and then move back into the city. On the 17th he headed north, intending to meet and beat the XXI Army Corps. As Bragg marched north on the 18th of September, his Calvary and infantry met up and fought with Union cavalry and mounted infantry which were armed with Spencer repeating rifles. The fighting began on the morning of the 19th of September, and Bragg's men hammered but did not break the Union line. The next day, Bragg continued to attack on the Union line of the left, and in late morning, Rosecrans was told that he had a gap in his line. In units to cover up the supposed gap, Rosecrans created one, and James Longstreet's men destroyed it, driving one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans himself, from the field. Then George H. Thomas took over command and began consolidating forces on Horseshoe Ridge and Snodgrass hill. Though the rebels launched determined attacks on the Unions forces, they kept on going until after dark. Then Thomas led the men from the field leaving it to the Confederates. The Union reported back to Chattanooga while the rebels occupied the surrounding heights. When they were beating the Union and as they fled they could have stopped them from going back to Chattanooga but they didn't.

Why

This battle occurred because the Union had forced the Confederates out of Chattanooga, which the Union knew that it would hurt them. So it made the Confederates want to occupy Chattanooga once again. And also they had some communication problems they thought that someone would be over here but would actually be somewhere else.

Who

Major General William S. Rosecrans - Union General

He was a brilliant strategist. Though his poor tactical judgment and his unbrilliant exit from a battlefield would show Rosecrans as the loser in one of the worst routes of the Union Army. But within a year he would be offered to be the vice president.

He graduated from West Point and was 5th in his class out of 56. He roomed with James Longstreet, who has played a role in his defeat at Chickamauga. He leaves the army in 1854 to pursue a career as a civil engineer. During the next seven years Rosecrans becomes familiar with what is now the state of West Virginia, his early success of driving the Rebels back down to the Shenandoah Valley during the Kanawha Campaign.

After Perryville, he assumes command of what soon will be the Army of the Cumberland, and then pursues Braxton Bragg to Murphreesboro, Tennessee. Bragg fights at Stone's River, defeating the Union Army on December 31, 1862. But Rosecrans did not retreat to Nashville, as Bragg thought, and in 1863 the battle resumes.

Around less than a year later after Chickamauga James Garfield asks him to run for vice-president under Lincoln. But he refuses. During the next thirty years Rosecrans serves in a number of public positions, most as representative from the state of California to the U.S. House.

Major General George H. Thomas - Union General

He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY in 1840, he served in the Mexican War as an artillery and cavalry instructor at West Point. Though born in the South he remained loyal to the Union when the Civil War broke out. Took command of an independent force in eastern Kentucky, Thomas had defeated the Confederates under Crittenden on January 19, 1862 at Mill Springs and gained the first important Union victory in the war. He then served under General Don Carlos Buell and had arrived late at Shiloh in order to participate in the second day of the battle. After the battle Halleck put Thomas in command of Grant's Army of the Tennessee.

Thomas was offered but had refused the chief command. At the battle of Perryville his 14th corps was not engaged. He was forced to withdraw into East Tennessee, but Buell was faulted for lack of pursuit, and was replaced by William S. Rosecrans.

Thomas was in charge of the most important part of the maneuvering during the Tullahoma Campaign. After two days of battle at Chickamauga, Thomas steadfastly organized Union defenses after the collapse of the Union right wing and stood all afternoon long violent attacks on the left wing by the entire Confederate army until the arrival of reserve units under Granger. For this action he was called the "Rock of Chickamauga" and was later promoted to general of the regular army. He complicated matters greatly for future biographers by destroying all of his personal papers, saying: "All that I did for my government are matters of history, but my private life is my own and I will not have it hawked about for the amusement of the curious. "He died at the age of 54 in his office in San Francisco.

General Braxton Bragg - Confederate General

He was probably the most controversial of all Confederate officers, he was a writer, a traveler, and a respected artillery commander and plantation owner. Many of his actions at major Western Theater battles in which he fought are still widely debated.

He graduated from West Point. He then entered the army as a second lieutenant. He fought in the Seminole Wars, and served under Zachary Taylor's flank while After his brave action he was twice the target of assassins.

He retired for a little while, then he returned to serve in the Louisiana militia until he was appointed Brigadier General by the Confederate States. He was promoted to full general after the defeat at Shiloh.

Brag launched a campaign from Chattanooga during the late summer of 1862. He had astounded the Union by moving 30,000 men from Tupelo, Mississippi to Chattanooga by rail and moving to the rear of the Federal troops in Corinth. He continued on deep into the border State of Kentucky while general Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia moved into Maryland. The British were on the verge of granting recognition to the South.

Bragg began to suffer serious medical problems and during the Tullahoma Campaign he was to be frequently be transported by ambulance because boils made it difficult for him to travel by horseback. Brag retreated to protect his supply line. Rosecrans pursued Bragg to the banks of a small North Georgia creek, where the Union general ran into stiffer than expected resistance. Bragg launched an attack that would be named by the creek near which it started, Chickamauga. The Union ended up fleeing . Bragg was defeated at the battle of Chattanooga.

Lt. General James Longstreet - Confederate General

His appointment to West Point to the state of Alabama, and much of his income to Louisiana and the Federal government, but he had always thought of Georgia as home. He was educated at Westover near Augusta and received another kind of education in the Georgia woods that would serve him as a soldier.

He first offered his services to the Confederacy through the state of Alabama after resigning his commission as a Major in the United States army. By Bull Run he had already been promoted to brigadier-general in command of three Virginia infantry regiments.

After the Confederate victory at Bull Run, Longstreet continued to rise in rank and stature in the Confederate.

Prior to the campaign that resulted in the battle of Gettysburg, Longstreet offered a plan to Lee and the Richmond government designed to relieve pressure on the important Mississippi River port of Vicksburg. The loss of this port would have the disaster effect of closing the Confederacy's overland like to the states of Arkansas, Texas, and most of Louisiana, and sealing Mississippi from use by the Confederacy.

Four Important Events

1863- Civil War breaks out in Afghanistan after the death of Dost Mohammed.

1863- Football Association founded, London Grand Prix de Paris first run at Long Champ Beginning of construction of London.

1862- English cricket team tours Australia for the first time.

1863- Mohammad Said, Khedive of Egypt, died: succeeded by Ismail.