(yes, ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND men)
meeting each other across a small field in norther Georgia?
That's what happened over 2 days, a little south of the great
Confederate railroad town of Chattanooga, Tennessee,
in the middle of September of 1863.
It is just 2 1/2 months after the defeat of the Confederates at Vicksburg AND at Gettysburg.
Desperate for a re-gain of control, the Confederates amass their troops here, with the absolute need to reconquer their railroads at Chattanooga, just a few miles away.
The Union send out it's troop and General Bragg orders his Confederates to attack at sunrise.
But, at 9:30 AM the battle has not begun:
the leader in charge of beginning the attack is found having breakfast with a local farmer.
The Confederate military does to think much of Bragg.
They think he is a political appointment, not a military leader.
So the Union attacks from behind these trees.
A raging battle ensues.
But in the end, the Union has to retreat back to their safety in Chattanooga.
Why is it that the Confederates win this battle despite their altered plans?
Is it their determination to save their cause?
Or is it their better leadership?
It does not matter.
This is only a Pyrrhic victory.
Look at these numbers:
The Confederates have lost too much: they have no further reinforcements of men, horses, or supplies.
They have just about spent all they had.
Shortly after that, they try to capture Chattanooga, with the advantage of having control of the hill.
They fail.
So, it is now clear that the summer of 1863 has changed it all.
The Union, who had not had a significant victory since the beginning of the war in '61, is now on a roll!
(Next time we'll talk about Gettysburg and what gave the Union it's advantage).
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