Existing comment:
Miracle at Missionary Ridge: November 25, 1863:
By the afternoon of November 25, the main Union assaults had made little progress. Sherman's thrusts at the north end of Missionary Ridge were stymied at Tunnel Hill. Hooker's advance toward the Confederate left at Rossville Gap was delayed by difficulties crossing Chattanooga Creek.
Frustrated by the lack of success by these primary thrusts on Bragg's flanks, Grant ordered Thomas to launch a limited assault against the Confederate rifle pits at the base of Missionary Ridge, the front line of the Confederate center. He hoped to occupy the attention of the troops in the Confederate center so that they couldn't reinforce the Confederate right against Sherman, the point where Grant still expected the decisive fight.
Thomas' men, 23,000 strong, swept over the frontline defenders with ease. That was all Grant wanted and expected. But Thomas' troops didn't stop at the base. Instead, without orders, they continued their charge directly uphill, driving back the second and third lines of the Confederate stronghold at Missionary Ridge. The surprised Confederates panicked, broke, and fled. Against all odds, the Army of the Cumberland -- defeated at Chickamauga and besieged at Chattanooga -- had won the battle. |