Existing comment:
August 16 - September 9, 1863: A Campaign into the Mountains:
"I think we shall deceive the enemy." -- Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, USA
"I am utterly broken down..." -- Gen. Braxton Bragg, CSA
Rosecrans conquered the mountains and deceived the enemy in one of the most brilliant flanking maneuvers of the war. The [???] three-week campaign spread nearly 60,000 men over a 40-mile front, completely baffling the Confederate commanders. On September 9, Rosecrans jubilantly wrote the War Department: "Chattanooga is ours without a struggle, and East Tennessee is free."
Mountains blocked every military approach to the rail hub at Chattanooga. The Confederates considered the mountains their allies. The vast, rugged wilderness would confine the enemy to miserable roads, constricted passes, and nearly impossible lines of supply. As one Southerner observed, "If we can't whip them with the advantages of river and the mountain-locked passes on the right and left of Chattanooga, where is the place we can?"
The mountains failed to intimidate Union General Rosecrans. The wily strategist divided his army into three columns. Launching one column from the north, it brashly and aggressively approached the city, convincing the Confederates it was the real threat. But it was only a decoy. Over half of the Union army was secretly swinging in from the west and south of Chattanooga -- using the mountains as cover -- to threaten the Confederate supply line from Atlanta. Learning of these movements and threats, General Bragg abandoned Chattanooga on September 9 without firing a shot. |