Existing comment:
Moving Men and Materiel:
August 16 - September 12: Daunting barriers confronted General Rosecrans -- the rugged Cumberland, Sand, and Lookout mountain ranges north and west of Chattanooga. To surmount them, 50,000 infantrymen endured 90-degree temperatures and ankle-deep dust as they tramped along narrow mountain passages. Nearly 9,000 calvalrymen and their mounts clambered over steep, dangerous pathways. Doubled teams tugged 200 cannons up precipitous slopes. Thousands of mules pulled 4,000 wagons that hauled 45 days of supplies and caught enough ammunition to fight two battles. The three-week Federal trek over the formidable Cumberlands represents one of the war's greatest logistical feats.
August 23 - September 20: The Confederacy countered with its own logistical miracle. Utilizing sixteen rail lines, the South transported more than 20,000 reinforcements from Mississippi, east Tennessee, and Virginia -- some coming 900 miles by train. Many of these men arrived just in time to bolster General Bragg's ranks at Chickamauga. |