Existing comment:
Setting the Stage for the Clash of the 19th:
(1) McLemore's Cove is a broad valley on the east side of Lookout Mountain. Here, on September 10-11, General Bragg hoped to strike at the head of Rosecran's central column. When Bragg failed, the Union column withdrew to the safety of Lookout Mountain, where it awaited other consolidating Federal forces.
(2) Near Lee & Gordon's Mills, 16 miles south of Chattanooga, Bragg ordered an attack against another isolated Federal column on September 15, but his commander disobeyed orders and missed the opportunity.
(3) General Bragg's strategy for September 18 was to press his across Reed's Bridge, Alexander's Bridge, and Thedford's Ford, cut the Union army off and keep it from retreating back to Chattanooga. He would then attack the Union left at Lee & Gordon's Mills and crush the Federals against the mountains.
(4) During the night of the 18th and 19th, most of Bragg's Confederates crossed the creek. Meanwhile, unbeknown to Bragg, General Rosecrans -- who had been concentrating his army for the past four days and who sensed his left flank in danger -- positioned Maj. Gen. George Thoma's corps astride the Lafayette Road, extending his line three and one-half miles north of Lee & Gordon's Mills. |