Union victory at Chattanooga broke Confederate control of Tennessee and opened the path for Sherman's 1864 Atlanta campaign into the Deep South.
Key Facts
- Campaign duration
- October–November 1863
- Key battle date
- November 25, 1863
- Confederate commander
- Gen. Braxton Bragg
- Union overall commander
- Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
- Confederate retreat destination
- Dalton, Georgia
- Supply line operation
- Opening of the 'Cracker Line', Oct 1863
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After the Union Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans was defeated at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg occupied high ground around Chattanooga and besieged the city, cutting supply lines and leaving Union troops and animals on the verge of starvation. Grant was given consolidated command of Union forces in the West and arrived with significant reinforcements.
Between October and November 1863, Union forces under Grant opened the Cracker Line supply route, then launched coordinated assaults on Confederate positions. Hooker seized Lookout Mountain on November 24, while on November 25 Thomas's Army of the Cumberland, ordered to take only the base of Missionary Ridge, spontaneously stormed the crest, routing Bragg's army. Hooker's advance from Rossville further collapsed the Confederate left flank.
Bragg's Army of Tennessee retreated to Dalton, Georgia, fighting off Union pursuit at Ringgold Gap. The campaign eliminated the last significant Confederate hold on Tennessee and set the strategic conditions for Sherman's Atlanta campaign of 1864, which drove deep into the Confederate interior.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Maj. Gen. George Henry Thomas, Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker.
Side B
1 belligerent
Gen. Braxton Bragg.