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The Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga took place in 1863 and marked the final offensive efforts by the union army in northwest Georgia and southeastern Tennessee. The battle was fought between the Army of Tennessee and the Army of the Cumberland[1]. The battle was significant in the civil war era because it marked the most significant union defeat of the confederate army in the western battle front. In addition, the Battle of Chickamauga had the second highest number of casualties compared to other civil war battlefronts. The discussion of the Battle of Chickamauga will explore the cause, the course and the results of the battle in the civil war period of the American history.
The battle began because of the movement of the union army in the southeast from Murfreesboro. As a result of the success in the Tennessee state, the union army thought that the side could expand towards Chattanooga. The move was successful and led to the desire by the union to move further and take over Tennessee. Conquering Tennessee was significant in their plan to match towards Atlanta and further south[2]. As a result of the win in Chattanooga, the union side focused on capturing the entire state and focused on Chickamauga as the frontier that would open their way towards the plan of occupying the larger south. These movements sparked the defense of the confederate army in Tennessee to organize a stronger defense.
The battle was further caused by the strategic importance of the larger region of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. The region was an important economic hub, especially because of the rail line in Chattanooga that went to Knoxville and Nashville towards Atlanta, the focus of the union plan. The region was also an important economic hub for manufacturing coke and iron that was located in the Tennessee River. In addition, the Tennessee River is a navigable river, which made the movement and transportation effective if the union had taken over the state[3]. Moreover, for the union to move towards Atlanta, Chattanooga and Chickamauga offered the best defensive position because of the location between Missionary Ridge, Stringer’s Ridge, the Lookout Mountain, Raccoon Mountain and the Missionary Ridge.
The war broke on 19th September 1863 after the confederate government requested their army to resume the offensive against the union army. The war started with the confrontation between The Union Army of the Cumberland and The Confederate Army of Tennessee. In terms of manpower, The Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded the upper hand with sixty five thousand men compared to the sixty thousand men that The Union Army of the Cumberland commanded. The Confederate Army of Tennessee was led by Gen. Braxton Bragg while the Army of the Cumberland was led by Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans. The war was fought in the Chickamauga mountainous region as the two armies were separated by The Cumberland Plateau[4].
The organization of the antagonist side of the battle was marked by strong unions on both sides of the armies. The army men of the two sides composed of trained military soldiers and volunteers for the warring antagonists. For instance, the army of Tennessee was organized into wings that attacked on different sides of the battlefront. In addition, the leadership of the warring sides was strong enough to withstand the fighting of the opponent, in a bid to win the battle. Because of the strong leadership, both sides fought on the first day and continued the fight for the second day[5]. Despite being assaulted heavily during the first day, the confederate army resumed the battle the next day which matched to defeat the union.
On the second day of the battle, the Bragg and his army strategized to win the next day due to the advantages that saw the defeat of the union. Led by Rosecrans, the union army was faced with logistical challenges and problems with the mountainous landscape. In addition to the challenges, Bragg led the confederate army to attack the union in random manners that gave the union army less chance to respond[6]. Moreover, the confederate government gave support to Bragg and his army by getting reinforcement from Mississippi and Virginia. The reinforcement army from Virginia consisted of two divisions of the First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia led by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet[7].
The defeat of the union army in the Battle of Chickamauga led to the battles of Chattanooga, which made them stronger to suppress the army of Tennessee. The defeat gave the union army a chance to withdraw from the Chickamauga region towards the Chattanooga region and formulate stronger defensive positions. While the union army was defeated at the Battle of Chickamauga, the defeat did not prevent the Union from preparing to match forward towards Atlanta. The fight that broke after the Battle of Chickamauga led to the opening of the union’s plan towards Atlanta in 1864. In the current day, the history of the events of the Battle of Chickamauga is preserved as the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park by the National Park Service.
Bibliography
Tucker, Glenn. Chickamauga: Bloody Battle in the West. Dayton, OH: Morningside House, 1972
White, William Lee. Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, September 18–20, 1863. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013
Woodworth, Steven E., ed. The Chickamauga Campaign. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010
[1] Tucker, Glenn. Chickamauga: Bloody Battle in the West. Dayton, OH: Morningside House, 1972
[2] White, William Lee. Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, September 18–20, 1863. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013
[3] White, William Lee. Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, September 18–20, 1863. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013
[4] Woodworth, Steven E., ed. The Chickamauga Campaign. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010
[5] Woodworth, Steven E., ed. The Chickamauga Campaign. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010
[6] Tucker, Glenn. Chickamauga: Bloody Battle in the West. Dayton, OH: Morningside House, 1972
[7] ibid