Chattanooga Tennessee

American Civil War
August 21, 1863

On August 16, 1863, Major General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland, launched a campaign to take Chattanooga. Col. John T. Wilder's brigade of the Union 4th Division, XIV Army Corps marched to a location northeast of Chattanooga where the Confederates could see them, reinforcing General Braxton Bragg's expectations of a Union attack on the town from that direction.

On August 21, Wilder reached the Tennessee River opposite Chattanooga and ordered the 18th Indiana Light Artillery to begin shelling the town.  The shells caught many soldiers and civilians in town in church observing a day of prayer and fasting.  The bombardment sank two steamers docked at the landing and created a great deal of consternation amongst the Confederates.  Continued periodically over the next two weeks, the shelling helped keep Bragg's attention to the northeast while the bulk of Rosecrans's army crossed the Tennessee River well west and south of Chattanooga. 

When Bragg learned on September 8 that the Union army was in force southwest of the city, he abandoned Chattanooga.

Result(s):  Successful Union demonstration

Location: Hamilton County and City of Chattanooga

Campaign: Chickamauga Campaign (1863)

Date(s): August 21, 1863

Principal Commanders: Col. John T. Wilder [US]; D.H. Hill [CS]

Forces Engaged: Wilder's Brigade [US]; Hill's Corps [CS]

Estimated Casualties: Unknown


Storming the Heights: A Guide to the Battle of Chattanooga
The Confederate victory of Chickamauga drove the Union Army of the Cumberland back to the key railroad hub of Chattanooga. In early October it had appeared that all Union gains in southern Tennessee might be lost

Illustrated Catalog of Civil War Military Goods: Union Weapons, Insignia, Uniform Accessories and Other Equipment
Unabridged reproduction of rare and valuable 1864 catalog brimming with uniform and dress regulations, arms and ammunition, horse "furniture," tables of military pay, uniform accessories, insignia and other equipment. Detailed descriptions of hats, coats, "trowsers," boots, tents, swords, more. 226 illustrations 		Tennessee State Battle Map
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Civil War Summary
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Civil War Timeline
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Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned 15 Inch Cast-Iron Skillet
Large Skillet with 2.25 inches in depth. Perfect for use on the Grill or over campfires when you are cooking for the "troops". Oopposite handle for easy use of this heavy skillet.
Camping Supplies
Cast Iron Waffle Iron
12 Inch Pre Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet
Full size military Camp Cot
One and two man tents
Large size and multiple room tents
Hiking Boots
Jan Sport Back Packs
High Sierra Camp Equipment
American Civil War Book Titles

This Terrible Sound
The Battle of Chickamauga
Study of the great bloody battle of Chickamauga that was the last great offensive, although costsly, victory by the Confederates. This is a detailed account of the movements of regiments, brigades, divisions.
Wings to the Kingdom
The fields at Chickamauga claimed 35,000 casualties during the Civil War. Any guide will tell you that the grounds are haunted. The battlefield even has its own resident haunt, called Old Green Eyes for his tell-tale luminous gaze.
The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga
All the information you need to understand the flow of the battle at Chattanooga as well as the political intriguing that helped to shape the results is here
Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns
The Federal success along the river opened the way for advances into central and eastern Tennessee, which culminated in the bloody battle of Chickamauga and then a struggle for Chattanooga. Chickamauga is usually counted as a Confederate victory, albeit a costly one

Rock of Chickamauga: The Life of General George H. Thomas
Union General George Thomas was one of the five men most important in the North's victory. Military historians consider him one of the best defensive generals ever, a man who would have stood out in any war
The Bridge Burners: A True Adventure of East Tennessee's Underground Civil War
The railroad that proved such a peacetime boon would become a point of conflict only three years later
A Very Violent Rebel: The Civil War Diary of Ellen Renshaw House
The Siege of Knoxville (November 1863) is covered and Sutherland's footnotes make for good history
Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign
The war probably could have been over in 1862 had Lieutenant Phelps destroyed the bridge at Florence. Not doing so provided a retreat for A. S. Johnston to move his men to Corinth and then to Shiloh

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.
Long Road Back to Kentucky:
The 1862 Confederate Invasion
T he often-overlooked Western campaign of the war with a specific emphasis on Kentucky's involvement in the American Civil War. DVD
Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
The tide of the war changes during three fierce days of combat at Gettysburg [Disc 1] the gripping saga of the tactics command errors and sacrifices behind the bloodiest battle ever fought on U.S. soil. Gods and Generals [Disc 2] reveals the spirited allegiances and fierce combat of earlier Civil War struggles

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
The Blue and the Gray
The Complete Miniseries
The Civil War proved a backdrop for this 1982 miniseries. Complete and uncut three disc set. Two families divided by the War Between the States. A Southerner caught when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper. He finds himself  where history's in the making from the Battle of Bull Run to Abraham Lincoln's assassination
Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union

Women in the War
Civil War Cooking
Civil War Submarines
Kids Zone Causes of the War

 

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.