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The Battle of Chickamauga
by Richard A. Byrd
Author's Note
I began the effort to write a synopsis of the Battle of Chickamauga for
Military History Online with great enthusiasm, mixed with more than a tinge of
reluctance. It represents the first formal writing I've done relating to
military history. The final product would not have been possible if not for the
work of many people, who certainly know the subject in much greater detail than
I do. Although a complete list of sources I've used appears at the end of the
text, I must say a few words of thanks to Peter Cozzens, whose excellent and
detailed work, "This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga", was
instrumental in my study of the battle. After several re-readings of the entire
work, I carried the book around with me for months, examining bits of the text
in stolen minutes, gleaning a deeper understanding of different facets of this
extremely complex battle. It was also by my side as I composed this write-up of
Chickamauga, and it was an invaluable resource, especially in tracking the
complicated movements of the Confederate command on the night of September
19th, 1863, and on the morning of the following day. Someone once commented
correctly that Cozzens gives a "tree by tree" account of the battle, and all
students of military history and of the American Civil War are indebted to him
for his scholarly approach and his highly readable style. It has often been
rightly pointed out that his work is to Chickamauga what Edwin Coddington's "The
Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command", is to that great battle. Anyone
wishing a detailed view of the Chickamauga campaign is highly encouraged to add
Mr. Cozzen's work to their library.
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The Battle - Part 1
Following the fighting at Reed's Bridge the day before, Thomas was notified
that a lone Confederate brigade had crossed and made camp on the west side of
Chickamauga Creek, in the vicinity of the bridge. Thomas ordered Brannan, on
the left of the XIV Corps position, to send troops to crush the isolated
Confederates. Brannan dispatched the very capable Colonel John T. Croxton and
his brigade for the task, ordering him forward in the direction of Reed's
Bridge. Very soon, as Croxton moved along to the east, he became engaged with
Nathan Bedford Forrest's rebel cavalry brigade. For a short time, Croxton
managed well, and he put up an admirable scrap, but he was soon driven back
when Walker's Corps slammed into the Federals with a fierce advance. Croxton
and his men were completely surprised at the fierceness of the attack. In the
midst of the sudden and intense fighting, he stole a moment and penned a dryly
humorous note to Thomas. "Which rebel brigade was it…" he asked, that he was
"…supposed to capture?" Brannan managed to deploy the rest of his division
toward the bridge to assist Croxton, and soon, all of the badly outnumbered
Federal troops were engaged against Walker. The stage was set. Bragg's force of
68,000 Confederates would now be engaged against Rosecrans 58,000 Federals in
the bloodiest and most desperate two days of the entire war. The Battle of
Chickamauga had begun.
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The Battle - Part 2
September 20, 1863, dawned cold and foggy along the banks of the Chickamauga. A
thick frost blanketed the ground. Smoke from the previous day's battle mingled
with fog hanging heavily amid the trees. Polk arose, fully expecting at any
second to hear the boom of cannon which was to open Hill's attack, but all was
strangely silent. Only then did Polk learn that Fisher had been unable to
locate Hill. He was outraged. Polk ordered Captain Frank Wheless to ride forth
and inform Cleburne and Breckenridge that they were to attack immediately. On
the way, he was to inform Cheatham to advance along with Cleburne and
Breckenridge. As Wheless rode across Alexander's Bridge and into the fog, Polk
sat down to eat his breakfast. When Wheless found Cheatham, he discovered that
he was as perplexed as Polk as to why the attack had not begun.
Bragg too, waited anxiously, but in vain, for the sound of battle. He sent
Major Pollack Lee of his staff to locate Polk immediately and find out why the
attack was being delayed. Soon, Lee returned and told Bragg that he had found
Polk casually eating his breakfast. The news that Polk was eating when he
should have been attacking enraged Bragg, and the commanding general decided to
ride forward and have a word with him personally. No doubt it appeared to Bragg
that his subordinates once again had succeeded in defying his orders.
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Aftermath
As darkness fell on September 20, 1863, 34,624 men had fallen at Chickamauga;
18,454 Confederates, and 16,170 Federals. That night, many of the Federal
wounded who were conscious, desperately tried to crawl their way to reach the
line of retreat in order to evade capture. The road to Rossville was jammed
solid with an endless column of Union troops, horses, and equipment making
their bitter procession northward. The moon was bright that evening, and off to
the side of the road, some witnessed men stopping to bend over and aid a
wounded comrade. Some also halted and wept over corpses, others actually
struggling to carry the dead and wounded along with them. Most of these injured
men had no one to help them though, and many who made it this far simply
collapsed and died alone by the roadside. By midnight, the retreat column had
passed. Those who were still alive faced tremendous horror as they realized
that there was no one to help them, no one coming for them, and in a few
minutes, perhaps a few hours, they too would be dead. Beatty saw a man with his
bowels hanging out, screaming for Jesus to come and take mercy on his soul. He
wrote: "What multitudes of thought were then crossing into the narrow half hour
which he had yet to live - what regrets, what hopes, what fears! The sky was
darkening, earth fading, wealth, power, fame, the prizes most esteemed by men,
were as nothing". Back on the battlefield, William Gale was atop his horse that
evening. He wrote, "For two hours I rode around and among our men… most of the
time in dense forest of pine and oak.
Read More...
Copyright © 2001 Richard A. Byrd.
Written by Richard A. Byrd.
Published online: 04/09/2001.
* Views expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent
those of MHO.
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