Battle of Chattanooga III
The third battle at Chattanooga, aka the
Battle of Chattanooga III
took place in the last days of September through October
1863
in the Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign of the
American
Civil War, Gen.
Braxton
Bragg’s Army of Tennessee laid siege to the Union army under Maj. Gen.
William
Rosecrans at
Chattanooga,
cutting off its supplies. On October 17, Maj. Gen.
Ulysses
S. Grant received command of the Western armies; he moved to reinforce Chattanooga
and replaced Rosecrans with Maj. Gen. George Thomas. A new supply line was soon
established. Maj. Gen.
William
T. Sherman arrived with his four divisions in mid-November, and the Federals
began offensive operations. On November 23-24, Union forces struck out and captured
Orchard Knob and
Lookout
Mountain. On November 25, Union soldiers assaulted and carried the seemingly
impregnable Confederate position on Missionary Ridge. One of the Confederacy’s
two major armies was routed. The Federals held Chattanooga, the "Gateway to
the Lower South," which became the supply and logistics base for Sherman’s
1864
Atlanta Campaign.
\Adapted from a United States National Park Service battle summary.
see Battle of Chattanooga I, Battle of Chattanooga II