September 20, 1863---The Battle of Chickamauga: Day Two

SEPTEMBER 20, 1863:     

The Battle of Chickamauga (Day Two):  

General Braxton Bragg C.S.A. was later to report of the first day of the Battle of  Chickamauga that,  “Night found us masters of the ground, after a series of very obstinate contests with largely superior numbers," yet Bragg had squandered a vital opportunity to defeat the Union by not pressing his assault of the afternoon of the 19^th. Although Rosecrans had almost been overrun, Bragg had failed to reinforce his breakthrough when attacked, and so he found himself parked essentially where he had been the day before.  Nonetheless, Bragg might have soundly defeated the Union on the 20^th. Bragg orders an attack on the Union right flank. Unfortunately, Bragg times the attack for 9:30 A.M. The two-and-one-half hours of daylight between dawn and the launch of the attack give the Union troops time to reinforce their lines just where their enemies are strongest. In the first wave, General Benjamin Hardin Helm, C.S.A., United States President Abraham Lincoln’s favorite brother-in-law and close friend, is killed.

A Union counterattack badly mauls the Confederates, who regroup, and counterattack in turn. To the Confederates’ great delight, a confusion in orders has created a mile wide gap in the Union lines, through which General James Longstreet’s troops pour by the Division, inflicting brutal casualties on the confused Union forces.

 

By 1:00 P.M., Union forces are in full retreat across the battlefield, and the day seems lost. However, the Confederates again, cannot provoke a rout, and the Federals are withdrawing in generally good order. Individual Union units are holding their positions, both stalling the Confederate advance and allowing other, disorganized units time to withdraw and reform.

The overall Union Commander, General William Rosecrans, is driven from the field, and orders his troopers back to Chattanooga.

Even as Rosecrans issues his order to retreat, the Virginia-born Union General George H. Thomas rallies his men, stands his ground at Horseshoe Ridge, and battles the Confederate forces backward, earning the name, “The Rock of Chickamauga” for his spirited actions.

Horseshoe Ridge becomes a Union rallying point, and more and more Union troops arrive, blasting headlong into the Confederate line. The 535 men of the 21^st Ohio Regiment alone expend 43,550 rounds in the engagement on Horseshoe Ridge.

Thomas’ brilliant holding action saves the day. Not only is a large portion of the Union Army able to withdraw in good order, but the fight on Horseshoe Ridge reinvigorates the Union men, who now show considerable esprit de corps in holding their position for the remainder of the day, while driving off the Confederates.  As the day wears on, the Confederate command becomes more and more disorganized, failing to act on its advantageous positioning. The fighting ends as the sun goes down. Thomas and the Union troops holding Horseshoe Ridge fall back to Chattanooga.

“Taken as a whole, the performance of the Confederate right wing this morning had been one of the most appalling exhibitions of command incompetence of the entire Civil War.”--- Six Armies in Tennessee, Steven E. Woodworth.

Although Chickamauga is most often considered a Confederate victory (since the Army of The Tennessee was left largely intact and in control of its supply lines into northern Georgia), the battle is sometimes looked at as a tactical draw (both sides lost approximately the same percentage of men) or even a Union strategic victory (the Union remained in control of the Chattanooga area while inflicting casualties on the Confederacy it could no longer replace).

Even having “illegally” reinforced his Army with almost 20,000 paroled men from Vicksburg, Braxton Bragg paid a terrible price for a very indecisive victory. In the end, almost 19,000 Confederates were killed or wounded in the battle, along with some 16,000 Union troops. The battle is remembered as a particularly gory engagement, with most of the troops fighting at very close quarters. 

  

Immediately after the battle, Bragg encamps his remaining men atop Lookout Mountain in view of Chattanooga, but does nothing in regard to the city, drawing accusations of cowardice from the South. In the North, Rosecrans quickly becomes the focus of criticism and derision for abandoning the field while the battle was still in doubt. He is quickly relieved of command and never leads troops in battle again.

  

All in all, Chickamauga (which means “Dead River” or “River of Death” in Cherokee) was another tremendously costly battle---35,000 men in total---that, like Fredericksburg or many another engagement, acquired little for either combatant. By losing the chance to definitively defeat the North in this large-scale battle, the South effectively ceded the momentum of the war in the one remaining theater where a victory may have influenced the outcome of the entire war.