September 21, 1863---Panic in Chattanooga

SEPTEMBER 21, 1863:      

  

In Chattanooga there is panic. The word has spread that the Federals have been soundly defeated. The citizenry expects to see triumphant Confederates pour into the city at any moment. General Rosecrans’ arrival on the afternoon of the 20^th does not bolster local Unionist morale in the least, as he orders the Army of The Cumberland to prepare to evacuate the town even as they are hacking down the thick woods around the city in order to build hurried defensive works. By the 21^st, barely a tree is left standing, and the town is full of Union troops, some preparing to withdraw, some hideously wounded and unable to leave, and many dying.

But Bragg’s Army of Tennessee, itself very badly bloodied, does not approach Chattanooga. Still, the horrors that have been seen at Fredericksburg, Antietam and Gettysburg are repeated:

“It was an awful time. Scarcity reigned everywhere. Not a pound of meal or flour or rice or potatoes could you buy or beg. Not a loaf of bread or anything to eat. The churches and large warehouses and all the stores were filled with sick and wounded men. One morning at the Baptist Church I saw a pile of legs and arms lying on the porch, the very sight of which was appalling. Going inside, I saw a surgeon take off a man's leg so quickly that it amazed me."---The Rev. Thomas Hooke McCallie, Tennessee Unionist.