October 28, 1863---The Battle of Wauhatchie, Tennessee

OCTOBER 28, 1863:            

The Battle of Wauhatchie, Tennessee. Confederate troops attempt to break the “Cracker Line,” the Union’s Main Supply Route into Chattanooga. In one of the few night actions of the Civil War, the Confederates are soundly defeated, in part because they mistake a line of mules for cavalry at the advance. After the battle, Union troopers insist that the mules “be breveted as horses.” Each side is said to have lost 450 men; however, one report states that the Confederates lost nearly one thousand. The Gray troops retreat back to Lookout Mountain. They never attack the “Cracker Line” again.