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 20th 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
21st, 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.
