October 11, 1863---Deus ex Machina

OCTOBER 11, 1863:            

The Battle of Collierville, Tennessee. Confederate cavalry under General Nathan Bedford Forrest attack the Union garrison at Collierville in an attempt to cut the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. As the battle is going on, a Union military train carrying General William Tecumseh Sherman, tons of supplies, and several brigades of troopers arrives unexpectedly in Collierville. Sherman’s men go immediately into action, hammering the Southern cavalry which withdraws. Although the Graybacks have wrecked Collierville and damaged Sherman’s train, the town and depot remain in Union hands. Realizing that the rail line was saved only by a deus ex machina, General Sherman decides that the southern railways are too vulnerable to attack to be dependable, and that the army must live off the land if it intends to operate deep in enemy territory. Collierville is the lesson that leads to Sherman’s March to the Sea.   

October 10, 1863---General James Longstreet C.S.A.: "Nothing but the hand of God can save us . . ."

OCTOBER 10, 1863:          

General Braxton Bragg’s senior commanders mutiny. 

Disgusted at Bragg’s almost total lack of action during the “Siege” of Chattanooga capped off with the destruction of Joe Wheeler's cavalry force, they send President Jefferson Davis a petition seeking Bragg’s dismissal. 

Lieutenant General James Longstreet writes: "Nothing but the hand of God can save us or help us as long as we have our present commander." 

Nathan Bedford Forrest refuses to serve under Bragg ever again. He tells Bragg to his face, "You have played the part of a damned scoundrel . . . If you ever again try to interfere with me or cross my path it will be at the peril of your life." 

When he discovers the existence of the petition, Bragg relieves General D.H. Hill and General Leonidas Polk, and reassigns General Longstreet and his troopers to Knoxville, where he will be in combat against the less-than-stellar Ambrose Burnside, U.S.A.. 

Longstreet's reassignment strips Bragg’s “siege” force to the bone, leaving him unable to counter any possible Union attacks. What none of the Confederate commanders is aware of is that the Union Army of The Potomac’s Eleventh and Twelfth Corps are closing in on Chattanooga, slowed only by the low rivers, which have made transportation difficult. The egos of the General Officers are spelling trouble for the Private Soldiers.

With the Army of Tennessee collapsing from the top down,  C.S.A. President Jefferson Davis reluctantly travels to Lookout Mountain to assess the situation in person. 

Union orders are issued to capture Davis if possible since Davis' trip is no secret. He makes several stump stops along the way to bolster the morale of loyal Confederate citizens. Being in the Chattanooga area puts him in between two Union armies. Only fortune spares him from being a Union hostage.

Davis eventually decides to leave Bragg in command, denounces his other generals, and terms their complaints "shafts of malice". 

Davis’ typically partisan reaction alienates the Confederate President from most of his generals for the remainder of the war.