Chattanooga Campaign

In October and November 1863, Union and Confederate armies manuevered and fought for control of Chattanooga, Tennessee—a strategic logistics location and the inland gateway into the Deep South. 

Following the Union defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, Confederates in the Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg's command took position on the mountainous high ground around Chattanooga. They effectively sieged Union troops with General William S. Rosecrans in the city. Meanwhile, General Ulysses S. Grant promoted to command of all Union forces in the western theater and sent reinforcements from Mississippi to Chattanooga, opening up a vital supply route called the "Cracker Line"; he also removed Rosecrans from command, replacing him with General George Henry Thomas. 

On October 28-29, Confederates attacked at the Battle of Wauhatchie, but the Union troops secured a victory and kept their supply line open. This allowed more Union reinforcements to arrive and push their positions closer to the Confederates' high ground in the next weeks.

On November 23, the Union's Army of the Cumberland left their fortifications and seized the high ground at Orchard Knob, giving them a foothold for their next movements. That same day Union soldiers with General William T. Sherman launched a surprise attack on the Confederate's right flank position: Missionary Ridge. The following day—November 24—Union troops took Lookout Mountain and then prepared to manuever toward Rossville on the Confederate's left flank. Finally, on November 25, with a sudden, fierce and unstopping attack, Union soldiers burst through Confederate lines and reached the top of Missionary Ridge. The Confederates found their terrain-protective high ground now untenable and were routed into a retreat.

While the Confederates fell back, they fought desperated at the Battle of Ringgold Gap on November 27. They won a victory and bought time for the Confederate army to reach Dalton, Georgia. 

The Chattanooga Campaign ended Bragg's control of Tennessee and set the stage for the Atlanta Campaign in 1864.