Bragg Leaves Town

This chapter describes Braxton Bragg’s evacuation of Chattanooga and the movement of the Army of Tennessee southeastward from the city. It also describes the pause of William Rosecrans’s Army of the Cumberland because of supply delays and a dearth of information about Confederate movements. Nevertheless, some Federal units began to ascend Lookout Mountain. Elsewhere, Confederate units from both east and west began to move toward Chattanooga to reinforce the Army of Tennessee.

Sand Mountain

This chapter describes both the completion of and collapse of the Bridgeport bridge, throwing William Rosecrans’s timetable for the advance of the Army of the Cumberland beyond the Tennessee River into serious disarray. Unaware of Rosecrans’s logistical problems, Braxton Bragg continued to concentrate the Army of Tennessee at Chattanooga for offensive movement. While Bragg pondered his options, units of the Army of the Cumberland crossed another major terrain feature, Sand Mountain, and headed for the next obstacle, Lookout Mountain. A Federal crossing of Lookout Mountain would effectively outflank Bragg in Chattanooga.

Bombardment

This chapter opens with the initial bombardment of Chattanooga by forces operating as part of William Rosecrans’s deception plan, which was intended to focus Braxton Bragg’s attention upstream from the city and away from the Federal concentration at Bridgeport. It details Bragg’s initial response, which mainly consisted of drawing his scattered units closer to the city. It also describes Simon Buckner’s evacuation of his positions around Knoxville, Tennessee. Rosecrans’s continuing contentious dialog with the Washington authorities is highlighted as well.

To the River

This chapter describes the struggles of the Army of the Cumberland during its movement over the mountains of the Cumberland Plateau into the valley of the Tennessee River. It includes the development of Stevenson, Alabama as the army’s new headquarters and logistics center, all focused on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. It also further develops William Rosecrans’s tense relationships with Henry Halleck and Ambrose Burnside.

Bragg Bides his Time

This chapter covers Braxton Bragg’s sojourn at Cherokee Springs, Georgia to recover his shattered health, and the events that transpired in the Army of Tennessee while he was recuperating. Those events included the friction resulting from the folding of Simon Buckner’s Department of East Tennessee into Bragg’s command; the arrival of a new division commander, Thomas Hindman; and the growing Federal presence around Bridgeport, Alabama. The chapter also describes soldier life and morale in the Army of Tennessee during this two-week period.

The Fall of Chattanooga

This chapter describes William Rosecrans’s discovery that Braxton Bragg and the Army of Tennessee had left Chattanooga unoccupied and his frantic efforts to occupy the city with elements of the Army of the Cumberland. Meanwhile Bragg concentrated his army between Lee & Gordon’s Mill and LaFayette, Georgia. There he saw a fleeting opportunity for a counterstroke and that night issued orders to Thomas Hindman and Daniel Hill to implement a bold plan to destroy Rosecrans’s forces in detail. At the same time, elements of the Army of the Cumberland settled into occupation of Chattanooga, the original objective of the campaign.

Before the Storm

This chapter presents a comprehensive picture of the state of the Army of Tennessee and its commander, Braxton Bragg, on the eve of the advance of William Rosecrans’s Army of the Cumberland. It describes Bragg’s continuing problems with the integration of Simon Buckner’s command into the Army of Tennessee. It also describes Bragg’s final defensive adjustments as signs of Federal movement multiplied.

The Army of the Cumberland

This chapter describes the Army of the Cumberland at the beginning of the Chickamauga Campaign—its composition, organization, strength, and leaders from army to brigade level. It delineates the prior careers of William Rosecrans, George Thomas, Alexander McCook, Thomas Crittenden, Gordon Granger, and David Stanley. It also enumerates and describes the staff officers of the Army of the Cumberland.

Surprise

In this chapter, the Army of the Cumberland’s four crossing sites on the Tennessee River continued to throb with frenetic activity as thousands of William Rosecrans’s troops and animals made their way across the river downstream from Chattanooga. Construction of a ramshackle trestle and pontoon bridge at Bridgeport, Alabama continued apace. Braxton Bragg did not learn of the first of the crossings for two days, and remained unsure of the location of the Federal main effort. Reinforcements continued to join the Army of Tennessee from Mississippi, and Simon Buckner’s command continued its halting journey to join the larger army.

Bragg

This chapter describes the arrival of the Army of Tennessee in the vicinity of Chattanooga, the creation of Bragg’s Department of Tennessee, Bragg’s initial defensive scheme, and the replacement of William Hardee by Daniel Hill. It includes an analysis of the terrain along the Tennessee River. Finally, it describes daily activities and morale of the soldiers in the ranks of the Army of Tennessee.