Transcript Battle of Chickamauga - Harry S. Truman Library and Museum

18-20 September 1863
BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA
Dr Mark Gerges and Dr Greg Hospodor
Department of Military History
US Army Command and General Staff College
Situation, summer 1863
Why Tennessee?
Three victorious Union armies
Grant at Vicksburg,4 July 1863
Meade at Gettysburg, 1-3 July 1863
Rosecrans in Tullahoma Campaign, 24
June- 3 July
Army of the Cumberland
MG William Rosecrans
MG George Thomas MG Alexander McCook MG Thomas Crittenden
XIV Corps
XX Corps
XXI Corps
MG Gordon Granger
Reserve Corps
Army of Tennessee
19 September 1863
GEN Braxton Bragg
LTG Leonidas Polk
Polk’s Corps
MG Simon B. Buckner
Buckner’s Corps
LTG DH Hill
Hill’s Corps
MG W.H. Walker
Reserve Corps
Crossing the Tennessee and
movement into Georgia
Nature of north Georgia: meandering stream, heavily
wooded, etc
18
September
Confederates
fight to cross the
Chickamauga
stream
19
September
Confederates
attack
19
September
By evening,
Confederate
attacks shift
from north to
center of Union
line
Army of Tennessee
Morning of 20 September
GEN Braxton Bragg
LTG James Longstreet
Left Wing
MG Simon B. Buckner
Buckner’s Corps
MG John B. Hood
Longstreet’s Corps
LTG Leonidas Polk
Right Wing
LTG DH Hill
Hill’s Corps
MG W.H. Walker
Reserve Corps
20
September
Morning- CSA
attack resumes—
but 4 hours late.
LTG Leonidas Polk
Right Wing
20
September
11:00 a.m.:
Union disaster!
MG William Rosecrans
BG Thomas Wood
20
September
Evening:
“Thomas is standing like
a rock.”
BG James Garfield,
chief of staff to Rosecrans
MG George Thomas
XIV Corps
Results of the Battle
Rosecrans is "confused and stunned like a
duck hit on the head.”
A. Lincoln
Union Army surrounded
in Chattanooga
(on three sides)
BUT. . . Army of the Cumberland defeated,
not destroyed.
and a new general set to arrive on the scene
Results of the Battle
Longstreet corps detached to Knoxville
Didn’t destroy the Army of the Cumberland.
Didn’t liberate any territory lost that summer.
Did stop advance towards Atlanta.
And a morale boost after a terrible summer. . .
Why did they fight in lines? Were
they stupid?
Deployment
The “Flanks”
Theoretically there were around 100 men in each of 10 companies—
around 1000 men. In reality, there were usually much less.
Flags played a key role in the regiment.
Small Arms
Enfield Rifled Musket—Minie Projectiles and Cartridge
Bayonet
Model 1842 Smoothbore Musket—Buck and Ball Projectiles and Cartridge
The Theoretical Arithmetic of Logistics
requires 3 pounds of food per day (not incl. water).
The daily individual ration for a Union soldier:
20 ounces of fresh or salt beef or 12 ounces of pork or bacon
1 pound of hard bread or 18 ounces of flour or 20 of cornmeal.
Additionally per every 100 men:
15 pounds of beans or peas
10 pounds of rice or hominy
10 pounds of green coffee or 1.5 pounds of tea
15 pounds of sugar
4 quarts of vinegar
3.75 pounds of salt
4 ounces of pepper
30 pounds of potatoes
when practicable, 1 quart of molasses.
Approximately: 3,000 calories.
Water and railroad
supply allowed your
army to look like this …
100,000
men
10,000
men
rather than
this!
There are roughly 9,500 miles of rail
lines in the Confederacy.
As far as a logistician is
concerned the advantages of
railroads are legion.
Can you think of any?
Advantages:
CAPACITY
A Civil War-era railcar could carry as much as 15
tons. One 10-car train could carry as many
supplies as 150 wagons.
SPEED
A train traveled 5 times faster than a wagon train,
which meant more round trips and that fewer
resources needed to be devoted to supply
services.
DEPENDABILITY
Anyone who has ever dealt with mules will tell you
they have a mind of their own. Enough said!
AVAILABILITY
More rolling stock and locomotives could be
produced on demand and in different models.
This doesn’t apply to mules and horses!
As good as railroads were for supply,
knowledgeable commanders,
especially Union ones, preferred
supply lines based on water transport.
SECURITY
Can you think of two reasons
why?
“We are much obliged to the Tennessee [River] which has favored us most
opportunely, for I am never easy with a railroad which takes a whole army to guard,
each foot of rail is essential to the whole; whereas, they can’t stop the Tennessee … .”
General William Tecumseh Sherman, “Sinews of War”
CAPACITY
An ordinary Ohio River steamboat of 500 tons carried enough supplies to supply an
army of 40,000 men and 18,000 horses for nearly two days. This was the equivalent of
five 10-car freight trains.
The past is a foreign country . . .
Why use military history?
Tactics: critical thinking, relationship between technology and tactics
Personalities: politics, leadership, irony
Battle: critical thinking, results– battle the arbiter
Document based research and questions:
Defend or refute Bragg’s statement that if it were not for the loss of
these four hours (on 20 Sept), "our independence might have been won.”
Battle analysis:
Students assigned role of commanders
Discuss what they knew, what they thought they knew, and
their decisions on a map.
Suggested Sources
Some really good websites to start:
National parks—www.nps.gov
National Archives (NARA)—www.archives.gov
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies, a.k.a the O.R.
Steven E. Woodworth
Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns.
A Deep Steady Thunder: The Battle of Chickamauga
Robertson, William Glenn
The Battle of Chickamauga: National Park Civil War Series.
"The Chickamauga Campaign: The Fall of Chattanooga." Blue & Gray Magazine, Fall 2006.
"The Chickamauga Campaign: McLemore's Cove." Blue & Gray Magazine, Spring 2007.
"The Chickamauga Campaign: The Armies Collide.” Blue & Gray Magazine, Fall 2007.
"The Chickamauga Campaign: The Battle of Chickamauga, Day 1." Blue & Gray Magazine, Spring 2008.
"The Chickamauga Campaign: The Battle of Chickamauga, Day 2." Blue & Gray Magazine, Summer 2008.
Questions?
Mark
[email protected]
Greg
[email protected]