Monuments marking the spot of the Confederate breakthrough at Chickamauga
Braxton Bragg's career had two high points. The first was in the Mexican War, where he distinguished himself as a brave and skilled junior artillery officer. The other was on September 19 and 20 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga. There, reinforced by James Longstreet's corps from the Army of Northern Virginia, he soundly defeated a Union army, advancing across the Georgia border from Chattanooga, under William Rosecrans.
In Mexico, he laid the foundation of a career that would take him to the pinnacle of the Confederate army in the West, in no small part through his friendship with another officer, Jefferson Davis. At Chickamauga in September 1863, Bragg threw away the fruits of a potentially decisive victory, enabling the Federals to recover and turn the tables. Their next objective would be Atlanta, and Bragg would be remembered as fool, one ho could not even fully recognize when he was winning.
Largely, that would be due to the sequel, the Battle of Chattanooga, fought in installments in October and November. It never should have been fought, at least not historically, which was on Union terms. That was with a preponderance of Union manpower, and with the first team of the West in command of the Federal forces: Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman. It would be the last battle that they would fight together, and unlike Bragg, they could win and make it count.
Today the battlefields are commemorated and preserved in the Chattanooga and Chickamauga National Battlefield Park. It is the oldest, with the Chickamauga section dedicated in 1895. It is also one of the biggest, with sections in two different states. Together, they are well worth a visit.
More Bragg's Victory, Bragg's Defeat
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© Copyright 2001 by David W. Tschanz.
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