Key Figures in the Chickamauga/Chattanooga Area

Union General William S. Rosecrans 
Born: Kingston, Ohio, Sept 6, 1819 Died: Redondo Junction, California, March 11, 1898. Fought at the Battle of Chickamauga

Excerpt from Angel and the Enemy:

As [Angelina and her father] settled down the fourth night, just ten miles outside of Knoxville, they built a fire, roasted rabbit and cooked cornbread in an iron skillet. As they sat by the fire enjoying their meal, Angelina turned to her father watching him tear a piece of meat with his teeth and chew it.

"So continue with what you were tellin’ me earlier this afternoon about the Battle of Chickamauga," Angelina prompted.

Everett swallowed and nodded, "Oh, that’s right. Where did we leave off?"

"You were tellin’ me about how the Confederacy won that battle by a stroke of luck," she reminded, taking another bite of cornbread.

Everett’s mind went back to the terrible three days at Chickamauga. He could almost smell the gunpowder thick in the air, and the forest around them reminded him of the woods in which he’d fought. "I don’t think we could claim any credit for winnin’ that battle." He gestured toward the trees, "The woods were about like this. It was next to impossible to tell where our men were. You’d just run upon the enemy anywhere and not realize it until it was too late. Men were shootin’ each other at close range. It was nothin’ but smoke and chaos."

He scratched his head and then continued, "I think I told you that we were tryin’ to take control of Lafayette Road because it connected Chattanooga to Atlanta."

Angelina nodded her head in a gesture for him to continue.

Everett reached for a stick and drew the location of the troops in the dirt. "They really wanted to take Chattanooga because of the railroad. Anyway, the Union General, Rosecrans, had his men on the west of Lafayette Road and we had ours on the east."

"At one point, Rosecrans got his communication all messed up and accidentally moved a group of his troops over to fill a gap that he thought had developed in the Union line. The thing was, there wasn’t a gap, but he made one when he moved his men. At that point, we saw our opportunity and marched through the openin’." Everett drew a line in the dirt, indicating where the Southern troops had marched through the opening in the Union line.

"Ah," Angelina’s eyes widened with understanding.

"We drove the Yanks back, most retreated, but Thomas and his men refused to budge from Snodgrass Hill. We fought there until the North commanded Thomas’ men to retreat."

"So you won because Rosecrans accidentally left a gap in his line?" Angelina clarified.

"Right, if Rosecrans hadn’t‘ve made that mistake, who’s to say who would’ve won that battle."

"Where were you durin’ it all?"

Firelight danced in Everett’s eyes as his expression grew somber. "I was over at Snodgrass Hill." The bloodcurdling screams accompanying amputations in the little Snodgrass cabin would echo in Everett’s memory for a lifetime. He shook his head in an effort to jar the memory.

"What happened next?"

Confederate General Braxton Bragg
Born: Warrenton, North Carolina, March 22, 1817
Died: Texas, September 26, 1876. 
Fought at the Battle of Chickamauga and Chattanooga

Excerpt from Angel and the Enemy continues:

"General Bragg took our men into Chattanooga and I ended up atop Lookout Mountain. They called it the ‘Battle above the Clouds.’"

"Sounds romantic," Angelina noted.

"Yeah, well, it wasn’t. We were outnumbered nearly ten to one. It was anythin’ but romantic!"

"Mmmm," Angelina shook her head, her lips turning into a somber frown.

"A lot of people thought we should’ve gone after Rosecrans’ retreatin’ army and got ‘em while we had ‘em because they ended up receivin’ tens of thousands of fresh troops. In the end they beat us at Chattanooga and our commander even resigned."

"He resigned? You mean Bragg?"

"Yep, the other officers wanted rid o’ him, so I guess after that humiliatin’ defeat, he decided to oblige ‘em."

"Is that why some people speak so poorly of Bragg?" Angelina asked.

Everett nodded and then shrugged, "But I think people are too hard on the General. We were as rag tag as the Union when we left Chickamauga. It was a miracle we even won that battle. To ask us to go after Rosecrans’ men and destroy ‘em at that point would’ve been foolishness. Bragg did the best with what he had."

"I’ve heard the men in town say that Bragg was mean to his men."

"Oh, he was strict, stern, but I wouldn’t call ‘im mean. He made us do things with precision and by the book. In most cases, his strictness kept us alive. Just some jealous officers directly under ‘im questioned ‘im so much. They didn’t like bein’ ordered about or bein’ held to regulations."

Angelina leaned her arms on her knees. "So you don’t agree with those that say Bragg was a bad general?"

"No, I liked ‘im, but I like things to run efficiently. I think he rubbed a lot o’ people the wrong way because he wasn’t free with his flattery or praise, but he didn’t allow others to praise him either. He was devoted to his duty, not one for socializing, and I guess a lot o’ fellas thought him too stiff and demandin’. But at least you knew where you stood with ‘im."

• Braxton Bragg (1817-1876)
• Bragg's campaigns in North Georgia

Videos

• "Tears of God" sung by Josh Turner - about battle of Fredericksburg

• Tragedy of the Civil War - Civil War photos displayed to Ashoken Farewell

• Battle of Chickamauga