Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade
July 4, 1863 has long been considered as a major turning point in the Civil War. The city of Vicksburg, MS is formally surrendered to General Grant on this day. This ensures Union control of the entire length of the Mississippi River and has effectively split the Confederacy in two. Lee continues his retreat back into Virginia from the lost battle of Gettysburg, and is shadowed but not directly attacked by the Union army under General Meade.
General Rosecrans has pushed Bragg to abandon Tullahoma, TN and retreat toward Chattanooga. No major battle or significant casualties were required to do so. When Rosecrans is urged forward, he points in reply to the advances he has made. He stops, however, because of rains and supply line problems. It is possible that he is unsure how to proceed; between his position and Chattanooga are a series of high ridges that are difficult to cross. A modern-day driver on Interstate 24 approaching Chattanooga from the north can clearly see the obstacles Rosecrans was facing.
Union army information is that Confederate forces are being withdrawn from East Tennessee to support Bragg, and again the commanders at Washington call for an invasion toward Knoxville. However, the same difficulties described before continue to apply.
More Information:
- Link: War Operations, see Volume XXIII, Chapter XXXV, Part II, Correspondence, pp. 511-521.
- The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 119-120.
- The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 401-675.
- This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga, Peter Cozzens, pp. 1-22.
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