September 29, 1863 - Tuesday - 160 years ago today

Status - John Baer - 40th Indiana Regiment - Crittenden's Corps - Wood's Division - Wagner's Brigade

The Union army by the 29th had fully withdrawn into the city of Chattanooga, creating a compact set of defensive works.  The left of the army was on the Tennessee River in the northeast of the city, and the right was on the Tennessee in the southwest part of the city.  Strong works were put up all along the line in case of a Confederate attack.  The Confederate army occupied the heights around the city, as mentioned, especially Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge.

The days after the battle were busy burying the dead and treating the wounded, Union and Confederate mixed together on the battlefield with the animals that were also killed.  Prisoner exchanges were done and the Union army was able to regain about 1,000 captured men in exchanges.

This was a large battle with many errors and missed opportunities on both sides.  General Rosecrans, having not slept for several days before and during the battle, appeared to be mostly undone by the swift and unexpected rout of his forces.  President Lincoln described Rosecrans as "confused and stunned like a duck hit on the head".  General Thomas was rightly perceived as having saved the army, but the other two corps commanders, McCook and Crittenden, were under scrutiny for their performance at the battle.

The Confederate army's high command had been riven for months by infighting among the generals, and the actions at the battle had made it worse.  Changes in command would be coming soon on both sides.  In the meantime, the armies would need to recover from the high casualties of the battle. 

More Information:

• Link: War Operations, see Volume XXX, Chapter XLII, Part III, Correspondence, pp. 864-943.
  
• The Civil War Day by Day, John S. Bowman, Ed. pp. 128-129.
• The Civil War, A Narrative, Vol 1I, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote, pp. 710-768. 
• This Terrible Sound, The Battle of Chickamauga,  Peter Cozzens, pp. 101-536.
• The Chickamauga Campaign, Vol 3: Barren Victory, David A. Powell.
  
• Events: 1863 - July to September   
  

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