American Civil WarStuff Happened · War
Battle · Western Theatre
Battle of Chickamauga
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The bloodless prize
How Rosecrans Took Chattanooga Without a Fight
Rosecrans (North) levers Bragg (South) out of the gateway city without a battle, then finds his own army strung out in the Georgia woods.
2A battle nobody could see
Groping Toward Each Other in the Timber
Bragg (South) turns to fight; the two armies feed brigades blindly into forest so thick no one can see the battle. A bloody draw in the dark.
3The hole in the line
One Order, One Column, and the Union Right Comes Apart
A mistaken order pulls Wood (North) out of line just as Longstreet (South) strikes the spot; half the army routs off the field.
4The man who would not leave
Thomas Holds Snodgrass Hill
Thomas (North), a Virginian who chose the Union, rallies the wreckage on the high ground and holds until dark, turning a rout into a retreat.
5The cost & the meaning
The Bloodiest Day in the West and What It Bought
~34,000 fall in the second-bloodiest battle of the war. Bragg (South) wins the field, loses more men, and throws the victory away.