The Chattanooga campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga in September, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg besieged Rosecrans and his men by occupying key high terrain around Chattanooga, Tennessee. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was given command of Union forces in the West, now consolidated under the Division of the Mississippi. Significant reinforcements also began to arrive with him in Chattanooga from Mississippi and the Eastern Theater. On October 18, Grant removed Rosecrans from command of the Army of the Cumberland and replaced him with Major General George Henry Thomas.
Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Braxton Bragg, commanding generals of the Chattanooga campaign
Chattanooga viewed from the north bank of the Tennessee River, 1863. The Union Army pontoon bridge is shown on the left, Lookout Mountain at the right rear. The small hill in front of Lookout Mountain is Cameron Hill, which was significantly flattened during 20th century development of the city.
Union reinforcements, destined for the Army of the Cumberland, being moved by train through Louisville-Nashville to Chattanooga, October 1863 as part of the preparation for operations against Confederate forces based around Chattanooga.
View of Chattanooga from the northern side of the Tennessee, looking southwards towards Georgia, showing the town in the foreground across the river. On the left in the distance is Missionary ridge along the horizon. In the distance to the right is Lookout Mountain. These natural formations offered excellent defensive positions, and bottled the Union army in Chattanooga.
William Starke Rosecrans was an American inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and U.S. Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War. He was the victor at prominent Western Theater battles, but his military career was effectively ended following his disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863.
William Rosecrans
Rosecrans's principal opponent, Gen. Braxton Bragg
A romantic image of Rosecrans at Murfreesboro, January 2, 1863
Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood