Chapter 22: Johnny Reb's Chattanooga Blues
Lincoln believed that just one more victory would crush the Confederacy. When Van Dorn's Confederate army transferred to Mississippi, northern Arkansas didn't have any defense. So, Samuel R. Curtis's Union force advanced to Little Rock. Confederate Thomas C. Hindman made a conscription that created a 20,000-man army and went on the offensive. Eventually, the Union attacked on each side, and the Confederate army scattered.
Desertions from southerner armies rose and morale plummeted yet again. Bragg created a plan to cut the Union forces off from Chattanooga, but failed. This became the bloodiest battle in the west. Again, at Chickamauga, Bragg refused to participate and George Thomas took charge, winning.
Longstreet and Forrest wanted to push on to destroy Union forces, but Bragg was so worried that they'd lost so many people (30% of his army). Bragg refused to pursue after Union forces, but hoped to starve them out. Halleck ordered Sherman to take some divisions from Vicksburg to Chattanooga and rebuild the railroad; eventually, some corps were transferred by rail. Once Grant was in charge of the Division of the Mississippi, he replaced Rosecrans with Thomas as commander of the Army of the Cumberland.
For Lincoln, all the victories in the west led to success at home. Republicans were in good shape, but the Ohio and Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections were about to take place. Vallandingham (discussed in previous chapter) conducted his campaign for Ohio governor position from Canada in exile.
Because Republicans now had many war successes, the Democrats could only use the issue of emancipation as their platform, but anti-abolitionism and racism no longer seemd to be that important. The attack by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry against a Confederate army was significant since they were a black army. They took a lot of casualties and soon newspapers were talking about their valor and bravery. This set the main idea for this time: opposing emancipation was equal to opposing northern victory. The Republicans won by a large margin.
I enjoyed the pictures interspersed between as it enriches the experience of reading straight blocks of text. :)
Lincoln believed that just one more victory would crush the Confederacy. When Van Dorn's Confederate army transferred to Mississippi, northern Arkansas didn't have any defense. So, Samuel R. Curtis's Union force advanced to Little Rock. Confederate Thomas C. Hindman made a conscription that created a 20,000-man army and went on the offensive. Eventually, the Union attacked on each side, and the Confederate army scattered.
Desertions from southerner armies rose and morale plummeted yet again. Bragg created a plan to cut the Union forces off from Chattanooga, but failed. This became the bloodiest battle in the west. Again, at Chickamauga, Bragg refused to participate and George Thomas took charge, winning.
For Lincoln, all the victories in the west led to success at home. Republicans were in good shape, but the Ohio and Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections were about to take place. Vallandingham (discussed in previous chapter) conducted his campaign for Ohio governor position from Canada in exile.
Because Republicans now had many war successes, the Democrats could only use the issue of emancipation as their platform, but anti-abolitionism and racism no longer seemd to be that important. The attack by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry against a Confederate army was significant since they were a black army. They took a lot of casualties and soon newspapers were talking about their valor and bravery. This set the main idea for this time: opposing emancipation was equal to opposing northern victory. The Republicans won by a large margin.
I enjoyed the pictures interspersed between as it enriches the experience of reading straight blocks of text. :)
Key Terms:
- Johnny Reb: typical Confederate soldier (nicknamed as such by Unionists)
- Army of the Cumberland: North's second-most powerful army, used in the west; general was Rosecrans, then replaced by Thomas
- William S. Rosecrans: Union general of Army of the Cumberland; had many victories in West, but defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863.
- Division of the Mississippi: Lincoln created it to reorganize Union troops in the West after the Union defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga
Questions:
- Did the 54th Massachusetts Infantry increase the percentage of blacks in armies or were they still confined to only black armies and not interspersed with whites?
Citations:
- McPherson,
James M. "22: Johnny Reb's Chattanooga Blues." In Battle Cry of
Freedom, 666-688. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
- Accessed March 11, 2015. http://questgarden.com/109/40/5/100923064752/images/4blus04b.jpg.
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