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The Battle of Chickamauga - Aftermath
Casualties for the Battle of Chickamauga
Confederate:
14,355
2,253 dead
10,853 wounded
1,249 captured or missing
Union:
23,229
3,163 dead
13,354 wounded
6,712 captured or missing
Confederate
The Army of Tennessee was in a strange position following the battle of Chickamauga. They'd inflicted a painful defeat on the Army of the Cumberland, driving Union forces out of Georgia entirely and trapping Rosecrans in Chattanooga after rapidly occupying the high ground around the city. However, Bragg now had to deal with another issue- his officers. After winning the Battle of Chickamauga, despite having a large advantage in numbers, Bragg refused to assault the Union forces trapped within the city. He felt that his forces lacked the ammunition and pontoon bridges required for a massive assault, and, having received intelligence that Rosecrans's men had only size days of rations, Bragg chose to simply lay siege to the Army of the Cumberland. His officers were furious, wanting to quickly destroy the smaller Union army before it could be reinforced by Grant.
With Polk dead, control of Polk's Corps passed to Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham. John Bell Hood was promoted for his stunning bravery to the position of Major General. Meanwhile, Bragg was attempting to order Longstreet to travel to Knoxville in order to prevent Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's reinforcement of the besieged federal forces there. However this, along with his refusal to assault Chattanooga, would lead to nearly a full-blown insurrection among his officers. Finally, after many furious letters and telegrams, Jefferson Davis finally agreed to travel to the Army of Tennessee and evaluate the issue. Blaming him for the death of Polk, and fully agreeing with the officers that the city should be assaulted due to their large numerical superiority, Braxton Bragg was finally sent back to Richmond for general incompetence, due to his enormous string of failed battles, disastrous Tullahoma campaign, and inability to pursue and destroy federal forces following the victory at Chickamauga. He was relieved of command, replaced as commander of the Army of Tennessee by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet.
Possessing enormous numerical superiority, and enjoying the support of his subordinate officers, Longstreet made preparations to launch a large assault as quickly as possible, in order to decisively destroy the Army of the Cumberland before aid from Grant could arrive. Assigning Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee to command the left, and Lt. Gen. D.H. Hill to control the right, he shifted divisions into place for an attack.
Union
The loss at the Battle of Chickamauga was enormous- over a third of the Army of the Cumberland had been killed, wounded, or captured, leaving only around 36,500 men present for duty. Meanwhile, their scouts estimated that the Confederates had only lost around 13,000 to 16,000 men, meaning that by even the most generous estimate, the Army of the Cumberland was outnumbered 37,000 to 49,000. A number of officers had also perished, most notably George Henry Thomas, who had earned the nickname "The Rock of Chickamauga" for his brave rallying of the rearguard in order to buy the retreating divisions time.
In Chattanooga, Rosecrans was stunned by the defeat of his army and became psychologically unable to take decisive action to break out of Chattanooga. Meanwhile, with Thomas dead, Absalom Baird took his place as the commander of the XIV Corps. Much of the Union high command had wanted to replace Rosecrans with Thomas for some time, and were planning on doing so if Rosecrans suffered a major defeat. However, due to Thomas's death, they were left with few options but to allow Rosecrans to maintain his post, at least, for now. Meanwhile, the XX Corps and the XXI Corps were consolidated into a new IV Corps commanded by Granger.
However, things were not as bad as they may have seemed for Union forces in the west. Stanton had ordered Joseph Hooker to march with 20,000 men to Chattanooga. Further, Grant had been ordered even before the Union defeat to send his available force to assist Rosecrans, and it departed under his chief subordinate, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, from Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Confederate:
14,355
2,253 dead
10,853 wounded
1,249 captured or missing
Union:
23,229
3,163 dead
13,354 wounded
6,712 captured or missing
Confederate
The Army of Tennessee was in a strange position following the battle of Chickamauga. They'd inflicted a painful defeat on the Army of the Cumberland, driving Union forces out of Georgia entirely and trapping Rosecrans in Chattanooga after rapidly occupying the high ground around the city. However, Bragg now had to deal with another issue- his officers. After winning the Battle of Chickamauga, despite having a large advantage in numbers, Bragg refused to assault the Union forces trapped within the city. He felt that his forces lacked the ammunition and pontoon bridges required for a massive assault, and, having received intelligence that Rosecrans's men had only size days of rations, Bragg chose to simply lay siege to the Army of the Cumberland. His officers were furious, wanting to quickly destroy the smaller Union army before it could be reinforced by Grant.
With Polk dead, control of Polk's Corps passed to Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham. John Bell Hood was promoted for his stunning bravery to the position of Major General. Meanwhile, Bragg was attempting to order Longstreet to travel to Knoxville in order to prevent Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's reinforcement of the besieged federal forces there. However this, along with his refusal to assault Chattanooga, would lead to nearly a full-blown insurrection among his officers. Finally, after many furious letters and telegrams, Jefferson Davis finally agreed to travel to the Army of Tennessee and evaluate the issue. Blaming him for the death of Polk, and fully agreeing with the officers that the city should be assaulted due to their large numerical superiority, Braxton Bragg was finally sent back to Richmond for general incompetence, due to his enormous string of failed battles, disastrous Tullahoma campaign, and inability to pursue and destroy federal forces following the victory at Chickamauga. He was relieved of command, replaced as commander of the Army of Tennessee by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet.
Possessing enormous numerical superiority, and enjoying the support of his subordinate officers, Longstreet made preparations to launch a large assault as quickly as possible, in order to decisively destroy the Army of the Cumberland before aid from Grant could arrive. Assigning Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee to command the left, and Lt. Gen. D.H. Hill to control the right, he shifted divisions into place for an attack.
Union
The loss at the Battle of Chickamauga was enormous- over a third of the Army of the Cumberland had been killed, wounded, or captured, leaving only around 36,500 men present for duty. Meanwhile, their scouts estimated that the Confederates had only lost around 13,000 to 16,000 men, meaning that by even the most generous estimate, the Army of the Cumberland was outnumbered 37,000 to 49,000. A number of officers had also perished, most notably George Henry Thomas, who had earned the nickname "The Rock of Chickamauga" for his brave rallying of the rearguard in order to buy the retreating divisions time.
In Chattanooga, Rosecrans was stunned by the defeat of his army and became psychologically unable to take decisive action to break out of Chattanooga. Meanwhile, with Thomas dead, Absalom Baird took his place as the commander of the XIV Corps. Much of the Union high command had wanted to replace Rosecrans with Thomas for some time, and were planning on doing so if Rosecrans suffered a major defeat. However, due to Thomas's death, they were left with few options but to allow Rosecrans to maintain his post, at least, for now. Meanwhile, the XX Corps and the XXI Corps were consolidated into a new IV Corps commanded by Granger.
However, things were not as bad as they may have seemed for Union forces in the west. Stanton had ordered Joseph Hooker to march with 20,000 men to Chattanooga. Further, Grant had been ordered even before the Union defeat to send his available force to assist Rosecrans, and it departed under his chief subordinate, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, from Vicksburg, Mississippi.
- Pulmonic_Consonant
- Word Count: 700