Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Chickamauga, 19 September 1863

150 years ago tomorrow, the battle of Chickamauga began.

I grew up in Chickamauga. Grandparents lived on the edge of the park about 3/8 mile from Bloody Pond, played all around that little pond as a kid with all my buddies. Damn shame Bragg didn't persue the Federal's to Chattanooga and finish the job. Losing Chattanooga would have been hurtful to the Western Campaign.

Bragg wasn't exactly an aggressive commander. The park is excellent.

I visit the park several times a year. what a gun collection, I had hoped to make it up for the 150th but personal problems stopped me.

Bragg was a poor Commander. At least that's what my Great, great, great Grand pappy wrote in letters during the war.

He was a Brigadier Gen. under Bragg and fought at Chikamauga where he damned near killed Gen. Sheridan and did kill Gen. Wm. Lytle.

After recovering. he commanded a brigade under General Braxton Bragg in the Kentucky Campaign. His command consisted of the 19th Alabama, 22nd Alabama, 25th Alabama, 39th Alabama, 50th Alabama, 17th Alabama Battalion Sharpshooters, and Dent's Alabama Battery. He was appointed as a brigadier general on December 13, 1862, and fought at the Battle of Chickamauga, where his men routed the Union division of Philip H. Sheridan and killed Brig. Gen. William H. Lytle. They also captured seventeen artillery pieces.[2]

Deas continued to lead his brigade through the Atlanta Campaign and the subsequent fighting in Tennessee, where he was again wounded at the Battle of Franklin. He participated in the Carolinas Campaign, but took ill at Raleigh, North Carolina, in March 1865 and had to leave his field command prior to the surrender at Bennett Place.

After the war, Deas returned to his cotton brokerage. He owned a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.[3]

Generally speaking, southerners were very conscious of position and the chain of command. After some battle, perhaps Shiloh, one of Bragg's subordinates, Nathan Bedford Forrest, went to Bragg's tent and told him never to interfere with his unit or movements again or he would challenge him to a duel or slap him stupid. Paraphrasing. This was simply not done in the Confederate Army. Forrest had no use for Bragg.

The only person that had any use for Bragg was Jefferson Davis.

Bragg was paranoid, indecisive and incompetent. Bragg did things that were inexplicable as a commander.

From the letters I've read, he was universally disliked by the commanders who served under him and attempts were made to have him re-assigned.

Davis always stepped in and prevented it until the end, when it was too late and the war was lost.

Longstreet was temporarily sent over with his army to bolster Bragg's, but was pretty ineffective.

Ironically, Forrest's bluntness mighta been more characteristic of the Union Army.

One gets the impression that, being less constrained by manners, or perhaps operating under the norms of a different sort of manners, the heads of Generals rolled far more easily on the Federal side than they did in Confederacy.

One things for sure, Jefferson Davis weren't near the judge/manager of people the way that Lincoln was.

It weren't just Bragg, I recently read that Longstreet's insubordination/inactivity in the months after Chickamagua leading up to the debacle on the heights above Chattanooga was downright negligent, followed by a much less than spectacular performance outside Knoxville. All of this after his questionable performance at Gettysburg.

I really have to read up more on the man.

Birdwatcher

Longstreet on his own was an enigma. His actions while attached to Bragg defy logic.

IMO, Lee made the man.

I think Longstreet was an up & down personality. Could do a fine job with proper guidance and support from above, but was ambitious and tended to blame his failures on others.

With Bragg, that fatherly guidance and support he had received from Lee was removed and he floundered badly...

After reading the "Killer Angels", my appreciation for Longstreet has grown a little. The dynamics between him and Lee and the mistakes made at Gettysburg make for good study. Longstreet was actually ahead of his time with warfare tactics particularly in regards to trench warfare but lost out to the traditional viewpoints on how the war should be conducted at that time.

I'm anxious to see Chickamauga again, can't help but love this country's history, particularly when you dig deeper than the misguided attempts of our general school teachings!

JohnMoses, I can't imagine the pride you must have with ties to a historical figure such as your Great, great, great Grand pappy!

I have looked down into the waters of Bloody Pond at Shiloh.

Have not been to Chickamauga. Did not know they too had a Bloody Pond.

But when you think about it�guess all battlefields have their own Bloody Pond.

The one at Pittsburgh Landing is probably the most famous with this one being lesser known.

My 2X great granddaddy was there with the 54th Virginia.

I've been to Chickamauga before but really need to spend a couple of days there.

If you make it back to the park, go to the stone observation tower. The pond was in a wooded area a few hundred yards to the south, I believe on Wilder Rd. Only marked by a small brown sign showing a trail through the woods. It was really just a depression in the ground large enough to be a small pond during wetter times. I'm relying on memory from 45 years ago. In the late 70's one of my friends got a job at the museum giving musket demonstrations-BUT he had to wear a danged BLUE uniform.

I will make it back. I've got customers in the area. I was through there 2 weeks ago but didn't have time to stop for even a few minutes.

Thanks for the info.

If he was wearin blue I hope he was well paid for it

Thank you 4winds, but that's just happenstance. He did a good job and was well respected. I am grateful for that.

But...I personally never lost a battle against Germans, Japs, Indians or Yankees whilst growing up playing army with my pards.

Never lost a man either, until supper time rolled around.

Yeah... suppertime played hell with my "men" and their enlistment periods, too...

LOL, bet them damned Germans, Japs, Indians nor Yankees had a Pronghorn sling to steady a rifle with!

Speaking of suppertime, 'bout ready to go fire up the smoker!

I'm originally from Knoxville, went to the battlefield several times as a kid. Was neat to see

Jus finished reading a book about Chickamauga written by John Bowers. Good read.