Chattanooga, Battle of

In the American Civil War, battle for control of Chattanooga on the Tennessee River between 64,000 Confederate troops under General Braxton Bragg and 56,000 Union troops under General Ulysses S Grant 23-25 November 1863. The Confederates' failure to take Chattanooga put an end to their hopes of invading Tennessee and Kentucky.

After the Confederate victory at the battle of Chickamauga the Union general William Rosecrans had retired to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was promptly besieged by the Confederates. The Union made great efforts to relieve Rosecrans; reinforcements were sent and General Grant waited until all were in place before launching his attack with an assault on Orchard Knob, to the right of Bragg's position. This led to Bragg withdrawing forces from Lookout Mountain, a peak on the extreme right of the Confederate lines which commanded most of the area. The advance of the Union forces through fog gave rise to the title ‘The Battle above the Clouds’ for this engagement. An attack against Bragg's centre by General William T Sherman was less successful but eventually a flanking movement led by General George Thomas brought the Union forces round to unseat Bragg from his position. The Confederates broke and fell back into Georgia, protected by a stubborn rearguard action led by General Patrick Cleburne.