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around
Murfreesboro, did naught but face
Bragg.
Halleck, from
Washington, was pressing
Rosecrans to open anew the campaign;
Grant, from
Vicksburg, was urging him potently to attack
Bragg.
Around
Vicksburg Grant's hopes, between May 18th and July 4th, had whirled with the singleness of personal ambition.
All he then needed
Rosecrans for was solely to keep
Bragg from sending help to
Pemberton.
Finally
Rosecrans, under this forcing process, moved on June 23d, with a force of 60,000 men.
Bragg was at
Shelbyville with 43,000—rather less than more.
Rosecrans had begun by pushing
Bragg out of his fortified posts—such as
Tullahoma, which the
Confederates had used as a depot of supplies—and driving him to new headquarters.
It was a short campaign, at the end of which
Bragg, evacuating
Tullahoma, had marched into
Chattanooga.
Rosecrans' main object in September was to maneuver
Bragg out of
Chattanooga; and he succeeded by crossing the mountains south of that city, upon which
Bragg fell back to
Lafayette, Ga.
Bragg had just received help from Mississippi, and Longstreet, with Hood and Kershaw, was speeding from Virginia.
Rosecrans made a faulty movement by dividing his army into three columns, thus getting his right and left wings hazardously separated from his center.
His position became full of peril and gave to Bragg an excellent chance to overwhelm some one of these pieces on the board, after which the others would be easy victims; but there were unfortunate delays and the opportunity was lost.
By September 18th the scattered Federal wings joined Rosecrans and as the reunited army of the Cumberland faced Chickamauga creek with Bragg's army on the east bank.
Rosecrans awaited the inevitable attack, and meanwhile prudently placed Thomas in command of his left.
Against Chickamauga, ‘Name of Thunder,’ will stand for all time two dates—September 19th and 20th—days of heroic fighting.
Longstreet had arrived and was in command of Bragg's left.
Polk commanded his right.
Bragg
