The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-09-15
G.. A. n. AT CHATTANOOGA.


chosen uudou ubtedly in view of the
coming ffticth anniversary Of the bat
tie of Chickamauga. September 10th and
Goth, that battlefield being within easy
reach Of Chattanooga, and it will un-
doubtedly be the compelling focus of
interest of the Grand Army men who
attend this encampment.
Fifty wears ago today the campaign
of Chickamauga was on. General Rose
Grams, ID command of the Army Of
the Cumberland numbering little
less than 10000 men, had by brilliant
campaign strategy maneuvered the en-
emy out Of Chattanooga, and up the
Cbickamauga valley, and he supposed
Bragg TO be in precipitate retreat with
his Confederate army. Rosecrans had
up to the time of entering the Chickn'
manga valley performed series of bril-
liant strategic movements, which Justly
won him the admiration Of military
critics He moved from Stevenson,
Alabama, across the Tennessee river,
over the Sand mountains into Lookout
tension Of Missionary Ridge into the
valley Of the Chickamauga. His in
formation as to the hurried retreat of
Bragg's Confederate forces was so pos
tive, so repeated, and so entirely cred
ible that he trusted implicitly to that
information, and issued orders to the
corps commanders Of the Army of the
Cumberland to "loin in the pursuit,
Accordingly, McCook, in command of
the right wing, pushed on towards
Rome, Georgia; Crittenden occupied
Chattanooga, and grand old Thomas,
in command of the center. debouched
into the Chickamauga valley in the
neighborhood Of Lafayette. and so
was supposedly prepared to cut Off
Bragg's communication with the rail
road
At the time of his retreat from Chat
tanooga, Bragg had about 1000 men,
but he was speedily reinforced bv Buck
ner's corps of some 1880 men from
Knoxville, by Johnston from Missis-
sippi with another 10000, and by Long
street S corps from Virginia number
ing about 5000 men, who reached the
scene for the fight. So that Bragg
took into the battle line at Chicka-
mauga a force of 70,475, against some
$4,000 Union troops under Rosecraus; ];
the latter troops being hastily assem-
bled after their scattering pursuant to
the falsity Of the informa tion as to
Bragg's precipitate retreat had been
fully sensed by Rosecrans. IF the
accuracy Of Rosecrans information
had been as great at that time as the
brilliance of his campaign strategy,
there would have boen no doubt Of
his success in the great battle which
ensued; for he could have had the
reinforcement of Burnside g corps from
Knoxville, which short time before
had taken that place, capturing some
1000 Confederates who had been left
in occupancy of the city. He could
also have had as many men as he
chose to call for from the Army of
the Potomac, and also from Grant s
army, which had been idle since the
previous July, and which came later
and retrieved the loss by the battle
of Chattanooga two months later. But
Rosecrans was fully confident, not
only Of his ability to whip Bragg's
army, but that be already had that
army demoralized and in retreat, so
be made no call for reinforcements
The battle occurred September 10Th
and GOTH and was a great disaster to
the Union forces so far as the battle
itself was concerucd; but the Union
forces, through the magnificent fight
ing ability Of General Thomas and his
tenacious grip Of the situation, held
possession Of Chattanooga, the objective
point of the campaign.
1t is well, indeed, for the Grand
Army Of the Republic to hold its en-.
campment at the scene of these great
operations. Chickamauga is usually re-
ferred to as "the great battle Of the
West" and so it was. 1t was a tre-
mendous fight, and the explanations,
reports, and accounts of it have been
of widely variant character, involv-
ing disputes similar TO those that fol
lowed the battle Of Gettysburg, and
like those, arc still being pursued.
BY reason of the proximity OF the
Chickamauga battlefield to the scene of
the present Grand Army Of the Re.
public cneampment, the veterans can
get better idea Of that battle than
they possibly could obtain by any
mere description. In fact, most of the
descriptions have been inaccurate, es-
pecially the descriptions Of the after.
noon Of the second day Of the fight
General Boynton s diagram of the 20
sition Of the troops that were left in
the angle at Kelley S field TO hold back
the oncoming rush Of the Confederates
is the most accurate that we have seen
a more recent diagram Of that portion
Of the field is shown in the account OF
Mr.. Oracle, which in the main is an
admirable account for fairness and stu
dions effort TO get at the truth; but