Year: 1863

1


| General Grant announces, as the result OF
| the operations at Chattanooga, the capture OF
Lookout Mountain top, all the rife pits in


Chattanooga Valley and Missionary Ridge


entire and believes, with characteristic mo-


desty, that he is mot premature in tho an
| nouncement of complete victory over Bragg"
| Inasmuch as General Grants announcements
of this kind have been always quite within the
limits oftruth, and have never been even over
hasty the country will give him full credit for all
that his despatch claims, and therefore for one
more great and immensely important achieve
ment.


AT last accounts Bragg was flying pelI NELL
towards Dalton, Ga, with the intention, pro-
badly, of pressing on to Atlanta and there
making a defence of the important public
stores, arsenals, supplies and cotton concen-
trated at that point


Our success is the result of three hard battles,
fought respectively on Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday last. Mondays battle was fought
by the centre. Generals Granger and Palmer,
supported by Gen. Howard, advanced directly
from Chattanooga and stormed the rifle pits in
front of that place. and thus obtained possession
of the valley in which Chattanooga lies. Tues
days battle was fought by the right, under
Hooker, who, with portions of the Fourteenth
and Fifteenth corps and with Gearys division
a splendid though small division from the Army
of the Potomac-carried by storm SO much of
Lookout Mountain that the enemy deemed it
better to abandon the rest. General Sherman
on the same day carried a part of Missionary
Ridge. Wednesdays battle was fought by the
left, under General Sherman, who, in continu-
ance of what he had begun on Tuesday, and
assisted by troops from the centre, carried by
storm the whole of the enemy's position on
Missionary Ridge.


Every point Of arrangement in the succession s9c
of these three battles appears to have been per.
u
only weakness was that it was difficult to sup
port the troops who held 1t. Our advance on
the centre carried the rifle pits, which was an
advantage alone; but, in addition, that advance
increased very greatly the difficulties that the
enemy already had in supporting his men
on Lookout, if indeed 1t did not render the
support of those men absolutely impossible.
Then Hooker tried Lookout, and carried it; and
by the possession of the centre and right we
held the points Of the field that were of the first
Importance, both geographically and strategi-
cally for il the enemy were beaten on the left he
had to pass across Hooker's front in his retreat.
He accordingly fought very desperately on the
left, and General Sherman only carried Mis-
sionary Ridge in his third attempt, and after
the failure Of two very gallant ones and the loss
of many men. Bragg's principal force was,
perhaps, concentrated there, and he was very
probably there in person. His headquarters
were certainly there on Monday, as be dated
despatch from that place on that day. But as the
enemy's resistance at this last point was neces-
sarily desperate, so when he finally gave way
the disaster was just as necessarily very great
and the words demoralized, badly whipped and
routed, used by the correspondents, do not
probably exaggerate the condition Of the rebel
army. Nor is 1t likely that Che estimate of ten
thousand prisoners is too great


For the confederacy to have lost a great bat
tie in its present desperate condition will be
regarded in Richmond as terrible disaster;
but we doubt very much If the loss Of ten thou
Ind prisoners will not be regarded as the
worst part oft.


Grants victory at Chattanooga is perhaps
tho best assistance that he could have given to
Burnside; and the question in Tennessee is now
not whether Burnside will be able to hold out
against Longstreet, but whether Longstreet
will be able to get away. Bragg telegraphed
from Missionary Ridge on Monday--the very
day when the battle began on his own 'front.'
that the rebels held oil the roads leading into
Knoxville, except the one between llolston
and French Broad rivers" That one. then, was
open. And from another rebel despatch we
gather that about six thousand men were en-
route TO Knoxville by way Of Jacksborough
and Rogersvillc. At the latter place they
would strike the road that Bragg alludcs to; and
from this, taken in connection with the assu-
rance from Washington that Burnside was to
be reinforced, and with the good condition that
he was in at last accounts we may assume that