Fall of Savannah

Ruins of Savannah

Upon the conclusion of his march to the sea, when he established contact with the Federal fleet, William Sherman immediately began a siege of Savannah, Georgia. The fleet brought supplies and the siege artillery necessary to capture the city. With his troops in place, he sent a message to the Confederate commander, William Hardee, on December 17th:

I have already received guns that can cast heavy and destructive shot as far as the heart of your city; also, I have for some days held and controlled every avenue by which the people and garrison of Savannah can be supplied, and I am therefore justified in demanding the surrender of the city of Savannah …. I am prepared to grant liberal terms to the inhabitants and garrison; but should I be forced to resort to assault, or the slower and surer process of starvation, I shall then feel justified in resorting to the harshest measures, and shall make little effort to restrain my army—burning to avenge the national wrong which they attach to Savannah and other large cities which have been so prominent in dragging our country into civil war.

Hardee

Hardee did not take Sherman's offer of terms. Instead he abandoned the city, using an improvised pontoon bridge to cross the Savannah River on December 20th. The next day the mayor surrendered the city to Sherman, who telegraphed the president, “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton.” Sherman's gamble, of abandoning his supply lines and heading into Georgia while Hood invaded Tennessee, had paid off. Lincoln was thankful that he had found able generals who could fight and defeat the Confederate forces. He wrote to Sherman,

Many, many thanks for your Christmas gift – the capture of Savannah. When you were leaving Atlanta for the Atlantic coast, I was anxious, if not fearful; but feeling that you were the better judge, and remembering that 'nothing risked, nothing gained' I did not interfere. Now, the undertaking being a success, the honor is all yours; for I believe none of us went farther than to acquiesce. … But what next? I suppose it will be safer if I leave Gen. Grant and yourself to decide.

Sherman

Johnston Given Department of Tennessee

Johnston

After his defeat at the Battle of Chattanooga, Braxton Bragg, commander of the Confederate army, offered his resignation on November 29, and President Jefferson Davis quickly accepted it. But he had trouble deciding on a replacement. William Hardee, the senior corps commander, took over temporary command. But he did not want it permanently, having seen the responsibility and governmental politics it involved. He recommended Joseph E. Johnston, as did Polk, another corps commander. Davis did not like Johnston and doubted whether he was willing to attack the enemy. The only other officer in the Confederacy of that rank was P. G. T. Beauregard, and Davis thought he would be even worse. The generals and the soldiers wanted Joe Johnston, but many in Richmond were not sure he had what it took. But finally, after nearly a month, Davis accepted the inevitable, and gave Johnston command of the Confederate army.

William Hardee

Battle of Chattanooga

Tunnel Hill
150 years ago today, the Federals executed their attack on the Confederates at Chattanooga. Hooker was to continue to press on the Confederate right, Sherman on the left, and Thomas in the center. Sherman was at a positioned called Tunnel Hill. His 16,600 men were met at first by only 4,000 under Patrick Cleburne, who barely made it back to the battle in time. Cleburne's brave men were entrenched on Tunnel Hill which took its name from the railroad tunnel which cut through it. Sherman had chosen the strongest position on the Confederate line to attack. At dawn he sent two brigades forward under Brigadier General John Corse. They were stopped hard by Cleburne's men. The Confederates could throw stones down from their position and do almost as much damage as the bullets they shot. Corse's men could make no headway and were forced back. Sherman sent more lines forward, dashing them against Cleburne's line. One Federal wrote,

We had been concealed from the enemy all the forenoon by the edge of a wood; yet his constant shelling of this wood showed that he knew we were there. As the column came out upon the open ground, and in sight of the rebel batteries, their renewed and concentrated fire knocked the limbs from the trees about out heads. An awful cannonade had opened on us. ... I had heard the roaring of heavy battle before, but never such a shrieking of cannon-balls and bursting of shells as met us on that run. We could see the rebels working their guns, while in plain view other batteries galloped up, unlimbered and let loose upon us. ... In ten minutes the field was crossed, the foot of the ascent was reached, and now the Confederates poured into our faces the reserved fire of their awful musketry. It helped little that we returned it from our own rifles, hidden as the enemy were in rifle pits, behind logs, and stumps, and trees. ... Then someone cried, 'Look to the tunnel!' There, on the right, pouring through a tunnel in the mountain, and out of the railway cut, came the graycoats by hundreds, flanking us completely. ... They were through by the hundreds, and a fatal enfilading fire was cutting our line to pieces.

Sherman continued attacking for six hours, never breaking through the rebel line. When the Federals gained any foothold, Cleburne shifted his troops and launched a strong counterattack, himself at the head of his men. Charging down the hill they broke the Federal lines. By late in the afternoon, Sherman's attacks had accomplished nothing. He had lost almost 2,000 men, while Cleburne had skillfully held his position, loosing only about 200. One Confederate who visited the battlefield wrote,

They had swept their front clean of Yankies, indeed, when I went up about sundown the side of the ridge in their front was strewn with dead yankies & looked like a lot of boys had been sliding down the hill side, for when a line of the enemy would be repulsed, they would start down hill & soon the whole line would be rolling down like a ball, it was so steep a hill side there.

Grant watching the battle

Missionary Ridge
Not all of the Confederate line had put up such a good fight as Cleburne. The odds in the center of the Confederate line were much better for the Confederates. While Cleburne had only one division to fight six, here Bragg had four to Thomas's five. In the center, Grant ordered Thomas to go forward at 3:30 pm after it was clear Sherman was making no headway. Ten minutes after the order was given, six cannon rang out, the signal for the 25,000 Federals to move forward towards the Confederate gun pits. Bragg had 112 cannon on the 400 foot ridge, and they opened at once on the advancing Northerners. The cannon balls tore into the Federal lines, but they were not halted. They broke into a run towards the ridge, with yells of "Chickamauga! Chickamauga!", remembering their defeat of a few weeks before. They rushed forward and captured the line of rifle pits. The second Confederate line in the middle of the ridge opened a heavy fire upon the intruders. At first the men were pinned down, but instead of fleeing, the men began to move slowly up the slope. They had no orders to advance, they moved of their own accord. They wanted to come to grips with the enemy rather than lay there and be shot. One Yankee wrote:

Above, the summit of the hill was one sheet of flame and smoke, and the awful explosions of artillery and musketry made the earth fairly tremble. Below, the columns of dark blue, with the old banner of beauty and of glory leading them on, were mounting up with leaning forms.... Cannon shot tore through their ranks; musket balls were rapidly and tearfully decimating them; behind them, the dead and wounded lay thick as autumn leaves.... With a wild cheer and a madder rush our men dashed forward, and for a few moments a sharp, desperate, almost hand-to-hand fight with bayonet and ball ensued. Before this resistless assault the rebel line was lifted as by a whirlwind, and borne backward, shattered, bleeding and confused.

The strong position was not taken just because of the bravery of the Federal troops, there were problems with the position itself. Although it was strong naturally, that strength made the defenders careless. The order for the first line to fall back after a few volleys had not been communicated to all the troops, so there was confusion and demoralization. The engineers had also made a bad mistake, placing the top line of rifle pits on the geographical crest rather than the military crest. On Missionary Ridge the defenders had blind spots, since they were on the actual crest. When the Federals came up the hill, not stopped by the Confederate volleys, the men broke and ran for the rear. The officers tried to stem the rout, but it was of no use. Bragg himself tried to rally them, but they ignored him. “Grey clad men rushed wildly down the hill and into the woods,” a Yankee wrote, “tossing away knapsacks, muskets and blankets as they ran. Batteries galloped back along the narrow, winding roads with reckless speed, and officers, frantic with rage, rushed from one panic-stricken group to another, shouting and cursing as they strove to check the headlong flight, but all in vain.”

37 cannon and 3000 men were captured, and Bragg himself barely made his escape. The Confederate center was completely wrecked. the Federals had suffered heavily as well. Sheridan alone, who had delivered the heaviest assault, had lost 1,346 of his 6500 men. Some regiments had over half their men killed or wounded. They halted for a time at the top of the ridge, resting on their gains. The Confederates on the left and right of the line tried to contain the breakthrough as much as possible, fighting the Federals from both directions. Cleburne's men held their ground until after sunset, and they retreated last, the unbroken rear guard of Bragg's army.

Missionary Ridge

During the course of this several day battle for Chattanooga, Bragg had lost 361 killed, 2160 wounded and 4146 captured, while Grant had 753 killed, 4722 wounded and 349 captured. But more importantly, Confederate control of Chattanooga, the gateway to the South, had been lost. Many mistakes had been made which caused Bragg to lose his very strong position. He had bad relations with many of his subordinates, causing some very talented men to have to be removed from his command so that the army could continue to function. Longstreet had been sent to East Tennessee, weakening the force. The entrenchments on Missionary Ridge had been badly positioned, and orders to the men had been confused. By this time, most of the Confederates were veterans. They knew when to stand and fight and when to run. When they thought they had no chance of success, they ran, with the exception of Cleburne's men on the right.

Battle of Stone's River – Day 1

Bragg

Retreating from the invasion of Kentucky in the fall of 1862, Braxton Bragg pulled back his army to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, eventually taking up a defensive position along Stone's River. His opponent, Don Carlos Buell, was too slow for Abraham Lincoln's liking, so he replaced him with Major General William S. Rosecrans, who had recently won success in the battles of Iuka and Corinth. Although it was clear that the War Department required action from him, he took his time reorganizing his army, and set out towards Bragg on December 26th. The Confederates had launched a cavalry raid under John Hunt Morgan on Union supply lines, and although the raids would impact other armies, such as that of U.S. Grant moving on Vicksburg, Rosecrans continued his movement.

Rosecrans

Rosecrans arrived in Murfreesboro on December 29th. He had about 41,000 to Bragg's 35,000. However, the forces were closer than that might appear. Bragg's cavalry under Wheeler was very effective, they day before having ridden around Rosecrans, capturing wagons and prisoners. Bragg also cooperated with detached cavalry forces under Morgan and Forrest. Rosecran's cavalry forces on the other hand were very weak.

Rosecrans at Stone's River

On December 30th, the Union army moved into its lines. The armies were positioned on parallel lines four miles long. Although the Federals did not know it because of the good service of the Confederate cavalry, Bragg's left flank was very weak. So instead he decided to attack the Confederate right and capture the heights across the river, which would give him a good artillery position to bombard the rest of the rebel line. Bragg decided on a similar plan – to strike the Union right. As at the First Battle of Bull Run, the advantage would go to whoever struck first. It was the commanders that made the difference in this battle. Bragg ordered his men to attack at dawn, Rosecrans had his men wait until after breakfast.

Hardee's Attack

At dawn on December 31st, 150 years ago today, the Confederates struck. The 10,000 men of William Hardee's corps struck Union general Richard Johnson's division before they had finished breakfast. As the attack rolled forward, a gap developed in the Confederate line, but it was seamlessly filled by Patrick Cleburne's division. The Union put up a fierce resistance, Johnson's division suffering 50% casualties, but none the less they were driven back three miles. Realizing his army was near disaster, Rosecrans canceled his planned attack. He rode along his lines, covered in the blood of Col. Julius Garesche, who had been beheaded by a cannonball at his chief’s side.

As Hardee's successful attack began to slow, Polk's corps moved forward in a second wave. They encountered serious resistance from Major General Philip Sheridan, who had anticipated an early attack and had his troops ready to meet it. In his area of the Union front was what was called the Slaughter Pen. Fighting continued for four hours before the Confederates finally prevailed. At 11 am, with ammunition running low, Sheridan pulled his division back. He had done well, but his troops had suffered terribly. All the brigade commanders, and one third of the men, had fallen in their defense.

Hell's Half Acre

In the five hours after their attack had began the Confederates had been successful – having driven back the Union lines and captured 28 guns and over 3,000 prisoners. The Union position now hinged on what was called Round Forrest by the locals, a wooded area filled with rock formations, which this day would gain the name Hell's Half Acre. As the Union line was stabilized by the leadership of Rosecrans and others, the Federals beat back Confederate attacks along the line. To complete his victory, Bragg would need more troops. He ordered Breckenridge on the right to move to make this attack. Breckenridge, however, refused. He thought he was facing a large Union force, but they had actually retreated because of the Confederate attacks. When he finally moved forward, he was embarrassed to find the area to his front barren of opposition. When he finally did attack, it was in a piecemeal manner that the Federals were able to repulse. Another attack was tried and it too failed. The battle was over by 4:30 pm.

Breckenridge's Attack

Bragg was convinced he had won a great victory. He telegraphed to Richmond that night,

The enemy has yielded his strong position and is falling back. We occupy [the] whole field and shall follow him. General Wheeler with his cavalry made a complete circuit of their army on the 30th and 31st; captured and destroyed 300 wagons loaded with baggage and commissary stores; paroled 700 prisoners. He is again behind them and captured and ordnance train to-day. We secured several thousand stand small-arms. ... God has granted us a happy New Year.

However, his victory was not as sure as he thought. Instead of cutting the Union supply line, the Nashville Pike, the attacks had actually concentrated Federals closer around that point as they fell back under Confederate pressure.

Thomas

Across the field Rosecrans was holding a council of war to determine what should be done. At first he was inclined to withdraw, but he was convinced otherwise by Gen. George Thomas, later known as the “Rock of Chickamauga,” who said that night, “This army does not retreat!” They did not, and the bloody fighting would continue the next days.