The Second Battle of Chattanooga took place during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, beginning on August 21, 1863, as the opening battle in the Chickamauga Campaign. The larger and more famous battles were the Battles for Chattanooga (generally referred to as ''the'' Battle of Chattanooga) in November 1863.

Background

On August 16, 1863, Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland, launched a campaign to take

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

. Col. John T. Wilder's brigade of the Union 4th Division, XIV Army Corps, marched to a location northeast of Chattanooga where the Confederates could see them, reinforcing Gen.

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...

's expectations of a Union attack on the town from that direction.NPS
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Battle

On August 21, Wilder reached the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

opposite Chattanooga and ordered the 18th Indiana Light Artillery ( Capt.

Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was a Union Army officer, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and recruited a company of men to ...

's battery) to begin shelling the town. The shells caught many soldiers and civilians in town in church observing a day of prayer and fasting. The bombardment sank two steamers docked at the landing and created a great deal of consternation amongst the Confederates.

Aftermath

Continuing periodically over the next two weeks, the shelling helped keep Bragg's attention to the northeast while the bulk of Rosecrans's army crossed the Tennessee River well west and south of Chattanooga. When Bragg learned on September 8 that the Union army was in force southwest of the city, he abandoned Chattanooga and marched his

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...

into

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Bragg's army marched down the LaFayette Road and camped in the city of LaFayette.

Battlefield preservation

The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved more than of the battlefield at Chattanooga as of mid-2023.
American Battlefield Trust "Chattanooga Battlefield" webpage. Accessed May 15, 2023.

Notes

References

National Park Service battle description

CWSAC Report Update
{{authority control Chattanooga II Chattanooga II Chattanooga II Chattanooga II Hamilton County, Tennessee 1863 in Tennessee

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

August 1863