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Hello everyone. My name is Wesley L'Slee from the History of the Second World War

podcast. Join me on a journey through the most destructive conflict in human history, a journey that will take us not just through the famous campaigns and cataclysmic battles, but also to the lesser well-known corners of the war that touched millions all over the world as we try

and answer not just the questions of what and where but how and why.

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World War.com. You're going to do. Oh, Hey everyone. Thanks for tuning in to episode number 436 of our Civil War

podcast. I'm Rich and Tracy won't be with us for this show. She's off visiting family and I'm here

at home holding down the fort so if you don't mind listening to just the sound of my voice, we'll forge ahead and

continue with the story of what happened when Long Street moved against Burnside at Knoxville.

As we said before, when Braxton Bragg decided to send James Long Street off to Eject Ambrose Burnside from Knoxville, it resulted in a significant

reduction in the number of troops Bragg had available to man the lines of Chattanooga.

A Longstreet took his two infantry divisions from the Army of Northern Virginia,

two artillery battalions with 35 guns, and the 5,000 troopers of Joseph

Wheeler's Cavalry Corps.

In all, this gave Old Pete about 17,000 men, but of course that meant those

Confederate soldiers were being taken off the table as far as Bragg's ability to man the lines at Chattanooga.

If we rewind the tape to September 18th, the beginning of the major fighting at the Battle of Chickamauga,

Bragg had about 66,000 men, including long Streets, Just Arrived Troops, compared to Rose Crayans, 58,000 Yankees.

Then, by October 1st, Bragg's strength at Chattanooga was down to 47,500, but the federal numbers had dropped to 35,000.

However, Bragg dispatched Longstreet to deal with Burnside the first week of November,

and so by November 23rd, just prior to the battles for Chattanooga, Bragg had an effective strength of only about 37,000, while Grant had built up his force at Chattanooga to 70,000 men.

So all of that's to say, detaching Long Street and 17,000 men for the expedition to retake Knoxville

...