Chickamaga in the Cherokee language means river of death, so it's only fitting that the

second bloodiest battle of the American Civil War was fought in an area widely known

by the Cherokee as Chickamaga, not far from the banks of Chickamaga Creek on the border

of Tennessee and Georgia. An early September of 1863 General Braxton Bragg's Confederate

Army of Tennessee was forced out of Chattanooga by General William Rosecran's Army of the

Cumberland. Chattanooga, though a small town of less than 3,000 citizens at the time, was

crucial to the Civil War in that it was the crossroads of four major railroads. If the

Union could gain control of Chattanooga, it could control the major supply lines to the

Confederate Army. For this reason, Bragg knew he must regain the town. On September 17th,

his troops now positioned south of the town began their march north. On the 18th, Bragg's

infantry and cavalry engaged with Union cavalry and mounted infantry, but the fighting began

in earnest on the morning of the 19th. Although Bragg's forces had failed to break the Union

line the day before, that morning he resumed his assault with the result of heavy losses

on both sides. On the 20th, Rosecran's having been falsely informed of a gap in his

line, moved units to short up, only to create an actual gap which Lieutenant General James

Longstreet, employing the lessons he learned at the Battle of Gettysburg, capitalized

on immediately. Longstreet's corps drove one-third of the Union Army, including Rosecran's

himself from the field. The Union Army rallied to form a defensive line on Snotgrass Hill.

Major General George Thomas, having assumed command of the remaining forces and his men

managed to hold their position until dusk. At that point, the Union forces retired to

Chattanooga while the Confederates occupied the surrounding hills, thus besieging the city.

The Battle of Chikamaga was indeed a bloody and costly campaign. Although it was considered

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