The Second Battle of Chattanooga was a battle in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, beginning on August 21, 1863, as the opening battle in the Chickamauga Campaign

Chickamauga Campaign

The Chickamauga Campaign was a series of battles fought in northwestern Georgia from August 21 to September 20, 1863, between the Union Army of the Cumberland and Confederate Army of Tennessee.-Background:...

. The larger and more famous battles were the Battles for Chattanooga

Chattanooga Campaign

The Chattanooga Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga in September, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen...

 (generally referred to as the Battle of Chattanooga) in November 1863.

Background

On August 16, 1863, Maj. Gen.

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland

Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...

, launched a campaign to take Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

. Col.

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 John T. Wilder

John T. Wilder

John Thomas Wilder was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As an industrialist, he was instrumental in developing the natural resources of the State of Tennessee.-Early life and career:...

's brigade of the Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 4th Division, XIV Army Corps, marched to a location northeast of Chattanooga where the Confederates could see them, reinforcing Gen. Braxton Bragg

Braxton Bragg

Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...

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

Battle

On August 21, Wilder reached the Tennessee River

Tennessee River

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...

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

Colonel Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly was an American soldier, pharmaceutical chemist, industrialist, entrepreneur, and founder of the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation...

'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

Army of Tennessee

The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...

 into Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. Bragg's army marched down the LaFayette Road

LaFayette Road

The LaFayette Road is found in Northwest Georgia in the counties of Walker and Catoosa. The road, approximately 20 miles in length, leads from the Tennessee-Georgia state line in Rossville southward to the city of LaFayette. The present day U.S. Highway 27 and U.S. Highway Business 27 contains...

 and camped in the city of LaFayette

LaFayette, Georgia

LaFayette is a city in Walker County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the city population was 6,702. The city is the county seat of Walker County.LaFayette is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

.