Trouble in the Air: Lincoln, Rosecrans, and the Road to Chattanooga
“Rosecrans has been whipped, as I feared. I have feared it for several days. I believe I feel trouble in the air before it comes.”— President Abraham Lincoln
For Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the summer of 1863 was devastating. July brought twin disasters for the South — the surrender of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River and the defeat at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. Both losses shattered Confederate hopes of foreign recognition and proved the Union’s growing ability to wield its vast manpower, industrial strength, and transportation networks to devastating effect. The South desperately needed a victory to restore faith that the Confederacy could still turn the tide of war.
In the aftermath, Confederate General Braxton Bragg pulled his weary army south into Georgia to reorganize and prepare for another strike. His eyes were fixed on Chattanooga, Tennessee — a critical rail hub linking the Upper South to the Deep South. To hold it meant controlling a vital lifeline of transport and communication. To lose it meant opening the heart of Georgia to Union invasion. Long before William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea, the fight for Chattanooga would determine the fate of the Confederacy’s interior.
The Battle of Chickamauga
Union General William Rosecrans advanced his Army of the Cumberland southward, hoping to destroy Bragg’s reorganizing army. Confederate leaders, sensing opportunity, began shifting troops from Virginia and Mississippi to bolster Bragg’s ranks. From September 18 to 20, 1863, the two armies clashed along Chickamauga Creek in the dense, smoky woods of northern Georgia.
The battle opened with fierce skirmishes as Confederate forces struck at scattered Union cavalry. Rosecrans, his army stretched thin across Tennessee and Georgia, struggled to consolidate his men. Bragg, strengthened by reinforcements under General James Longstreet — fresh from the Army of Northern Virginia — seized the moment.
Bragg’s attack was two-pronged: Longstreet driving on the Confederate left, and General Leonidas Polk pressing on the right. Among the Confederate officers were prominent figures tied to national politics — including former U.S. Vice President John C. Breckinridge — and even President Lincoln’s own brother-in-law, Confederate General Benjamin Helm, who was killed in the fighting.
Amid the confusion, Rosecrans issued a poorly worded order to General Thomas Wood, unintentionally creating a gaping hole in the Union line. Bragg’s men surged through it, rolling up the Union flank in a massive breakthrough. In that moment, disaster loomed.
Yet one man stood fast. Major General George H. Thomas, refusing to yield, rallied his men on a wooded ridge and fought ferociously against repeated Confederate assaults. His steadfast defense allowed the battered Union army to withdraw toward Chattanooga. For his courage and composure under fire, Thomas earned a new name that would follow him for the rest of his life — “The Rock of Chickamauga.”
The Union army had suffered a stunning defeat. More than 35,000 men were killed, wounded, missing, or captured — making Chickamauga the bloodiest two-day battle of the entire war. Rosecrans’ leadership collapsed under the strain. As Lincoln grimly remarked, the general appeared “confused and stunned like a duck hit on the head.”
Grant Takes Command
In October 1863, with Union forces retreating into Chattanooga and the Confederates occupying the surrounding high ground, Lincoln acted decisively. On October 18, he relieved Rosecrans and placed command of the western theater in the hands of Major General Ulysses S. Grant, the hero of Vicksburg.
Grant’s reputation was growing rapidly. He was a man of few words and immense determination — a general who fought to win. Critics in Washington whispered about his rumored drinking, but Lincoln would not hear of replacing him. “I can’t spare this man — he fights,” the president declared.
Grant’s journey to Chattanooga was itself perilous. En route, he suffered a severe injury when his horse fell, leaving him with a painful limp. Yet he pressed on, meeting Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in Indianapolis to receive his orders. Stanton offered him a choice: keep Rosecrans in command of the Army of the Cumberland or replace him with Thomas. Grant, skeptical of Rosecrans’ judgment, chose Thomas, who pledged grimly that “we will hold the town till we starve.”
By October 23, Grant arrived in Chattanooga amid cold rain and weary soldiers. The situation was dire — the army was nearly surrounded, low on rations, and morale was sinking. Thomas and his officers, still shaken from Chickamauga, received Grant coolly. Drenched, dirty, and exhausted, Grant ignored formalities, sat by the fire, lit a cigar, and began issuing orders. In that moment, Union command took on a new tone: quiet resolve and unyielding purpose.
Opening the “Cracker Line”
Grant’s first task was to feed his army. The Confederate siege had cut off supply lines, leaving men and horses starving. Grant quickly devised a plan to reopen communication along the Tennessee River — a supply route soon known as the “Cracker Line.” Within days, food and ammunition began flowing into Chattanooga, reviving the exhausted troops and restoring confidence throughout the ranks.
Under Grant’s unified command, three armies now operated in concert: Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland, elements of the Army of the Potomac under General Joseph Hooker, and the Army of the Tennessee under General William T. Sherman. Together, these forces represented the most powerful concentration of Union strength in the western theater.
Grant’s steady leadership produced immediate results. Soldiers who had been despondent just weeks earlier now saw wagons arriving daily with rations, weapons, and reinforcements. Morale soared. Lincoln, though he had never met Grant, watched with admiration from Washington as reports arrived of the general’s methodical control and quiet efficiency under immense pressure.
Bragg’s Missteps
Meanwhile, Bragg squandered his advantage. Despite holding the commanding heights around Chattanooga, his leadership was plagued by distrust and dissent. He alienated his subordinates and constantly quarreled with his officers. Even in victory, Bragg managed to demoralize his army.
Rather than pressing his siege to its full potential, Bragg weakened his position by detaching key units. He sent Longstreet’s corps north toward Knoxville to confront Union General Ambrose Burnside and later stripped away additional divisions under Generals Simon Bolivar Buckner and Patrick Cleburne. Each departure drained the Confederate strength encircling Chattanooga, just as Grant’s forces were growing.
Bragg’s temperament had long been a liability. A veteran of the Mexican War, he was known for his combative nature — even once writing a letter of complaint to his own supply officer, only to discover that he himself held the post. His superior reportedly quipped, “Captain Bragg, you have fought with every officer in the army — and now you are fighting with yourself.” That anecdote, humorous though it was, captured Bragg’s fatal flaw: an inability to cooperate or inspire loyalty among his men.
The Union Resurgent
As the weeks passed, the situation reversed. Each day, Grant’s logistical genius and calm authority strengthened the Union’s grip on Chattanooga. The arrival of Sherman’s troops, Hooker’s reinforcements, and the reopened supply lines transformed despair into determination. Where Rosecrans had seen confusion and collapse, Grant saw opportunity.
Grant’s experience as a quartermaster during the Mexican War had taught him the value of logistics — that an army’s strength lay as much in its stomach as in its strategy. He made sure his soldiers and horses were fed, equipped, and ready to fight. His understanding of both professional and volunteer soldiers gave him a rare ability to command respect across the ranks.
For President Lincoln, Grant’s success at Chattanooga proved that he finally had a general who understood the grim necessity of relentless combat. Grant would fight until victory was achieved — and never shrink from responsibility. Together, Lincoln and Grant would form the partnership that ultimately preserved the Union and brought the Civil War to its close.
Next week’s story: The Battle of Chattanooga and the Rise of Ulysses S. Grant to Lieutenant General.