Three Paths to Glory by Dean Urdahl

Author:Dean Urdahl
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: North Star Press of St. Cloud
Published: 2015-06-09T00:00:00+00:00

Bragg in Chattanooga

August 1862

Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi encamped just outside Chattanooga, but the commander proceeded immediately to a hotel in the city. It was July 31st and a courier had brought a message from General Edmund Kirby Smith asking for an immediate conference. Smith was commander of the Army of East Tennessee.

Bragg, with three staff officers, entered the hotel and found Smith sitting alone at a table in the dining room. General Smith stood up and saluted. He was of medium height and build, had a receding hairline, a dark chin beard that stretched in a line over his cheeks on both sides, and a bushy mustache. He was thirty-eight years old.

“General Bragg, welcome to Chattanooga,” Smith proclaimed.

All four took seats around the table as Bragg responded, “Well, at least I beat Buell here. This was his goal as well. When he comes, we’ll have the good ground here.”

Smith got right to the point. “General, I don’t think you should fight him here. I just received a report from John Hunt Morgan, who returned from spending most of July riding through Kentucky. His cavalry was raising hell in Buell’s rear as well. They captured 1,200 federal soldiers. He paroled ’em all, but kept hundreds of their horses and destroyed massive quantities of their supplies.”

Smith paused. “General Bragg, that’s not what I want to talk to you about.”

A bit taken aback, Bragg said, “Then what do you want to talk about?”

“The opportunity that awaits you in Kentucky. I believe tens of thousands would rally to our cause if given the opportunity. If you arrive with a show of force, they’d flock to us and bring Kentucky into the Confederacy.”

“What about Buell?”

“Apparently he’s been delayed by supply difficulties helped along by Forrest’s harassment. His army is moving slowly. It’s like Lincoln said about McClellan, ‘He’s got the slows.’” Smith chuckled, then continued. “Lincoln won’t let Buell sit in Chattanooga with you having free rein in Kentucky. You’d be a threat to Ohio and points east. Buell will have to come after you and, with your present army and the new recruits you’ll surely garner, we’ll whip those Yankees.”

“What do you propose?”

“My Army of East Tennessee will march into Kentucky to dispose of the Union defenders of Cumberland Gap. Then we’ll join you. Together we can maneuver into Buell’s rear. He’ll be forced to give us battle to protect his supply lines. Once Buell’s beaten, we move farther up north, where the local populace will be overjoyed.”

“You’re right to go first. My army’s exhausted and must rest.”

“We’ll fight a grand battle in Kentucky. We can establish a Confederate frontier at the Ohio River.”

“General Smith,” Bragg said, looking directly across the table at him, “you’ve been given an independent command by President Davis. But I command the west. How do you see this?”

“Sir, once our armies are combined, your seniority applies. I’ll be under your direct command.”

Bragg contemplated a few moments, then replied. “This is an intriguing plan. If going north gains me a new army and a new state for the Confederacy, I think it’s worth the trip.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.