(7-01) Battle of Missionary Ridge. Site Marker: Undaunted Union infantry fought their way to the crest. On November 25, 1863, the Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant made its final moves to destroy the Confederate forces on Missionary Ridge, the long ridge in the distance. Following unsuccessful attacks on the left and right, Grant ordered Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas' troops in the center to seize the Confederate rifle-pits at the base of the ridge. The Federals stormed the rifle-pits, and drove the retreating Confederates up the slopes. Then, under heavy fire from above, and without orders, the Union infantry pushed ahead up the ridge. The Confederates, outnumbered and in a poor defensive position, abandoned the ridge and retreated into Georgia. The Union victory on Missionary Ridge left Chattanooga firmly in Union hands, and set the state for Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's advance against Atlanta in the spring
   
See panoramas for a 180 degree view from the Ochs Memorial Observatory
 
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(7-01) Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge. Site Marker: You are now looking to the northwest. In 1863, Chattanooga was a major railroad hub with a population of 2,500. In late November the city was in Union hands, while Confederate forces occupied Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Both sides struggled for control, for if the Federals cemented their grip on Chattanooga, they would have a perfect staging area for an invasion of the deep south. A Fortified City: By late November 1863, General Grant had transformed Chattanooga into a Federal stronghold bounded by earthworks. Union forces were now ready to take the offensive. On November 23, Grant's troops captured Orchard Knob, a hill about midway between the Union fortifications in the city and the Confederate lines on Missionary Ridge. On the following two days, the Federals pushed the Confederates from Lookout Mountain and won a decisive victory on Missionary Ridge
 
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(7-01) Tennessee River and Moccasin Bend. Site Marker: Here the Tennessee River makes a sweeping, clockwise loop around Moccasin Bend. In 1863, vital supplies were brought to the besieged Federals in Chattanooga across the "neck" of Moccasin Bend, using pontoon bridges at the two river crossings. The Cracker Line: Union forces opened a supply line into the besieged city of Chattanooga in late October 1863. Known as the "Cracker Line," it brought the weary Federals ammunition and food, including the soldiers' staple - "hardtack" crackers. The newly appointed Union commander, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, prepared to fight as reinforcements arrived. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's detachment arrived in early October, and Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's in mid-November. In the face of this Union build-up, Gen. Braxton Bragg, commander of the Confederate army, committed a costly error. He sent a portion of his army off to attack Union troops at Knoxville, thereby weakening his grip on Chattanooga
 
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(7-01) Lookout Valley and Browns Ferry. Site Marker: You are now looking to the northwest. From this commanding viewpoint 1,300 feet above the river, you can see many of the historic areas associated with the Battles for Chattanooga in 1863. Among these features are Lookout Valley and Browns Ferry through which the Federals opened a vital supply line, weakening the Confederate siege of Chattanooga. Breaking the Siege: In late September 1863, the Confederate army under Gen. Braxton Bragg laid siege to the city, trapping the Union army defeated at Chickamauga. The Confederates, positioned here on Lookout Mountain and at other key points surrounding the city, hoped to starve the Federals into submission. At 3 a.m. on October 27, Union soldiers cast off from Chattanooga in pontoon boats and floated secretly down the river. At Browns Ferry they landed and routed the Confederate pickets. The following day they linked up with Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Union forces who were moving up Lookout Valley to relieve the city. A Union supply line was thus opened, and the Confederate strangle-hold on the city was broken
 
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(6-2011) Enlarge Moccasin Bend
 
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(6-2011) Enlarge Lookout Valley. Site Marker: You are looking across Lookout Valley and the flat-topped ridges of the Cumberland Plateau. The morning of November 24, Union Gen. Hooker's troops crossed Lookout Creek opposite the present railroad yard in the valley. Then, in a long column, they climbed the mountain to the base of the cliff to your left. This wall blocked any further advance to the mountaintop. Facing north, to your right, the line next moved forward along the slope to attack the lightly-held Confederate defenses. The advance cleared the creek bank of Confederate pickets. More Union soldiers crossed to join the attack, the total attacking force reaching 8000. Walthall's brigade was driven back around Point Lookout, losing 900 of 1500 men - and the battle!
 
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