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0:38

A little before the fog bank reached us,

0:41

the color bearers, as by a common

0:43

impulse, rushed ahead and with

0:45

a great shout, the whole line broke

0:48

cover and followed them. On

0:50

they went in the face of a nasty rain

0:53

of bullets. The rebels broke

0:55

and ran and we ran after them,

0:57

heedless of the bullets from the summit.

1:00

Into holes, over

1:02

rocks and stumps and logs, over

1:05

a slight line of earthworks,

1:07

past a ravine in which were huddled our

1:09

foes to the number of two hundred or

1:12

three hundred, who were speedily

1:14

made prisoners and put under guard,

1:17

through a camp of huts and shelter tents,

1:20

and over fires where rebel breakfasts

1:22

were cooking,

1:23

onward till the dense fog shut

1:26

in again over and around us and

1:28

we must stop and feel our way.

1:30

It grew light again and the

1:32

bullets again began to sing amongst

1:35

us. The fog seemed to break

1:37

where we were. We could not see

1:40

the valley, but it got clear on our

1:42

level and above us. An

1:44

earthwork was sighted ahead. Behind

1:47

the last knoll, the line was steadied

1:49

and well closed up.

1:51

As we showed over this knoll,

1:53

we were greeted with a sharp volley, which

1:55

developed into a steady fire.

1:57

Our line stopped and

2:00

commenced firing. Barnum

2:02

of the one hundred and forty-ninth, shouting

2:04

to his men to follow him, rushed

2:06

up the knoll, waving his sword

2:08

above his head. A bullet

2:11

struck his sword-arm, and it fell by his side,

2:14

but the line had caught his spirit, and

2:16

it went on now across good ground

2:18

and with a regular front. The

2:21

little white house on the point came in sight.

2:24

We could see Chattanooga, and the watchers

2:26

there could see us. All

2:29

energies were bent to reach the house.

2:32

Again the rebel line broke and ran.

2:36

In the yard of this farmhouse were two Napoleon

2:38

guns, and their caissons nearby

2:41

were well supplied with ammunition. Our line

2:44

here wheeled sharp to the right, following

2:47

the enemy in plain view, and entered

2:49

some woods. The fog

2:52

closed in on us again. The

2:54

hull of this charge could be plainly seen

2:56

with glasses from Chattanooga, for

2:59

while the fog was thick below, shutting

3:01

in the sides of the mountain, our

3:03

elevation was in plain sight.

3:06

It is said that as we rounded

3:08

the point in this last rush, the

3:11

watchers in Chattanooga and on

3:13

Orchard Knob anxiously watching

3:15

our appearance were almost beside

3:18

themselves with exaltation, and that

3:21

even General Thomas so far forgot

3:23

his gravity as to throw his hat

3:25

into the air with a great shout. Lieutenant

3:31

Albert R. Green,

3:33

78th New York Infantry.

5:42

region

6:01

to convert the Indians to Christianity,

6:03

climbed the heights and pinned his impressions

6:06

of the view.

6:09

The summit of Lookout Mountain overlooks

6:11

the whole country, and to those

6:13

who can be delighted with the view of an endless

6:16

forest, penetrated by the windings

6:18

of a bold river, interspersed

6:21

with hundreds of fertile prairies and

6:23

broken by many ridges and mountains,

6:26

furnishes a landscape which yields to

6:28

few others an extent variety

6:31

or beauty. Even the

6:33

natives had not been insensible to

6:36

its charms, for the name in

6:38

the Cherokee language is literally,

6:40

mountains looking at each other.

6:43

The name itself is a bit

6:45

misleading, since it's not a single

6:47

mountain in the commonly understood

6:49

sense, but rather more of

6:51

a long, towering ridge that

6:53

extended southward from the Tennessee

6:56

River some 85 miles. Quite

6:59

wide along its southern reaches, Lookout

7:02

Mountain narrowed as it neared

7:03

the river. There

7:05

it ended, coming to a point,

7:08

or nose as the locals

7:10

called it, not more than 200 yards

7:14

wide and 1,800 feet above the Tennessee

7:16

River. From the riverbank

7:18

the mountain rose at a 45 degree

7:21

angle to a height of 800 feet. The

7:24

river blanketed this initial rise.

7:27

There were numerous laurel bushes and

7:30

rough limestone rocks jutting from

7:32

the thin soil of red clay.

7:35

After that initial rise, the

7:37

slope rose sharply, about two-thirds

7:39

of the way between the riverbank and the summit,

7:42

then abruptly changed and became relatively

7:45

level, given the appearance of

7:47

a small

7:48

hump when viewed from Chattanooga.

7:51

That feature terminated in a ledge

7:54

or bench between 150 and 300 feet wide, which extended

7:59

for several years. several miles around both sides

8:01

of the mountain. From

8:04

the bench the slope again became

8:06

steep. Five hundred or

8:08

six hundred feet of timber and outcrops

8:11

brought one abruptly to the palisades.

8:14

A war correspondent penned one of the best

8:17

descriptions of the palisades, writing

8:20

they were, quote, A

8:22

ridge of dark, cold, grey rocks,

8:25

bare even of moss, which rise

8:27

to the height of fifty or sixty feet, overhanging,

8:31

arch-like, the beholder, who

8:33

looks up at them from their base, and

8:36

which seen from the valley, have the

8:38

appearance of a crown encircling

8:40

a human brow.

8:42

The Confederate lines on lookout

8:44

curved around the shoulders of the mountain,

8:47

about halfway up between the river and

8:49

the rocky summit. There,

8:51

on the shoulders of the mountain, the slope moderated

8:54

enough to permit an occasional house,

8:57

and even a farm or two, whose fantastic

9:00

views compensated for

9:01

the rocky soil. Indeed,

9:04

the shoulders of lookout were the proper location

9:06

for the rebel defenses, rather

9:09

than on the impressive crest up

9:11

above the palisades, since

9:13

the steep upper slopes would

9:15

mean the defenders on the crest would

9:17

be unable to fire down on attackers

9:20

scaling the slopes below. The Confederate

9:24

lines, bolstered by log breastworks,

9:27

curved from the east slope of the mountain,

9:30

around the point or nose on

9:32

the north end, and then extended

9:35

several hundred yards along the west side

9:37

of the mountain.

9:38

The Confederate defenses faced

9:40

downhill, and although that orientation

9:43

may have seemed the most logical, it was

9:46

just the feature of the rebel works

9:48

of which Hooker planned to take advantage.

9:51

Since once the federal soldiers got up

9:53

on the shoulders of the mountain, on the

9:55

same level as the defenders, they

9:58

could advance along the slopes. outflanking

10:01

the rebels.

10:26

The

10:39

base

10:46

of the vertical rock face of the palisades,

10:50

and from there the federal line ran downhill

10:53

until the left flank nearly touched the

10:55

banks of Lookout Creek.

10:56

In that way, Geary's

10:58

men moved along the mountainside, scrambling

11:02

over and around boulders, tree trunks,

11:04

and laurel bushes until they

11:06

ran right into the flank of the Confederate

11:09

line, which as we said

11:11

was oriented so it was facing downhill.

11:15

That meant the rebel soldiers' attention was

11:18

naturally focused down the slope

11:20

where Osterhaus' Federals were

11:23

toiling uphill.

11:24

Many of the Confederates weren't

11:26

even aware of Geary's presence on their

11:28

flank until the Yankees had advanced

11:31

to point blank range. Dozens

11:34

of rebel soldiers were captured, while

11:36

others fought as best they could and then

11:39

fled along the mountainside.

11:40

Now and then a Confederate

11:43

officer would manage to get a few companies

11:45

or a regiment swung back

11:47

to face Geary's Federals head on,

11:50

but each time the Yankees out on

11:52

Geary's right along the base of

11:55

the palisades came crashing

11:57

down on the rebels' exposed uphill

11:59

flank. and each Confederate

12:02

position collapsed like those before.

12:06

The combat became a running fight along

12:08

the west slope of the mountain and

12:10

then around the curving north slope

12:13

of Lookout's nose. As

12:15

the rebels fled Geary's flank attack,

12:18

Osterhaus advanced and moved in

12:20

on Geary's left as the federal

12:23

line, now a two-division front

12:25

swung around the point of the mountain.

12:34

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12:36

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12:39

Better yet, what's something you didn't learn

12:42

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12:49

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12:52

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12:57

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13:00

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14:27

When the Yanks advanced on us in three

14:29

lines of battle, we had but one

14:31

thin line and no reserve. The

14:34

brigade extended from the perpendicular

14:36

cliffs down the rugged mountainside

14:38

north toward the Tennessee River. As

14:41

the enemy would advance and drive us from

14:43

one position, we would fall back

14:46

a short distance, reform, get

14:48

positions behind the rocks,

14:50

and give it to them again. Many

14:53

of our boys were captured that day on

14:55

account of our line holding its position

14:58

until the enemy were so near that

15:00

it was almost certain death to run.

15:04

This was one of the few times in battle that

15:06

it took a braver man to run than it

15:08

did to stand because those who

15:10

remained behind the rocks could surrender

15:13

in safety and those who ran

15:15

would draw the fire of the heavy Yankee

15:18

line.

15:18

It was near the Craven House

15:20

that our line was formed when the blue

15:23

coats crowded us and came very close

15:25

before our line gave way. Just

15:28

as we started to fall back, the color

15:30

bearer, who had bravely carried our

15:32

regimental flag through many hot places,

15:35

fell dead. One of the other

15:37

boys, seeing this, turned back

15:40

and grasped the colors when

15:42

he, too, went down and fell

15:44

across the former with the color staff

15:47

under him.

15:47

By this time, the enemy

15:49

was almost upon the flag when

15:52

a gallant youth from South Mississippi

15:54

turned back and, running

15:57

to within a few steps of the enemy's line,

17:28

available.

18:01

The Yankees fighting blood was

18:03

up. They had for some hours now

18:05

been driving the rebels out of a position

18:08

many had believed unconquerable

18:10

and they were beginning to feel a

18:12

sense of invincibility that

18:14

other things being equal was proving

18:17

to be a self-fulfilling

18:18

prophecy. For

18:20

Geary's men, members of one of the

18:22

hard-luck Corps of the Hard-Luck

18:25

Army of the Potomac, driving

18:27

the rebels like this was a new sensation

18:30

and by all accounts they seem to

18:33

revel in it throwing themselves

18:35

at the Confederate lines with reckless abandon.

18:39

However for Osterhaus' troops from

18:41

the Army of the Tennessee such

18:43

confidence was ingrained from

18:46

their successes out in Mississippi.

18:49

Here federal aggressiveness, numbers

18:52

and artillery support from

18:54

batteries across the river at Moccasin Bend

18:57

combined with Confederate exhaustion

19:00

meant the Craven's House line collapsed

19:03

like the smaller and shorter lived Confederate

19:05

defensive stands before it.

19:07

The federal swept around to

19:09

the east side of Lookout Mountain and

19:11

down the shoulder on that side pivoting

19:14

on the right flank at the base of the

19:16

Palisades while the downslope

19:19

brigades swept up hundreds of prisoners.

19:22

Then, as a fun

19:24

cue, the low hanging clouds

19:26

that had kept the mountains socked in with fog

19:28

all day suddenly lifted revealing

19:31

a great natural amphitheater

19:34

encompassing Lookout, the plain

19:36

and river below, the town of

19:39

Chattanooga and across

19:41

the way Missionary Ridge stretching

19:44

out like a long straight fold of the earth

19:47

toward Far Off Tunnel Hill which

19:49

Sherman's men were even then approaching.

19:52

Down in Chattanooga and

19:54

in the Army of the Cumberland's lines around

19:57

it, ears had been cocked and

19:59

eyes occasionally

21:27

Again

22:01

and again the mud-sill cheer rang

22:03

out, each time near the palisaded

22:06

crest.

22:07

Soon a faint gray line

22:09

appeared on the slope of Lookout. Even

22:12

with the naked eye, it was apparent

22:14

that it was disorganized and falling back.

22:17

Through the smoke and mist, the colors

22:19

sometimes splashed. The gray

22:22

masses fell slowly back and

22:24

the line of blue appeared. As

22:26

the old flag was recognized, Grant's

22:29

army broke out into cheer after

22:31

cheer, which must have been inspiring

22:33

to Hooker's men and appalling to

22:36

the enemy.

22:36

With scarcely

22:38

a halt to reform, the line of

22:40

blue moved forward. The

22:42

Confederates fell slowly back, rallying

22:45

and breaking again, until with

22:47

a sudden rush they made for a line

22:50

of works, which seemed extended from

22:52

the foot of the palisades down

22:54

the slope between the timber and the open

22:56

field. Here they made a last

22:59

stand. With

23:01

a rush, our brave fellows swept up to

23:03

the works, but so stubborn was

23:05

the resistance that for a moment

23:07

it seemed to us that the lines and

23:09

colors were intermingled. But

23:12

the enemy's colors soon broke to

23:14

the rear and disappeared in the woods.

23:18

Clouds settled down over the scene and

23:20

only intermittent firing was kept up.

23:24

Until nightfall and even after, a few

23:26

scattering shots were heard on the slope,

23:29

then all was still. The

23:31

audacity of the plan and the suddenness

23:34

of its execution paralyzed the

23:36

enemy and amazed those

23:38

who witnessed its execution. Lt.

23:43

Albion W. Torgy, 105th Ohio

23:45

Infantry

23:59

move on, we just want to explain a couple

24:02

of references that Lieutenant Torgy

24:04

made in the extended quote. When

24:07

he said that the Federals down below realized

24:09

it was no cornbread cheer coming

24:12

from up on lookout, he of course

24:15

meant it wasn't the rebel yell.

24:17

And when he said that

24:19

what they were hearing instead was the

24:22

mudsill cheer, he probably

24:24

meant that it was the distinctive hurrah

24:27

used by federal troops. You

24:29

see back then mudsill was

24:32

a derogatory term used

24:34

to convey the idea that something was

24:36

the worst of its kind. And

24:39

it was used by the Confederates to refer

24:42

to Union soldiers who

24:44

they liked to think were the dregs

24:46

of Northern society. But

24:49

although the Confederates meant it as an

24:51

insult, the federal soldiers

24:53

themselves turned it around

24:56

and wore it as a kind of badge of honor.

25:00

In any case, we thought a little clarification

25:03

might be in order regarding cornbread

25:06

and mudsill cheers. So

25:09

there you go. But to

25:11

get back to the action,

25:13

about 400 yards beyond

25:15

the Craven's house, well onto

25:17

the mountains Eastern flank, the

25:19

Confederates had erected a cross

25:22

slope line of breastworks and

25:24

there with the aid of a fresh brigade

25:26

just coming up to join the defense, they

25:29

were able to halt the federal advance.

25:31

A few companies of

25:33

rebels even managed to scramble up

25:35

to the base of the Palisades themselves

25:38

where they countered the Yankees there.

25:41

Some of the federal units were by this time

25:44

running low on ammunition. And

25:46

for most, elation was

25:49

now giving way to exhaustion.

25:52

In addition, another bank of clouds

25:54

had quickly lowered the curtain that the

25:57

sunburst had briefly raised for

25:59

the spectators. below, and so

26:01

the slopes were once again plunged

26:04

into a murky, misty fog.

26:06

When

26:06

Major General John Palmer,

26:09

commanding 14th Corps

26:10

in the valley below, sent to find

26:13

out if Hooker needed assistance, Fighting

26:16

Joe replied, quote, can

26:18

hold the line I am now on, can't

26:21

advance. Some of my

26:23

troops out of ammunition, can't replenish.

26:27

However, since Hooker was now on

26:29

the eastern side, or Chattanooga

26:31

side, of Lookout Mountain, getting

26:34

more of whatever he needed wasn't

26:36

a problem. Within a

26:38

couple of hours, by the time darkness

26:40

had brought a close to the fighting on lookout,

26:43

Hooker was reinforced by a brigade

26:46

of 14th Corps troops, and

26:48

arrangements were being made for direct

26:51

resupply of ammunition and rations

26:53

by way of Chattanooga. For

26:55

the Confederates, the battle for Lookout

26:58

Mountain had been a sorry affair. When

27:00

Bragg had sent Hardee over to the

27:03

Army's right the evening before, Major

27:06

General Carter Stevenson had succeeded

27:08

to the overall command of Lookout's

27:10

defenses, including Jackson's

27:13

division. However, Stevenson

27:16

was unacquainted with Jackson's deployment

27:18

and unfamiliar with the lay of the land on

27:21

the slopes of the mountain, and since

27:23

he took over command after nightfall

27:25

on the 23rd, he had no chance

27:28

to inspect the sector by daylight before

27:30

the battle was joined.

27:31

The Confederate troops

27:33

who did most of the fighting belonged

27:35

to Jackson's division. His

27:38

performance that day was criticized by

27:40

more than one of his subordinates, and

27:43

the controversy nearly led to several

27:45

duels. In the

27:47

end, though, the matter was dropped. From

27:50

the evidence that remains, Jackson's

27:52

performance on the 24th appears

27:55

to have been nothing special, but

27:57

probably about as good as could be expected.

28:00

as expected under the circumstances. As

28:03

for Braxton

28:04

Bragg, he placed a relatively low

28:06

estimate on the importance of Lookout Mountain.

28:10

He wasn't happy with the poor showing of the

28:12

Confederate forces tasked with holding

28:14

Lookout, but he was by no

28:16

means inclined to up the ante in

28:18

the contest to hold

28:20

the mountain. In fact,

28:22

since the loss of Lookout Valley and

28:24

the opening of the Federal's Cracker Line

28:26

a month before, Lookout

28:28

Mountain had been of no use to Bragg

28:31

in denying the Yankees their hard tack,

28:34

nor was it necessary in order to secure

28:36

the Confederates' own supply line. As

28:40

we already noted, Bragg's own line

28:42

of supply, the Western and Atlantic

28:44

Railroad that ran down to Atlanta, was

28:47

located behind Missionary Ridge

28:50

at the opposite end of the lines from Lookout

28:52

Mountain.

28:53

The summit of Lookout had been

28:55

of some use as a signal and observation

28:58

point for the Confederates, that

29:00

is, when the weather was clear. But

29:03

the artillery posted on the heights

29:05

had come to have little more than nuisance

29:07

value against the Federals in

29:09

their lines at Chattanooga.

29:10

And so, in the end,

29:13

by midafternoon on the 24th,

29:16

Bragg had decided to order the Rebel

29:18

troops on the eastern slopes of Lookout

29:21

to disengage and withdraw, thereby

29:24

giving Hookers Federals uncontested

29:26

control of the heights. In

29:29

fact, Bragg decided to issue orders

29:31

to all the Confederates holding Chattanooga

29:34

Valley in front of Chattanooga

29:37

to have them pull back to the east to

29:39

Missionary Ridge.

29:40

That evening, Ulysses

29:42

S. Grant wired news of the day's successes

29:45

to Washington. In response,

29:48

he received telegrams from both Abraham

29:50

Lincoln and General-in-Chief Henry Halleck,

29:53

congratulating him, but still

29:55

expressing concern over Burnside's

29:58

situation up at Knoxville.

29:59

Lincoln concluded

30:02

his message by urging Grant to

30:05

quote remember Burnside.

30:08

Halleck was more emphatic telling Grant

30:11

quote I know that you will do all

30:13

in your power to relieve him.

30:15

Lincoln and Halleck both made their

30:18

point that Washington would accept

30:20

no dawdling when it came to Grant

30:22

defeating Bragg at Chattanooga and sending

30:25

aid to Burnside.

30:26

Their prodding was

30:29

hardly necessary since Sam

30:31

Grant wasn't a man to dawdle. He

30:34

knew what he wanted to happen the next day the 25th

30:38

and by midnight on the 24th

30:40

once things had quieted down around headquarters

30:44

he began issuing the orders to

30:46

make those things happen.

30:55

That means it's time for this episode's

30:57

book recommendation and our recommendation

31:00

this time is Small but

31:02

Important Riots the Cavalry

31:04

Battles of Aldi, Middleburg,

31:07

and Upperville

31:07

by Robert F O'Neill.

31:10

This is another Gettysburg related

31:12

book

31:13

well not the Battle of Gettysburg

31:16

but the Gettysburg campaign.

31:19

O'Neill's book which just came out this year

31:22

looks at the cavalry battles that

31:24

took place over the span of

31:26

five days or so in June 1863 in Virginia

31:31

and places them within the context

31:33

of the Gettysburg campaign. It's

31:35

a good read.

31:36

Don't forget you can find a list

31:39

of all of our book recommendations if you

31:41

head over to the podcast website which

31:43

is www.civilwarpodcast.org.

31:44

Also

31:49

at the website you can find information

31:52

on joining the Strawfoot Brigade

31:54

and how to support the podcast in that

31:56

way just like the

31:58

V-O-G. Stephen St.

32:01

A, Jan Lee W,

32:04

Jack R, Jeff

32:06

M, Gary P, and

32:09

Richard.

32:10

Thanks to all of you for listening to this

32:12

episode of the podcast. Rich

32:15

and I do hope that you join us again

32:16

next time, but until then, take care.

32:20

Thanks everyone. Bye.

32:30

Thanks for watching. Please subscribe and like, comment and share. Thank

32:32

you.