Albany. He spent his career preserving military history with the National Park service, new york state government. Rensselaer. Civil War Preservation trust. Kentucky state parks and u. S. Arm. Hes written books on various aspects of military leadership from 1775 to the present. Published to books with the civil war at perryville and stone river and Tullahoma Campaigns and studied the 1941 and 42 entitled last day in bataan released in 2016. In september of 2016 the arm published his volume on virginia campaigns as part of the series on the civil war. Last year at this event friday night i bought this book and i spent all night reading it. Highly recommended. Last about chris he is a great researcher, he knows an amazing amount of almost anything military, havent writer and, most importantly he is a really good guy who will share anything with you which i think is the most important thing. He is also getting ready to get married. So without further ado, chris kolakowski. [applause] good morning. I think it is great to be here. Ive year the audience gets larger. I dont know if we can get much larger but that is a great problem to have. If you are here for the first time raise your hands. That also is fantastic. Welcome welcome. If you would like what we are doing, we are doing mini version with my Current Employer in norfolk the reunion of blue and gray personified. Look at the mcarthur civil war ancestors. How many have ever been to tullahoma, tennessee . That is a lot more than i thought. How many of the rest of you know there was a place called tullahoma . That is also really good. There must be a bunch of air force people because the Arnold Air Force base where they do a lot of testing old camp forest. That is really good. I want you to see if you can name this operation . It was late june and early july of 1863, drove a major Confederate Army back in defeat and secured a major Geographic Area for the United States. Are there any guesses . That is a rhetorical question. Im referring to the Tullahoma Campaign of 1863. That sis where we will spend the next 40 to 45 minutes discussing the Tullahoma Campaign. The Tullahoma Campaign is june 24 to july 4 of 1863. It is part of what turns out to be a very wantful series of weeks for both wantful for both sides. It is overshadowed. One other piece of logistics did everybody get a hand copy of the map . The paper copy of this i dont expect you to strain your eyes looking at it and you have your copy. I will refer to it. The Tullahoma Campaign was fought between the army of cumberland under rosecrans and 45,000 arm of tennessee general Braxton Bragg. You can see the different corps they will be deplored. Rosecrans will take the four and cavalry each 15,000 to 20,000 and reserve carp to Gordon Grange were and mccooks 20th, thomas 14th and tommy crittentons 21st. I will talk more about them. Bragg for his part has two infantry corps under polk and hardee and cavalry under joe wheeler and other damped elements under Nathan Bedford forrest. A lot of these are familiar because it is the second round of ballots between rosecrans and bragg that will be fought in middle 10 and southeastern tennessee and northern georgia through late fall of 1862 through the fall of 1863. This is round two in many ways. Understand story of tullahoma. We have to understand the context in which it is fought and continuum. We should never forget whatever campaign you study always remember it is part of a continuum of the story of that particular campaign. Sometimes you think it starts this day and ends this day but you often forget what went before sometimes overshadows and influences what is coming. Having said, that let me explain the context of tullahoma. In many ways to understand particularly braggs army you have to understand that context. Let me rewind from june of 1863 to early january of 1863 january 5. When bragg leaves stones river of murfreesboro having fought stenson river and been advised by his corps commanders that there are only three reliable divisions left in the army. The yankees have more reinforcements and we have to withdraw. Bragg withdraws down southeast from murrayfreesboro to the area of high happened high land rim. They will spend their time there in middle 10 until the operation in june of 1863. Almost immediately confederate press goes after bragg because on new years eve he had confidently predicted victory and said we drove the federals back except the extreme left appear rosecrans is finished. Was not finished and he was there a couple more days but to the confederate popular mind we had this victory and bragg is retreating. Why is that when the armies in mississippi and virginia have won great victories and are holding their ground if not advancing. So newspaper reports and editorials come out about bragg and impugning the performance of the army of tennessee. That causes general bragg to light a fuse, to plant ill seeds that will bear ill fruit. On january 11, against the advice of his staff he sends message to his corps commanders and bake will i basically advised me to retreat. Put it in writing. We had a conference. You told me about it. We put it in writing and let us stand together against the approbrium from the press and that is a close paraphrase. He also said something else. He said if i find that i have lost the good faith and confidence of my generals i will retire without a murmur. By the way, please talk to your division and brigade commanders and got their opinions before responding. I dont care who you are or what organization if you are a c. E. O. And you put yourself in front of your subordinates for a referendum on your fitness for leadership and your conduct of operations up to this point, even if you win that vote of confidence you can never command the same respect. This is a capital error on the part of Braxton Bragg. The replies are very quickly coming. Polk is on leave. He has a couple of lawyers in his corps and they say is bragg really asking two questions or one of the so they wait until late january to get back. Hardee and breckenridge and stuart get back and say we advise retreat we are happy to say that and we are convinced that a change in the command of this army is necessary unquote. Polk gets back at the end of january and writes to bragg saying the feedback we are getting is this one request or two. He says i only meant one question in there. Tries to submit it down. Shut it down. Polk thinks it is a good idea to write to president davis and packages this correspondence and sends a message to davis and says we didnt give our response about the fitness of the command of the army but our opinions con side with toes those of the other corps. When davis gets this he is angry. He said what is this . Why bragg would submit himself to that tribunal is beyond me. He told joe johnston the commander of the west who polk said replace bragg with joe johnston. Go to tullahoma figure out what is going on. In early february joe johnston rivers arrives and meets the commanders and they provide views and some say bragg wanted to be relieved but he doesnt force the issue. What johnston finds is moreal among the ranger rank is pretty good and they feel confident go going against the dastardly yankees and im sure those terminals were used at terms were used. He figures out some of the commanders but people putting on a pretty good face because even though bragg may be cantankerous person he got the job and they have to show some loyalty. So johnston writes a favorable report and disappears. You think it is smoothed over, right . Now comes the time to do the paperwork and battle reports for the battle just concluded. It is time to refight the stenson river campaign. Stenson river campaign. Has stones river campaign. This spilled back out into the open. The records for stones river are interesting for two parts. First of all, several allow their feelings about the emancipation proclamation to show up in their description of the enemy and talk about the emancipationist friends and horrible language about the enemy that make sense when you consider they are written in february of 1863. But the big thing to understand is that bragg who gets the reports and writes his own, cannot resist the opportunity to strike back at those people and painting the people that were most against him in that referendum of sorts in january in worst possible light. To the point i have seen this nowhere else in the official records John Breckenridge of kentucky writes his divisional report bragg writes an addendum and proceeds to use the polite equivalent of lie as much as he can and pointing out where breckenridge was wrong and at fault and pins the whole loss of the battle on John Breckenridge. He doesnt care for kentuckians because of what happened in the campaign the year before when he advise the jeff davis we must leave the garden spot of kentucky to its cupidity. And breckenridge is from lexington kentucky doesnt help matters. All of there when it gets to the Confederate Senate which will publish the reports once again puts publicly this fissure that hassed on in the arm of the has opened in the arm of the tennessee high command. J says to johnston go take command and send bragg to richmond for consultation. I think we can read between the lines. Johnston is going to be in and bragg out. Joe johnston, because of his he would later pin it on ace overdeveloped sense of honor do not like to create the impression that he doesnt like to create the impression he is pulling down the brother officer to take command in the field. When he shows up he has the excuse not to execute the order. Why . In is bragg with the army. Eliza bragg and has drunk some bad water and is down with typhoid. It is a very serious illness. She cant travel for a few weeks. So johnston says mrs. Bragg cannot travel, bragg cant travel to richmond, so we are going to suspend the orders for the time being. For the next six weeks, until mid april from the beginning of march to mid april here is the situation in the army of tennessee headquarters in tullahoma. You have joe johnston Supreme Commander of the weese nominally in command and Braxton Bragg is present and he is not officially relieved from the arm of tennessee command though Everybody Knows he is supposed to be. But he is still there. Who is in charge . I dont think they figured it out. Who is the one person that could referee that and cut that knot and solve the problem . Jefferson davis. The fact that he doesnt is a severe indictment on him as a commander in chief of the confederacy. I call it in my book and i do not withdraw the comment now dereliction of duty. When mrs. Bragg is ready to travel it is early april of toward mid april of 1863. The problem is now Joe Johnstons virginia wounds have flared up. He is unfit for field duty. We he finally is mid april is anything else going on in the west that might demand his attention . That is when grant runs the batteries at vicksburg and it becomes clear the mississippi front is about to get active and it does with the vicksburg campaign. Johnston is ordered away with elements of braggs army to counter that. That is the army that will be defeated at battle of jackson in may of 1863. Where are we as an organization in the army of tennessee at this point . Do you think this is a function ing happy organization a good team of leaders . No. Emphatically no. The wounds begin to heal again once johnston leaves and everybody realizes bragg will still be here and we have to continue to work together. The wounds begin to heal, but a few weeks later the scabs are ripped off again. I invite you to look at the Kentucky Campaign official records and half the reports were in the fall of 1863 the other laughhalf in the spring of 1863 and braggs was spring of 1863. It rips all of those scabs back off again. At this point bragg, even though in 1862 he had no problem with polks decision to act on his own decision bragg decides it is best of the service well consideredcourt partial polk. Gathers the information, gets everything together and at the last month decides we are not going to courtmartial general polk. Im hearing some chuckles in the background. That is the only reaction you could have. You have to laugh because it is a tragedy because so many mens lives would depends on this command to function and you can see what is happening to it. Do you know when the last actual correspondence relating to the Perryville Campaign was dated. June 20, 1863. This is going on literal right up to 96 hours before rosecrans moves to begin the Tullahoma Campaign and there is a letter in the perryville record between polk and hardee dated may of 1863 and hardee tells polk if you want to rip up the Kentucky Campaign now is time. Polk says it is not the time to do that but you are right, that we need to watch tullahoma as much as we watched murrayfreesboro . Why is that important . Who is in murfreesboro . The federal army, the enemy. You need to watch them because you know they are going to advance and you are going to fight another battle with them. But who is in tullahoma . Where is the army of tennessee headquarters . Tullahoma. What hardee and polk are saying we have two enemies. One in the front and an enemy in the rear, our boss Braxton Bragg. The seeds that were planted in january of 1863 are bearing bitter fruit and they will bear bitter fruit as the Tullahoma Campaign progresses. In murfreesboro, all is not well with the United States forces either. Rosecrans, after january of 1863, doesnt move out of murray murfreesboro in force although he will sends infantry raid parties and sometimes they get the better of the confederates, a lot of times they dont. But they wont move until june of 1863. How does that look in washington . Seconds largest army in the federal service do not move for practically six months. That doesnt look good. Rosecrans gets in trouble with washington. He can manage people around him but one of the spbgs elements of a essential elements is manage relationships above you with the superiors. Rosecrans finds time to electric clear the commanding lecture the commanding general and secretary of war about weararfare. How does that go done in the wake of what George Mcclellan did the year before . Although there is considerable evidence rosecrans didnt entertain the personal animosity thwart lincoln and toward lincoln and stanton that mcclellan did. He is planning a campaign and he does have a couple of points. The first point is most of the cavalry need remounts. They are not in very good shape. Most came back from prison having been captured the previous year. But he has another problem and there is something i think we people consider the army of the cumberland they neglect to point this out. How far is the army of the potomacs line of communication at any point in its career . 50 miles to washington or one of the river ports in eastern virginia virginia. How about grants army in mississippi . They can rely on the United States navy up and down the mississippi river, right . Good short, secure lines of supply. What about the arm of the cumberland . The army of the cumberlands forward base is nashville 30 miles northwest of murfreesboro. You can supply in through the Cumberland River but it is, can be very fickle shall we say and there are times because of the shoals downstream from nashville you cant get steamers up. What are the other options . The only one is the louisville louisvillenashville railroad which parallels interstate 65 and picks up the nashville and chattanooga and is paralleled by interstate 24. Basically everything you need will ride the rails and ride that single track railroad. Once you leafve louisville from louisville to nashville 183 miles at best you are going through neutral territory even though kentucky has voted to remain loyal to the United States it is at best neutral. John hunt morgan has been a year at this point of cutting that railroad. As a matter of fact from july 1, 1862 to june 30 1863 you know how much that road is operational . S seven months and 12 days. So almost five full months it is not operational. It is not just bridges or rails. There is a 2,000foot tunnel north of gallatan 30 miles north nashville that morgue will blown up and morgan will blown up and burned and was out of Commission Two months in the fall of 1862. Whenever you think about the africanamerican of the cumberland the army of cumberland they say why does he spend so much time Building Supplies it is because of the tenuous nature of his life line. Back to nashville and back to louisville. That is why his arm always stops to to repair railroads and bring up supplies. He needs it. The other thing about that railroad is what does it do to the Army Reserves . During the winter of 1862 it is down to three days of reserves in their warehouses. This is an army not far from starvation because of railroad insecurity. Rows glance is not going rows glance wont move before he has good cavalry and suffer supplies. Suffer supplies. You have forrest who is south, to the west of shelbyville, west of the army of tennessee. Who is on often flank . On the eastern flank. John hunt morgan. Two of the great raiders in the history of the confederate cavalry. Joe wheeler is not bad. I would be worried about my railroad, too. One thing rosecrans builds up he builds up three weeks of supplies in murfreesboro, creates fortress rosecrans. It is part of the battlefield. More importantly when his troops leave murfreesboro they will take 11 days of supplies with them. He is going banking on a big reserve. He is going to ride on a big cushion of supplies and that is prudent on his part. He knows theres a pretty good chance he will lose communications with the rest of the or he will lose Railroad Communication at some point. What does this look like in washington because what happened in may of 1863. We talked about mississippi in may of 1863, vicksburg. In virginia in may of 1863 battles of chancellorsville. Hardest up to that time in American Military history. Largest by land area in north american record eded history. Rosecrans rosecrans, by june of 1863, the War Department threatens him with relief. Are you going to move . He writes back if now means tomorrow, no. But if it means in, say, favor days, yes. Five days. Yes. That is good enough. So rosecrans looking for the right opportunity and right amount of supplies and right way to go begins to cast his plans to go after general bragg. Latinos look at the map because it latinos look at theteat the map. North is at the top and murray trees treesboro in north center part of the map. The major towns shelbyville south of murray treesboro tullahoma about murrayfreesboro. Tullahoma about eight to 10 miles to the east. Manchester to the north. That is from tullahoma you go down the rail line to the key rail. Once you cross there you go through decker, cowen, major rail tunnel there. And you start climbing into the Cumberland Plateau and mountains to at University Place which is now sewanee. At the time it had been dedicate dedicated and building foundations were there then the war intervened. The cornerstone was laid in 1860 by polk. The pweugbig thing about this ground two things. First is if you look between shelbiville and murray treesboro you see dark splotches. Guys gap, liberty gap and hoover gap. That is the highland rim and they are 500 to 900 feet and very steep and can only be crossed by those three gaps. There is one all weather road that runs out of murray addressboro and today murfreesboro and today it is u. S. 41. South out of murfreesboro and done to manchester and southeast toward chattanooga. That is the ground that we will be fighting over. What bragg has done is deployed his arm to cover the gaps with infantry and extend the cavalry several directions. Forrest and wheeler will be to the west along the duck river and toward columbia. In the Northeast Area between woodbury and the top righthand corner is john hadnt morgan. Until john hunt morgan. When he embarks on a raid into kentucky and will disobey orders and go into indiana and ohio. He will disappear right before the Campaign Starts and rosecrans has been waiting for that so he can make a move. Polks karps will be near guys gap. Hardee will be around beach grove and fairfield. Claibornes division will hold liberty gap. And the area around fairfield will be election p. Stuarts division of about 6,000 men holding that area. There are cavalry first confederate kentucky cavalry protecting the lines being an alarm force in case the federals move out from murfreesboro. The idea is warn the infantry and they will have time to move up into the gaps and sop the federals stop the federals. That is the pwaeufbgt plan braggs army has. Now let me read you what rosecrans plans to do out of the official records and follow on your map and i will unpack more of what he says. This is his plan for the operation. Positive information from varies sources concurred to show enemy intended to fight us in hissen trenchment at shell byville. He would be in good position to retreat if beaten and retard our pursuit through the narrow winding roads which leads up into the barrens and inflict loss without danger to them. I was determined to returned useless their entrenchments and if possible secure their line of retreat by turning their right and moving on the railroad bridge across elk river. Where is that bridge . That sis allisona and elk springs. That is the key points of the entire campaign. That is rosecranss objective and if he takes that and bragg is still around tullahoma or shelby ville shelbiville his army will be cut off from chattanooga. Rosecrans says after taking the bridge it would compel a battle on our ground or driver them in a disadvantage why is alone of retreat. To accomplish there it was necessary to make bragg believe we could advance on him by the shelbiville route,and keep up the impression until we have reached manchester with the main body of the army. Let me translate that plan. Grangers corps total of about 25,000 men all told. With electionalexander mccook operating southwest of murrayfreesboro and keep polk thinking they are going force guys and liberty gap. The bulk of the arm George Thomass 14th corps, 25,000 and 20 p 20,000 with crittenden will march east and southeast and aim for manchester. At which point they will be in a good position to operate directly against tullahoma or down toward the rely bridge across the elk river. What do you think of the plan . Good plan, isnt it . One problem. Speed is the vital factor. It has been a nice dry summer. But when these troops start marching out on june 24, 1863, it starts raining of the 17 next days it will rain at least once and im talking about a goo gully washing thunderstorm at least once of 14 of those 17 days. What do you think the roads turn into . When it is not raining it is over cast overcast, 90something degrees with 100 humidity. This sis miserable. Those familiar with the retreat from gettys burke and the horrible gettysburg after july 4 some of that comes from middle tennessee and meets the other armies in pennsylvania later. There is atrocious weather and should always be remembered when you consider the Tullahoma Campaign. Early Morning Hours of june 24 Cumberland Army in motion and decoy forces skirmish with claiborne at liberty gap on 24th and 25th. Man elements of thomass corps move southeast. In the front is a have i special unit a very special unit of mounted infantry. They dont want to be called cavalry. Under the command of a 33yearold indiana colonel named john wilder. He had realize edd marching infantry wont work, i wants a many horses and mules and fronts the money to give them serve shot spencer rifles. They have gone out and done good work and are in front. Some of the real cavalry you are just tadpole cavalry. We are the real boys. On this day wilder wants to prove himself and they are out front as the rain starts to come in. About s miles out from murray tpraoesfrees boro to hoover they run into the First Kentucky cavalry and how do you think the federals do charging forward with spencers against confederate with single shot rifles spread out. It is quickly over. The kentuckians lose their ballot flag and fall back under the pressure of the federals. Hoovers gap is fortified and as the confederates try to make a stand there and send a courier as fast as they can toward fairfield it wake up stuarts division wilder realizes the situation and he sends his vanguard unit into the attack and they scattered the confederates and push into the gap. His orders only are to stop to take the foot of the gap and wait for the main body of the infantry to complete the assault. But waileder realizes those trenches are not occupied and if i wait they might be by people unfriendly to me. So he orders his men into the gap and through the gap and it takes position on a ridge on the other side around where you see jacobs store just before jacobs store. That is where if you go today that is where the confederate cemetery is and battlefield off exit 97 or 107. One of the exits there on i24. They take a position there. They will be there in the afternoon because they can hear the long roll thanksgiving to to acoustics and they will withstand several attacks by phone federal infantry that by confederate industry they lost 60 machine all New Hampshire and woulden tphreubgt over 200 confederate casualties appear send most of them scurrying backwards. That is good 10 infantry and they will hold their own at one to three odds. Thomas when gets up with the main body as dusk is falling and surveys what wilder has done, you know George Thomas he is not a demonstrative man but he comes to wild erer shakes his hand you saved me 20,000 machine. The next day publishes an order because of their fast move and quick strike and hard strike this brigade wilders bridgetgade will be known as the lightning brigades. That is where they get their famous name that they will carry on to greater glory in the Georgia Campaign of 1864. Thomas will consolidate there, both sides expect bragg it make a counterevery. He doesnt. Rosecrans decides to break out from there and move toward manchester on the 26th. That is what will happen. Largest battle of Campaign Around the beach grove and jacobs store where thomas man will shove side like opening a hole in the line in football, shove aside the confederate and push them south and progress southeast and reach manchester the morning of 27th where they find crittendens corps. They have had it march up earned bradys bill up a slope like this even today 45 degrees. There were orders out decrease your wagon trains and baggage as much as you can. Tommy wad wood obeyed that to the letter but the guy in front john palmer, no, i know better. We are taking everything. I dont know what is on the other side of hill. They are marching through roads that, no joke, are knee highment one commander would say we were march marching between the field and road and i didnt know where the road was. Because it was that were mud being churned up. What do you think happens to those wagons and that artillery . Even on thralt land they flat land they start sinking and it takes them two days to get up that height. How did they do it . You line up infantry machine on both sides of the road and with the teamster hacking their animals they start on flat land and within up the hill and as they faulter the infantry would grab the wheels and push and crank them up the hill. It takes two days to do that. One of the officers who saw many fights on many battles said that was the worse march of the war for us. This distance dry weather should be 15 to 20 miles 30 miles, excuse me. Two to three days march. It takes four full details. What do you think their condition is . They are exhausted, blown. It is also day bragg decideses going to do something. Sends a message to general polk on the 26th and comes to see him saying i have a plan. I want you to take the 15,000 and go through guys gap and turn right and fight your way up toward murfreesboro. Do we know what is on the other side of those hills . You can take care of it. You will be fine. Word man trap polk used to describe what bragg was proposing. He said this is nothing short of sending us into a man trap. And hes absolutely right. Bragg gets back to his headquarters and he finds news of the defeat at beach grove that hardees machine men were pushed side and indicative of braggs leadership. Movement proposed for tomorrow is postponed. First of all, he ordered it. Why did he say was proposing it. Now he is postponing it. Then he sends questions to polk. Should we retreat to tullahoma or fight it out . I think you unpack that as you see fit. Here is where the bitter fruit of january and february, march, april, may come to roost. There is another Confederate Army that has defended twice in this war behind a Major Military obstacle expecting the federals it cross that and will already have two or three contingency plans ready to engage we the yankees start to get active. That is the army of Northern Virginia winter 1863 63 and winter of 186364. He has talked about it and he knows what he needs to do. It is just activating the contingency plan. That that is called good communication and that was a Successful Organization and what they need to achieve its objective and get done what it needs to get done. Do you think any of that is present in the arm ofey arm of tennessee no. You see it with bragg almost 72 hours into an active campaign and he is only now thinking of what he needs to do. Tries to put together a counteroffensive under a general that he just tried to courtmartial. This is one of the saddest stories in Confederate Military history. In American Military history i would submit as well. But that is they spent so much time fighting paper battles on what has gone before that they forgot then my right in front of them wearing blue uniforms so they are caught flat footed. One option that i would submit is the best option bragg has because once they are out of the highland rim advantage is all rosecrans he should have ordered pope to go from shelby field to fairfield and attack on the morning of 27th north of beech grover and try to reach leave gap. Why would you do that . If you manage to threaten that you force rosecrans and turn around and reopen in murray treesboro. If you take hoovers gap you have cut the arm of cumberland in two. You have the two in manchester and the other leadserless. That is a pretty decent plan isnt it . Isnt that a room condition si they might have contingency . There is no evidence they considered it. So on the night of the 26th bragg orders everybody to concentrate on tullahoma. The rest of campaign after they leave the highland rim is somewhat anticlimb placketic. Climbacticclimactic. Rosecrans is feeling out bragg and so he decides the best way is send john wilders lightning brigade into the confederate rear and it is a day and a half to twoday odyssey for manchester. You see the dotting lines through hillsboro and decker and some of those creeks they have to swim the horses across because of rain. They cut the rail line and probe the bridge and protection that is there. They raise a lot of havoc, then they find out Bedford Forrest is after them and one is coming by train and wilder says we have done as much as we can, lets get back and report to general ross krantz and got back noon june 30 and walks in and rosecrans is amazed to see him. Wilder says not only do i have the intelligent you need i did it without losing a single soul. It is an incredible odyssey in the civil war. On the other flank one of the best days i dont have time to get into it but one of the best is battle of shelbyiville where they forced joe johnston to swim for his life. You can read a great chapter about it in my back. Bragg at this point is not worried. Railroad reopened and toward july he has a council of war saying we are going to fight it out. They have reservations about that and they start it talk about it and polk says i thought the railroad was cut. Reopened great news. Then polk says this. How do you propose to maintain your communications . Borderline inseaboard question with the insubordinate. They are reopen. General hardee, bragg says, what do you think about this . You can did with you want but ien doors the merit of polks views. Bragg says we are going to fight it out. Then he changes his mind overnight. This is june 29 that conversation, june 30 he changes his mind saying we are going to withdraw. So on the night of june 30, the quartermasters move the wagons out of tullahoma. That means one thing. Retreat. That night the confederate arm evacuates tullahoma crosses the relevance bridge last rear guard passes out morning of july 1 1863 about the time John Reynolds is shot outside gettysburg is we he leaves tullahoma. The federals have been probing and enter quickly. Rosecrans sets up a pursuit and short skirmish at elk river bridge and bragg sassys we are going to fight it out. Some of them say somebody pay have to take command of the arm from him. Bragg changes his mind. Retires. And rosecrans pursues and breaks off the pursuit at University Place july 4, 1863. Two days later some of sheridans people blow up the cornerstone. Tullahoma is over. The conquest of middle tennessee has been amazingly cheap. In 11 days from on24 to july 4 only 570 federals were killed, wound ed wounded captured or missing. Confederate Personnel Returns all10 show a strength nearly 5,000 machine lower than june 20 fplt 20. Half of that covered morgans raiders that departed kentucky. The federals captured more than 1,600 prisoners and stuarts lost 181. Claiborne will 121 at liberty for a total of 300 lost. The balance of the arm of tennessees loss is about 600 more with battle casualty, sick or deserters. A lot of prisoners i quoted are tennesseens from this area realize being i dont want to leave home that far behind. To the is a sign of disintegration of the army of tennessee to a certain extent. When there is reported to the War Department stanton congratulates rosecrans and fire shraourts when they get the news. Then stanton says you and your normal army now have a chance to give finishing blows of the rebellingre rebellion rebellion. Will you neglect the chance . This illustrates that tullahoma is obscured even in 1863 as opposed to 2019. Rosecrans said i received your cheer cheery dispatch falling of vicksburg. You do not appear to observe the fact that this notable army has driven the arm from middle tennessee. I beg on behalf of this arm the War Department may not overlook so great an event because it is not written in letters of blood. I have now to repeat that the rebel arm has been forced from its position in shelbiville and tullahoma and driven over the cumberland mountains. My infantry advances within 16 miles and cavalry eight miles of the alabama lane. No organize rebel force within 25 miles of there another on this side of the cumberland mountains. Never again except for that last death ride of arm of tennessee will the army of tennessee penetrate middle or western 10 with any hope of sustained success. That makes this campaign a great victory. When you consider the events of the first 10 days of july, 186 , gettysburg, vicksburg tullahoma, port hudson and collective body low on the confederacy that makes this as important and the of the civil war as the other three of the civil war. Tullahoma is a huge link in that chain of events that leads from the ohio river to savannah of the atlantic coast. If you consider the chattanooga federal presence in the dagger against the vitals against the confederacy, before that the dagger thrust directly into the vitals of chattanooga is the federal army in tullahoma which they won over 11 days of hard marching in june and july of 1863. It is not written it letters of blood, rowssecrans was right but it doesnt deserve the obscure did i it has been placed in. I would like to thank you for your attention. I would be happy to answer any questions you have. We actually dont have time for questions to stay on schedule but i will ask my brother it comment on one thing. Why has this been forgotten and how much is a factor of rosecrans being his own worst enemy . Training is part of it. But i think that the biggest thing is that everybody used the battles between bragg and rosecrans through the prism of chick mauga and it tends to over shadow and view that is warmup rounds. Here is the real fight when in reality the two rounds before stones river and tullahoma are really deserving more attention. Chris will be available it answer questions back at his table. Chris kolakowski. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] on American History tv today at 6 00 p. M. On american artifacts we will preview the votes for women exhibit at Smithsonian National portrait gallery. She started her own business as a wall street banker. She advocated for [inaudible]. 6 30 we discuss the book democracy and truth a short history. No one person no one institution, no one sector, no king, priest, National Research body with get it call all the shots. Explore our nation as past o American History tv on cspan 3 every weekend. We continue our look at rapid city with a visit to bear butte a plac