Civil War River Crossing

Civil War River Crossing (HM1C9L)

Location: Chattanooga, TN 37406 Hamilton County
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Country: United States of America
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N 35° 5.389', W 85° 16.037'

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Inscription
General Ulysses S. Grant's plan for lifting the siege of Chattanooga called for the Union Army of the Tennessee under General William T. Sherman to cross the Tennessee River and strike the Confederate Army's flank on the northern end of Missionary Ridge. The crossing plans involved massing a large number of pontoon boats at a point four hundred yards from the convergence of North Chickamauga Creek and the Tennessee River. Union troops rowing downriver would secure a landing on the southern bank of the Tennessee just below the mouth of South Chickamauga Creek. The Union army engineers would throw a 1,200 foot-long bridge across the Tennessee to facilitate the crossing of the rest of Sherman's men.

Around midnight on November 23, 1863, Union troops boarded the pontoon boats moored in North Chickamauga Creek. After entering the Tennessee River, part of the flotilla moved silently downstream and landed just north of the mouth of South Chickamauga Creek, the other pontoons landing south of the creek. The Federals quickly rounded up surprised Confederate pickets who had failed to raise the alarm. Within a short time, the Union troops constructed a stretch of substantial earthworks around their position.

Throughout the predawn hours of November 24, oarsmen hastily plied their boats back and forth across the Tennessee River. At the same time, engineers began work on the pontoon bridge that would span the river. The completion of this bridge around noon on November 24, along with the arrival at the crossing site of the side-wheeler Dunbar, greatly facilitated the passage of Sherman's troops, horses, and cannon. This uncontested crossing of the Tennessee River put the Union troops in a highly advantageous position on November 24, near the right flank of Bragg's army.

The bridge's southern terminus was in the vicinity of the large grain silos. A short distance east of the mouth of South Chickamauga Creek was the location of another Union pontoon bridge.
Details
HM NumberHM1C9L
Tags
Placed ByThe Tennessee Riverpark Master Plan
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, September 19th, 2014 at 4:20pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 657948 N 3884376
Decimal Degrees35.08981667, -85.26728333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 35° 5.389', W 85° 16.037'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds35° 5' 23.34" N, 85° 16' 2.22" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)423
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 232 Tennessee Riverwalk, Chattanooga TN 37406, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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