Thomas' Night March

Thomas' Night March (HM1KA9)

Location: Chickamauga, GA 30707 Walker County
Buy Georgia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 34° 52.972', W 85° 17.038'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 248 views
Inscription

Chickamauga Campaign Heritage Trail

On September 18, 1863, the Confederate forces began a preliminary push against Reed's Bridge and Alexander's Bridge on the extreme left of the Federal position. Colonels Minty and Wilder, stationed at these bridges, had given General William Rosecrans repeated warnings of a Confederate buildup that threatened these positions. By the end of the day on the 18th General Rosecrans realized that he was in danger of being cut off from Chattanooga. General George Thomas was ordered to move the 14th Army Corps up from McLemore's Cove to cover the Federal left.

"By that night it became perfectly clear to all," Charles Dana wrote, "that Bragg's plan was to push by our left into Chattanooga. This compelled another rapid movement by the left down the Chickamauga. By a tiresome night march Thomas moved down past Crittenden and below Lee and Gordon's Mills, taking position in the vicinity of a little house, known as the Widow Glenn's, and below, covering the Rossville road, and now forming the left of the Union army ... These movements were hurriedly made, and the troops, especially those of Thomas, were very much exhausted by their efforts to get into position."

Thomas encountered considerable difficulty on the move. The roads were in bad shape and also congested. In some areas, units from other commands refused to move. It was 10:30 p.m. by the time Thomas reached Crawfish Spring. He moved Negley's division off the road at that point and instructed them to camp around the spring. He knew that it would take most of the night to march his men to the right of the army. It was obvious that the men would be in poor shape for combat in the morning after such a march. Nevertheless, he determined to make the best of the situation. He sent advance parties north along the Dry Valley road. They set fire to the rail fences on either side of the road to light and mark the way. Smoke from the fires mixed with the rising dust to sting the eyes and burn the throats of the marching soldiers. The column moved slowly, with frequent stops and starts. Whenever the men to the front would halt, those behind would drop to the dust, or rest in place, asleep on their feet. All night long it went on stopping and starting, stopping and starting all night to cover five miles. Dawn was approaching when they halted in the fields east of the Widow Glenn's farm.

"The head of the column [of the 14th Army Corps] reached Kelly's farm about daylight on the 19th, Baird's division in front," General George H. Thomas later wrote, "and took up a position at the forks of the road, facing toward Reed's and Alexander's Bridges over the Chickamauga... Kelly's house is situated in an opening about three-fourths of a mile wide, on the east side of the State [Lafayette] Road." Both armies were now in place to begin the Battle of Chickamauga.

Please visit our website at:
http://www.ChickamaugaCampaign.org
Details
HM NumberHM1KA9
Tags
Placed ByCohutta Bank
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, May 1st, 2015 at 6:01am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 656821 N 3861396
Decimal Degrees34.88286667, -85.28396667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 34° 52.972', W 85° 17.038'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds34° 52' 58.32" N, 85° 17' 2.28" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)706
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling West
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 201 5 Points Rd, Chickamauga GA 30707, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Thomas' Corps
0.01 miles
Crittenden Avenue
0.78 miles
Hood Avenue
0.79 miles
Boynton Avenue
0.8 miles
Longstreet Avenue
0.83 miles
Thomas Avenue
0.84 miles
Lee Avenue
0.84 miles
Bragg Avenue
0.84 miles
Rosencrans Avenue
0.85 miles
Wilder Avenue
0.85 miles
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?