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Chattanooga - Its place in history 
In early 1863, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg’s defeat at Murfreesboro and w ithdrawal into northern Georgia opened the way for Federal occupation of Chattanooga. The Battle of Chickamauga on September 19-20, 1863, was a major Confederate victory and forced Federal troops back into Chattanooga.
The Confederate siege of Chattanooga hoped to pin down theU. S. army and take away Federal control of the railways. Bragg entrenched his army on Lookout Mountain to the west and all along Missionary Ridge to the east. Initially, the Confederate siege worked. But then President Abraham Lincoln used the regional rail system to reinforce his army with the commands of Generals Joseph Hooker and William T. Sherman. Union hero Gen. Ulysses S. Grant also arrived to assume overall command. In late November, the Federal army counterattacked and forced Bragg from Tennessee.
The entire Chattanooga and Southeast Tennessee region witnessed war and its aftermath in all its brutal aspects. Farms were devastated as invading armies tore fence rails for firewood and slaughtered livestock for food. Since East Tennessee residents had divided loyalties during the war, Reconstruction presented a challenge for resuming amicable relations among the citizens. Many former slaves, now free after the war, found support in schools established by the Freedmenís Bureau and in their churches, several of which remain in the area today.
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