Battle of Brown's Ferry

Battle of Brown's Ferry
Part of the American Civil War
Wauhatchie battlefield with location of Brown's Ferry in top right
Date October 27, 1863 Location Hamilton County, Tennessee Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
William F. Smith	Evander M. Law William C. Oates
Strength
1st Brigade 3rd Division, IV Corps 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XIV Corps Engineer Brigade, Dept. of the Cumberland	Law's Brigade, Longstreet's Corps
Casualties and losses
38	21

The Battle of Brown's Ferry was an engagement on October 27, 1863, in the American Civil War. Although a minor engagement, the battle proved to have significant results in paving the way for the Union victory at Chattanooga a month later.

Background

Following the defeat at the battle of Chickamauga the Union Army of the Cumberland was trapped in Chattanooga, Tennessee by Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg. Union commander William S. Rosecrans wired Abraham Lincoln saying "We have no certainty of holding our position here." Lincoln responded by sending reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac and Army of the Tennessee under the overall command of Ulysses S. Grant.

On October 26 Grant initiated operations to open a supply route from Brown's Ferry to Chattanooga. Hardtack, an army food staple, was usually despised by the men who were forced to eat it on a constant basis. However with food running low the soldiers began to cry out even for the hardtack crackers. Thus the proposed supply line was dubbed the "Cracker Line".

The plan was conceived and to be executed by Grant's chief engineer, Brig. Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith. Opposing Union efforts was a brigade from James Longstreet's corps under Evander M. Law in Lookout Valley as well as Rebel pickets on Lookout Mountain.

The Battle

Baldy Smith was assigned two brigades under Brigadier Generals William B. Hazen and John B. Turchin as well as the Engineer Brigade under Col. Timothy Robbins Stanley. Turchin's men would march overland across a bend in the Tennessee River known as Moccasin Point and hold the east bank at Brown's Ferry. Hazen's men had the more hazardous task. Organized into 50 squads of 21 men each (20 soldiers and 1 officer) Hazen's men would ferry down the river in pontoon boats manned by Stanley's men. A third column under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker would advance from Bridgeport, AL for relief of Hazen's men if necessary.

At 3:00am Hazen's men boarded the pontoons and quietly rode around Moccasin Point past the Lookout Mountain pickets. Using the river's current for swift movement an early morning fog helped cover their movements. The landing was to be made at ferry landing and at another gorge downriver.

Patrolling the area were the troops of Brig. Gen. Evander M. Law's Confederate brigade. Law's had gradually been dispersed along the west bank of the Tennessee River in the preceding days. Therefore on October 27 there were five companies left to guard the ferry. Hazen's men reached the landing points at 5:00am amidst relative silence, though some Federal soldiers had broken silence when they were fired at early on. General Hazen shouted above the silence to put ashore. Some of the storming parties slightly missed their objectives but by and large the landing points had been gained and coming ashore, the Union troops drove off the Confederate pickets.

Commanding one of two regiments posted to Brown's Ferry was Col. William C. Oates of the 4th Alabama Infantry. Oates had shown aptitude as a commander and had recently made a notable charge against Little Round Top at the battle of Gettysburg. Sensing an attack Oates had requested reinforcements the night before which came in the form of one more regiment from Longstreet. Upon hearing the news of the landing Oates immediately formed a counterattack but by the time he reached the beachhead the Union troops had already begun to entrench. During the fighting Oates was taken out of action by a gunshot wound to the hip. At this point Stanley's oarsmen began to ferry Turchin's men across the river. Hazen and Turchin's combined force now outflanked the Confederates who retreated to the South toward Wauhatchie.

Aftermath

The "Cracker Line" had been opened. General Hazen joyfully exclaimed "We've knocked the lid off the cracker box!" By mid afternoon on October 27 a pontoon bridge had already been constructed across the river. Hooker's Federal reinforcements where on their way toward Brown's Ferry. Union troops advanced up Lookout Valley, where the Battle of Wauhatchie was fought October 28–29, 1863.

Both actions were preliminary actions in the Chattanooga Campaign.

Opposing Forces

Union

Chief Engineer, Military Division of the Mississippi: BG William F. Smith

Division	Brigade	Regiments and Others
3rd Division (from the IV Corps)	1st Brigade    BG William B. Hazen	6th Indiana: Maj Calvin D. Campbell 5th Kentucky: Col William W. Berry 6th Kentucky: Maj Richard T. Whitaker 23rd Kentucky: Ltc James C. Foy 1st Ohio: Ltc Bassett Langdon 6th Ohio: Ltc Alexander C. Christopher 41st Ohio: Col Aquila Wiley 93rd Ohio: Maj William Birch 124th Ohio: Ltc James Pickands
3rd Division (from the XIV Corps)	2nd Brigade    BG John B. Turchin	82nd Indiana: Col Morton C. Hunter 11th Ohio: Ltc Ogden Street 17th Ohio: Maj Benjamin F. Butterfield 31st Ohio: Ltc Frederick W. Lister 36th Ohio: Ltc Hiram F. Devol 89th Ohio: Cpt John H. Jolly 92nd Ohio: Ltc Douglas Putnam
Engineers	Boat Party    Col Timothy Robbins Stanley	Detachment, 18th Ohio: Cpt Ebenezer Grosvenor Detachment, 18th Ohio: Cpt Charles A. Cable Detachment, 2nd & 33rd Ohio: Lt Walter B. McNeal Detachment, 36th Ohio: Lt James Haddow Detachment, 92nd Ohio: Lt Stephenson
Artillery	Artillery Battery    Maj. John Mendenhall	3 batteries

Confederate

Longstreet's Corps: Lt. Gen. James Longstreet

Division	Brigade	Regiments and Others
Hood's Division      BG Micah Jenkins	Law's Brigade    BG Evander M. Law	4th Alabama: Col William C. Oates 15th Alabama: Col W.G. Gates 1 Section, Howizters: Lt Brown

References

• Korn, Jerry, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Fight for Chattanooga: Chickamauga to Missionary Ridge. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985. ISBN 0-8094-4816-5.
• McDonough, James Lee. Chattanooga—A Death Grip on the Confederacy. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1984. ISBN 0-87049-425-2.

External links

• Battle of Brown's Ferry