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General Info About Isaac Smith |
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Isaac B. Smith from Company E and the 115 Regiment fought in the Battle of Chickamauga. Isaac B. Smith fought on the Union Side of the war. There were many units that competed in the battle. |
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General Info about the Battle |
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The Battle of Chickamauga was fought on September 19th and 20th, 1863. This battle was one of the ugliest and bloodiest battles that ever took place in the Civil War, because of the tremendous amount of deaths that took place. The battle was fought near Chickamauga Creek, which is located in Georgia. The Battle of Chickamauga was fought to force Confederates out of the Chattanooga area, which is located in Tennessee. The battle was fought because the Confederacy wanted to regain control of Chattanooga. The advantage of having control of Chattanooga was, they would have control of the railroads and rivers that ran throughout the land. The railroads and rivers would allow supplies to be shipped easily to the Soldiers, causing them to have advantages over the North.
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Army’s that Fought in the Battle |
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The battle was fought between the Confederate and Union Army. The Confederate Army, which was led by General Braxton Bragg, consisted of about 70,000 soldiers. The Union Army, which was led by General William Rosecran, consisted of only 55,000 soldiers. |
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Weapons that were used in the War. |
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The two sides had many weapons that they used during battles, but the 12-pound Napoleon Cannon was the weapon that was used most often. The Napoleon Cannon took fireballs and canisters as ammunition. When the cannon was fired the balls gave the cannon the effect of a giant gunshot going off.
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Things that led up to the Battle |
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The Chickamauga Campaign led up to the events of the battle. What happened during the campaign was, Union Army captured Confederate Soldiers that had deserted the army. As they were captured, they went under questioning. Consequently, the Confederate soldiers told the Union a lie, which was that the Confederate Army was run down. The deserters told the Union soldiers lies because they wanted to trick them. Since this was thought to be occurring the Union decided to strike, because they thought the Confederate side was weak. But it turned out that the Confederate Army was well and strong, resulting in the defeat of the Union Army. |
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Battle Attack |
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The two sides met and attacked each other in the upper part of Chickamauga, at the time of 9:00 am. The battle was fought in that area because in order reach Chattanooga, they had to cross the Chickamauga Creek. The battlefields where they fought consisted of dense forests and small open fields. The forests made it hard for the soldiers to fight because it was difficult for them to maneuver. |
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The battle began with strong Confederate forces. Finally the Union was striking back towards the Confederate Army. The next day the Confederate's Army broke through the Union's line. This caused the defeat of the Union Army because there was a gap in the left side of Rosencran’s line. Since Rosecran had this huge predicament, they had to try and close the gap. When doing so, the Confederate Army not only drove the Union Soldiers out of the fields, but broke through the soldiers line. George H. Thomas was a major influence on the Union’s bravery. He and his men stuck through the battle until the very end. That just shows how dedicated those soldiers were to winning the war. As the battle concluded, the Confederate's casualties contained 18, 000 men dead, wounded, or missing. The Union's casualties consisted of 16, 179 men wounded, killed, or missing. |
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Outcome |
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The Battle of Chickamauga affected the outcome of the war indirectly. Even-though the Union did not win the Battle of Chickamauga, they still won the war as a whole. The Confederates did win this specific battle, but they lost a lot of men due to the battle. This then made the Confederate side weaker, eventually causing them to be defeated as a whole. Not only was the Confederate side weak, but the Union side too. |
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After the war the Battle Site of Chickamauga became a National Military Park. Today that same park is open to the public, so if you are in the area stop by and see it. |
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Self Opinions |
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As I conclude and assume, the Battle of Chickamauga was a learning experience for the Union’s Army, because their coordination and planning of the battle was not intact. As a result they lost the battle. As for the Confederate Side, I thought that the battle in general was a easy win. This was because of the major gap in the Union’s line, and their strong soldiers who carried them to success. My opinion about the soldiers that competed in the battle was that it consisted of many men who were willing to lose their life for their country. Now that shows bravery. I do feel sorry for the Union’s loss on this specific battle, but I rejoice in the winning of the Civil War. |
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Picture Explanations |
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Below is a picture of a locational map of the Chickamauga area. The numbers represent different items and events on that happened during the time of the battle. Number one = The actual battlefield. Number two = The battle line. Number three = Mix – up in Union Command. Number four = The Confederate breakthrough. Picture Below found @ Http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/Nationa…/Chickamauga_battlefield.jp |
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As I was researching for my report, I found no conflicting data between sources. |
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The picture below shows the Military Park of Chickamauga and Chattanooga Battlefields. |
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