General "Baldy" Smith and the Relief of Chattanooga: 1863

Book excerpt: During the American Civil War, General William Farar "Baldy" Smith seemed always to be at the extremes of glory or blame. In October of 1863, he conducted the engineer operations and launched the Battle of Brown's Ferry, which opened the "Cracker Line" to provide supplies and reinforcements to the besieged troops in Chattanooga. Long after the war, he was still making the case that the plans had been his own and not those of General Rosecrans. In this report, Smith presents his case to a board of army officers, including the brother of General Philip Sheridan, Colonel Michael Sheridan. The report is fascinating for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the details of the efforts to relieve Chattanooga. But the fact that this general was still arguing his case 36 years after the end of the war is remarkable. At issue was the accuracy of the legend of the atlas of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park Commission and future generations' understanding of the action. Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.