Civil War History - "What if..." DiscussionsWhat if they had attacked instead of digging in...? What if he was in charge of the army instead...? Did you ever have a "What if..." question, and you weren't sure where to post it? Here's the place to ask these speculative questions!
Well, if the Union held due to all these "what ifs", the Chattanooga wouldn't be as well known as much more than a supply depot for either army. But THE BIG what if....would the city be known well enough for Glen Miller to have recorded "Chattanooga Choo-choo" and if not! Would the boys of WWII have been able to keep up their morale and defeat the Nazis and Japanese!
__________________ 'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed,
if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.'
Mark Twain
Chattanooga at the time of the war and for sometime after, was a rather small town. The the "if" that you expressed would not have made any difference. Chattanooga was and still is a railroad center being that it was the shortest, easiest route from Chicago to Atlanta and points south.
Although the battles at Chattanooga did help give it a good swift kick on the road to being a jewell of the south. it would have grown. Wilder, after the war located there and developed the iron industry and was for sometime the mayor of that fine city. During WWll, Dupont had a large TNT plant there and some of it is still there. Dupont also produced nylon there and still does to feed the carpet mills in Dalton, Ga. When I was living in Chattanooga in the 60's, Combustion Engineering was not only producing large boilers for industry, but was making most of the nucular reactors that are in use in the US.
If you look at a map, you will find that the Interstate system in the area is comprised of three main roads. Interstate 75 runs from Detroit to Fla. Interstate 24 connects Interstate 65 at Nashville and on to Chicago. Also, I 24 goes on to St. Louis. Interstate 59 connects Chattanooga with Birminghan. Almost all of these highways more or less follow the railroads that were use during the Civil War and then after.
Chattanooga would have grown into a major center even if the war had not come to it.
__________________ Located near Indianapolis, home of Col. Eli Lilly and the Eli Lilly Civil War Museum
Well, perhaps the town of Chattanooga would have become a major town without the civil war though there wouldn' be as many books written about it apropos the comflict. One thing is for sure, if the Union forces had held, Gen. Geo. Thomas would not have earned his sobriquet , or he would have had to share them amongst other generals but somehow..."The Rocks of Chickamagua" doesn't seem to cut it...unless you are talking about a rock group. Now ain't that a name for a band! Imagine heavy metal versions of Aura Lee, Dixie, Marching Through Georgia! Boggles the mind, ha!
__________________ 'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed,
if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.'
Mark Twain
I love the area. My wife is from Signal Mountain there and we own land just south of Chattanooga outside of Ringgold, GA, oddly enough, in a community named Keith, GA. In addition to being within the whole Chattanooga/Chickamauga theatre area, I'm about 1/4 mile from a WBTS hospital site named Catoosa Springs where there are still trenches on the ridgelines and other evidence remaining. Relic hunters do well in the area. The aura of the history of that area is almost tangible and at times overwhelming. When I need recharging, I'll go up there, find a hilltop or ridge with a view and just soak it in. We'll be retiring to that place as soon as I can afford to do so, or as soon as I can't afford not to! - Joe
... In addition to being within the whole Chattanooga/Chickamauga theatre area, I'm about 1/4 mile from a WBTS hospital site named Catoosa Springs where there are still trenches on the ridgelines and other evidence remaining.
The compiled service record of one of my Union ancestors says he was hospitalized in 1864 in Graysville, GA but I've never really found much about the Graysville hospital. I wonder if these are one and the same? If not I think that they are close to each other.
Roger
The compiled service record of one of my Union ancestors says he was hospitalized in 1864 in Graysville, GA but I've never really found much about the Graysville hospital. I wonder if these are one and the same? If not I think that they are close to each other.
Roger
Graysville is in the same general area, about 3-4 miles W or WSW of Catoosa Springs and is between Catoosa Springs and the Chickamauga battlefield. Go to Yahoo Maps and enter <Graysville, GA> for fix on actual location. Map will include a portion of the battlefield, Catoosa Springs and Keith.
Probably the same thing. I think the "fatal order of the day" scenario is overplayed and exaggerated. Even if Wood had stayed in place, I think Longstreet's attack was strong enough to punch through. Maybe Wood would have bought some time, lessening the fiasco, but who knows. Same ultimate end, I believe.
Respectfully
After an initial vigorou defense all up and down the line and beating off Confererate attacks, were not Federal forces in all sectors starting to teeter anyway by Longstreet's attack due to a lack of defense in depth at any one point??
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If not I think that they are close to each other.
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