Chattanooga Hard crackers in Chattanooga?

Jantzen64

Sergeant
Joined
Aug 10, 2019
Been reading Cozzens book “Shipwreck of Their Hopes” about the battles around Chattanooga, and he paints a pretty grim picture about the condition of the AotC, supply-wise, in the wake of Chickamauga before the opening of the Cracker Line. I saw this article on another site, suggesting that that traditional depiction was overstated and a product of the anti Rosecrans faction led by Charles Dana:
https://emergingcivilwar.com/2014/04/17/the-myth-of-the-cracker-line-part-one/

Apparently, even Thomas’s famous response to Grant’s directive to hold Chattanooga at all costs has been “edited” over time to paint a more dire picture.


I haven’t had a chance to dive into this; would be interested if anyone else ever has heard of this and where current scholarship is heading on the topic. THX!
 
Good question. I have read in other books and articles about how the Union troops were living on hard times.

I guess the first question to look at is how were the Union troops in Chattanooga supplied during this brief "siege"?
When they refer to the Cracker Line they usually talk about the Rail lines. The Confederates were continuously raiding the railroads and burning bridges, some quite large in middle Tennessee. I can only assume the Union was still bringing supplies down (or UP) the Tennessee River to Pittsburg Landing and Corinth area and then transporting them by rail to Chattanooga. This route was too exposed to Confederate raids.

Maybe there was the option of carrying supplies by river. I recall Forrest's 1864 raid on Johnsonville. The supplies for General Sherman were carried by river to Johnsonville, TN, and then by rail further South. If they were doing this in 1864, why weren't this route available to them in 1863?

What was the supply route and how effective was the Confederates at cutting this supply?
 
Good question. I have read in other books and articles about how the Union troops were living on hard times.

I guess the first question to look at is how were the Union troops in Chattanooga supplied during this brief "siege"?
When they refer to the Cracker Line they usually talk about the Rail lines. The Confederates were continuously raiding the railroads and burning bridges, some quite large in middle Tennessee. I can only assume the Union was still bringing supplies down (or UP) the Tennessee River to Pittsburg Landing and Corinth area and then transporting them by rail to Chattanooga. This route was too exposed to Confederate raids.

Maybe there was the option of carrying supplies by river. I recall Forrest's 1864 raid on Johnsonville. The supplies for General Sherman were carried by river to Johnsonville, TN, and then by rail further South. If they were doing this in 1864, why weren't this route available to them in 1863?

What was the supply route and how effective was the Confederates at cutting this supply?
All good questions, DR! The more I read, the more I realize how much more I still have to learn!
 
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