GDG- Re: Grant and Lee - ANV coming West

[Biggsk at aol.com]

Margaret writes:


>>>>The loss of Chattanooga was catastrophic for the  Confederacy, including 
the loss of the rail connections there. If Chattanooga  had still been in 
Confederate hands in the fall of 1863, the reinforcements  from the ANV could have 
taken a relatively short and direct rail trip from  Virginia to Chattanooga, 
rather than doing the Magical Mystery Tour they took  to get to the Battle of 
Chickamauga.>>>>
 
Actually, it was a double whammy that did in this rail line that ran  from 
Virginia directly to Chattanooga.  It was first cut at Knoxville on  September 
2nd, 1863, by Burnside's troops, and this is above Chattanooga.   Once 
Knoxville fell, the direct line to Virginia remained cut for the rest of  the war and 
that connection with Chattanooga was thus meaningless by this  Federal 
movement.  Chattanooga was abandoned by the Confederates on Sept.  6th.
 
Not only did this force Longstreet to take a much longer route through the  
Carolinas, but he also had to deal with rail gauges are varying widths, and a  
lack of through-routes into and out of cities (you came in on one end, got 
off,  marched to the other end and got back on).  The railroads of Georgia and  
Tennessee were superior to those in the Carolinas in that all were 5 foot gauge 
 and all ran through cities so you did not have to get off and on other 
trains to  continue your travel.
 
Greg Biggs