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Cutting the Distance in Half

Ample supplies in Bridgeport Alabama were waiting to move to the Union troops trapped in Chattanooga after the battle of Chickamauga, but the torturous 60-mile journey made it impossible to bring anything but the most essential items, and at that time the most essential item was food.

Hard Tack (cracker)

When General William Rosecrans was relieved of command of the city [October 16, 1863] he had begun to plan a retreat. George Thomas, the "Rock of Chickamauga," was appointed to fill Rosecrans' position. Grant ordered him to hold the city "at all hazards." Thomas replied tersely, "We shall hold it until we starve."

On October 22 General Ulysses S. Grant began a 2-day journey over the supply route between Bridgeport and Chattanooga. His description, written more than 20 years after his journey, is riveting:

Ulysses S. Grant

"There had been much rain and the roads were almost impassable from mud knee-deep in places, and from washouts on the mountain-sides. I had been on crutches since the time of my fall in New Orleans and had to be carried over places where it was not safe to cross on horseback. The roads were strewn with the debris of broken wagons and the carcasses of thousands of starved mules and horses."

He approved "Baldy" Smith's plan to resupply besieged Chattanooga. Grant arrived in Chattanooga late on October 23, 1863 and after hearing a report from General "Baldy" Smith, Chief Engineer, Grant rode out with him to inspect a proposed route for a new supply line, cutting the distance of the old route in half.

William Farrar "Baldy" Smith

Smith's idea involved a bold amphibious assault on Brown's Ferry combined with the advance of some 15,000 troops in Bridgeport under the command of Henry Slocum and Oliver O. Howard.

Henry Slocum

On October 27, 1863 a beachhead was established on the south side of the Tennessee west of Chattanooga. Smith's engineers then spanned the river. They begin building the bridge about 6:00am; it was in use at noon, although the engineers continued working on the structure until sunset. At about 4:00pm on October 28th, General Howard reached the beachhead at Brown's Ferry. The Cracker Line was open.

General Oliver Howard

The plan was a brilliant success, with both Grant and George Thomas, now commanding the Army of the Cumberland, giving Smith full credit for the idea. On October 29, 1863 the first supplies along the Cracker Line reached Chattanooga. At first, the line transported mostly vegetables and small rations, but the shorter days and cold nights required other supplies such as blankets and firewood. Medicine was also coming into Chattanooga in large quantities.

The outlook from inside the besieged city of Chattanooga changed for the enlisted men. The somber attitude that had prevailed for the previous five weeks was gone overnight, although the men would not receive full rations for a week.

Two riverboats, the Paint Rock and the Chattanooga, kept the Cracker Line going along a water route between Bridgeport and Kelly's Ferry, about twenty miles east of Bridgeport on the Tennessee River. Negotiating the river past Kelly's Ferry to Brown's Ferry was difficult, although it was used sometimes. The current was strong because the river narrowed in the gorge formed by Raccoon Mountain and Walden's Ridge, and recent heavy rains had increased the volume of water.

From Kelly's Ferry supplies made it to Chattanooga by a land route that ran from Kelly's Ferry, over a low pass (Cummings Gap) in Raccoon Mountain, through the north end of Lookout Valley and across the bridge at Brown's Ferry. Other routes supplimented this combined land-water route.

Only once ample supplies were coming to Chattanooga did Grant authorize the transport of additional munitions. He had been deeply concerned since his arrival about the situation, estimating at one point that the city only contained enough ammunition for a day's battle. By the middle of November, 1864, the men had enough ammunition to begin an offensive.

Troop movements to take the mountains surrounding Chattanooga from the Rebels began on November 21, 1863. The following day, as Union soldiers from the city moved into Lookout Valley in preparation for the "Battle Above the Clouds," "Baldy" Smith's bridge collapsed having been in constant use for almost a month. The "Cracker Line" was history.

Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

http://www.qmfound.com/

On This Day In history

Birthdates which occurred on November 24:
1632 Benedict de "Baruch" Spinoza Amsterdam, rationalist philosopher
1713 Father Junipero Serra had a mission in California
1713 Laurence Sterne Ireland, novelist/satirist (Tristram Shandy)
1784 Zachary Taylor (Whig) 12th President (Mar 5,1849-July 9,1850)
1849 Frances Hodgson Burnett author of children's book (My Secret Garden)
1864 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec France, painter (At the Moulin Rouge)
1868 Scott Joplin US, entertainer/composer (The Entertainer)
1876 Walter Griffin US architect, city planner; designed Canberra, Austria
1877 Alben W Barkley Graves County KY, (35th Vice President-D-1949-53)
1888 Cathleen Nesbitt Belfast Ireland, actress (Agatha-Farmer's Daughter)
1888 Dale Carnegie author (How to Win Friends & Influence People)
1889 Albert J Sylvester England, ballroom dancer (Alex Moor Award-1977)
1905 Irene Wicker singer/actress (Singing Lady)
1908 Libertad Lamaraque Agentina, actress (Madreselva, Puerta Cerrada)
1908 Ray Carter Chicago IL, orchestra leader (Arthur Murray Dance Party)
1911 Kirby Grant Butte MT, actor (Sky King)
1912 Garson Kanin American playwright/producer (Double Life)
1912 Geraldine Fitzgerald Dublin Ire, actress (Pawnbroker, Easy Money)
1917 Howard Duff Bremerton Wash, actor (Flamingo Road, Knots Landing)
1918 Tom "Stubby" Fouts Carroll County IN, actor (Polka-go-round)
1921 John V Lindsay (Mayor-R/D-NY, 1965-73)
1925 William F Buckley Jr Writer, Publisher/Editor (National Review) (Firing Line)
1927 Alfredo Kraus Las Palmas Canary Islands, tenor (La Scala)
1929 Eileen Barton Brooklyn, singer (Broadway Open House)
1930 Dante Lavelli AAFC/NFL end (Cleveland Browns)
1932 Katalin Juhasz-Nagy Hungary, foils (Olympic-gold-1964)
1934 Alfred Schnittke Russia, composer (St Florian)
1934 Martin Charnin Broadway lyricist (Annie, West Side Story)
1935 Ron (Red) Dellums Oakland CA, (Rep-D-CA)
1939 Yoshinobu Miyake Japan, featherweight (Olympic-gold-1964, 68)
1942 Billy Connolly Scotland, comedian/actor (Blue Money)
1942 Marlin Fitzwater press secretary (George Bush)
1944 Claudia Dreifus
1946 Ted Bundy Burlington VT, serial murderer
1947 Dwight Schultz Baltimore MD, actor (A-Team)
1948 Steve Yeager catcher (Los Angeles Dodger)
1950 Damon Evans Baltimore MD, actor (Lionel-The Jeffersons)
1950 Roscoe Born Topeka KS, actor (Mark-Paper Dolls)
1951 Gaby Landhage Goteborg Sweden, model (Model of the Rear)
1956 Doug Davidson actor (Young & Restless)
1957 Denise Crosby Hollywood CA, actress (Tasha-Star Trek: Next Gen)
1958 Carmel (McCourt) England, rocker (Storm, More More More)
1962 Lesa Ann Pedriana Milwaukee WI, playmate (April, 1984)
1963 Lisa Howard actress (Days of Our Life, Rolling Vengeance)

Deaths which occurred on November 24:
1572 John Knox Scottish preacher, dies
1959 Dr Lyman Bryson educator (UN Casebook), dies at 71
1962 James J Kilroy tank inspector (Kilroy was here), dies at 60
1963 Lee Harvey Oswald JFK's assassinator shot dead by Jack Ruby
1974 Charles Quinlivan actor (Frank-Mr Garland), dies at 50
1980 George Raft NYC, actor, dies at 85
1991 Eric Carr musician (Kiss-Beth), dies at 41

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1963 CAMACHO ISSAC (IKE)---EL PASO TX.
[07/13/65 ESCAPED, ALIVE IN 98]
1963 CODY HOWARD RUDOLPH---GULFPORT MS.
1963 MC CLURE CLAUDE DONALD---CHATTANOOGA TN.
[11/28/65 RELEASED IN CAMBODIA]
1963 RORABACK KENNETH M.---BALDWIN NY.
[09/29/65 EXECUTED ON DIC LIST]
1963 SMITH GEORGE E.---CHESTER WV.
[11/28/65 RELEASED IN CAMBODIA]
1967 FOLEY BRENDAN P.---NEW YORK---NY
[NO RADIO CONTACT SAR NEG]
1967 MAYERCIK RONALD M.---EDISON NJ.
[NO RADIO CONTACT SAR NEG]
1969 BALAMONTI MICHAEL D.---GLEN FALLS NY.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 IDENTIFIED 10/95]
1969 BROWN EARL C.---STANLEY NC.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 - IDENTIFIED 10/95]
1969 COMER HOWARD B. JR.---JACKSONVILLE FL.
1969 DE WISPELAERE REXFORD J.---PENFIELD NY.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 IDENTIFIED 10/95]
1969 FELLENZ CHARLES R.---MARSHFIELD WI.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 IDENTIFIED 10/95]
1969 GANLEY RICHARD O.---KEENE NH.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 IDENTIFIED 10/95]
1969 GREWELL LARRY I.---TACOMA WA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 IDENTIFIED 10/95]
1969 MATTHES PETER R.---TOLDEO OH.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 IDENTIFIED 10/95]
1969 WHITE JAMES B.---ST PETERSBURG FL.
1969 WRIGHT DONALD L.---MT SAVAGE MD.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/93 IDENTIFIED 10/95]
1970 MC INTOSH IAN---CANADA

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
166 -BC- Origin of Era of Maccabees
496 Anastasius II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
642 Theodore I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1639 1st observation of transit of Venus occurred (only 2, record event)
1642 Abel Janzoon Tasman discovers Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)
1703 1st Lutheran pastor ordained in America, Justus Falckner at Philadelphia
1759 Destructive eruption of Vesuvius
1832 South Carolina passes Ordinance of Nullification
1859 Charles Darwin publishes "On the Origin of Species"
1863 Civil War battle for Lookout Mountain began in Tennessee
1871 National Rifle Association organized (NYC)
1874 Joseph F Glidden patents barbed wire
1880 Southern University established
1896 1st US absentee voting law enacted by Vermont
1903 Clyde Coleman of NYC patents automobile electric starter
1926 KVI-AM in Seattle WA begins radio transmissions
1930 1st woman pilot on a transcontinental air flight Miss Ruth Nichols (Mineola, NY to CA), in a Lockheed-Vega, took 7 days
1938 National Semi-Pro Basketball Congress authorizes yellow basketball
1944 US bombers based on Saipan, 1st attack Tokyo
1947 John Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" published
1947 Un-American Activities Committee finds "Hollywood 10" in contempt because of their refusal to reveal whether they were communists
1949 Britain nationalizes its steel & iron industry
1952 Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" opens in London
1954 1st US Presidential airplane christened
1958 Mali becomes an autonomous state within French Community
1960 Wilt Chamberlain pulls down 55 rebounds in a game (NBA record)
1963 1st live murder on TV-Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald
1964 Rebellion ends in Zaire
1966 1st TV station in Congo, Kinshasa (Za‹re)
1966 400 die of respiratory failure & heart attack in killer NYC smog
1969 Apollo 12 returns to Earth
1970 Stanford's QB Jim Plunkett wins Heisman Trophy
1971 Dan "DB" Cooper parachutes from a Northwest AL 727 with $200,000
1971 Prison rebellion at Rahway State Prison NJ
1976 NBA Atlanta Hawks end a 28 game road losing streak
1977 Miami Bob Greise passes for 6 touchdowns vs St Louis (55-14)
1979 Kings' Charley Simmer fails on 8th penalty shot against Islanders
1980 Ronald Reagan Jr marries Doria Palmieri
1983 PLO exchanges 6 Israeli prisoners for 4,500 Palestinians & Lebanese
1989 Communist Party resigns in Czechoslovakia
1991 1st international flight from Long Island's MacArthur Airport (to Mexico)
1991 After going 12-0 Washington loses to Dallas 24-21
1991 US 75th manned space mission "STS 44" Atlantis 10 launched
1992 Chinese air crash kills 141
1993 Brady bill passes establishing 5-day waiting period for handgun sales
1993 End of world, according to Ukrainian sect White Brotherhood
1995 Ireland votes to end 70-year-old ban on divorce (50.28% to 49.72%)

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Zaire : New Regime Anniversary
Mass : John F Kennedy Day (1963) (Sunday)
Bern Switzerland : Onion Market Day-autumn festival (Monday)
US : Thanksgiving (Thursday)
US : Game and Puzzle Week (Day 2)
National Neurofibromatosis Month

Religious Observances
Old RC : Commemoration of St John of the Cross, confessor/doctor

Religious History
1703 In Philadelphia, German_born pastor and hymnwriter Justus Falckner, 31, became the first Lutheran clergyman to be ordained in America.
1713 Birth of Father Junipero Serra, Spanish missionary to western America. From 1769, he established 9 of the first 21 Franciscan missions founded along the Pacific coast, and baptized some 6,000 Indians before his death in 1784.
1838 Canadian Sulpician missionary Franois Blanchet, 43, first arrived in the Oregon Territory. A native of Quebec, he spent 45 years planting churches in the American Northwest, and is remembered today as the "Apostle of Oregon."
1880 In Montgomery, AL, more than 150 delegates from Baptist churches in 11 states met to form the Baptist Foreign Missions Convention of the United States. Liberian missionary William W. Colley was chief organizer, and the Rev. William H. McAlpine was elected the first president.
1941 American Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote in his "Secular Journal": 'Spiritual dryness is an acute experience of longing therefore of love.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Toil is most pleasant when done."

Question of the day...
what happens when you get scared half to death twice?

Murphys Law of the day...(Oppenheimer's Observation)
The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist knows it.

Astounding fact #984,876....
New Jersey has a spoon museum featuring over 5,400 spoons from every state and almost every country.