Battle of Lookout Mountain

Battle of Lookout Mountain
Part of the American Civil War
Battle of Lookout Mountain, 1889 lithograph by Kurz and Allison.
Date November 24, 1863 (1863-11-24) Location Chattanooga, Tennessee 35°01′01″N 85°20′31″W / 35.017°N 85.342°W / 35.017; -85.342Coordinates: 35°01′01″N 85°20′31″W / 35.017°N 85.342°W / 35.017; -85.342 Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Joseph Hooker	Carter L. Stevenson
Units involved
Military Division of the Mississippi: Army of the Cumberland (Hooker's Command): XI Corps XII Corps (parts)	Army of Tennessee: 2 brigades from Cheatham's Division 2 brigades from Stevenson's Division
Strength
∼ 10,000	8,726
Casualties and losses
671 total (89 killed 471 wounded 111 captured/missing)	1,251 total (1,064 captured/missing)

Military Division of the Mississippi:

Army of Tennessee:

The Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought November 24, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker assaulted Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and defeated Confederate forces commanded by Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson. Lookout Mountain was one engagement in the Chattanooga battles between Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Military Division of the Mississippi and the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg. It drove in the Confederate left flank and allowed Hooker's men to assist in the Battle of Missionary Ridge the following day, which routed Bragg's army, lifting the siege of Union forces in Chattanooga, and opening the gateway into the Deep South.

After their disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga, the 40,000 men of the Union Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans retreated to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Bragg's Army of Tennessee besieged the city, threatening to starve the Union forces into surrender. Bragg's troops established themselves on Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, both of which had excellent views of the city, the Tennessee River flowing through the city, and the Union's supply lines. Lookout Mountain was actually a ridge or narrow plateau that extended 85 miles southwest from the Tennessee River, culminating in a sharp point 1,800 feet above the river. From the river the end of the mountain rose at a 45° angle and at about two thirds of the way to the summit it changed grade, forming a ledge, or "bench", 150–300 feet wide, extending for several miles around both sides of the mountain. Above the bench, the grade steepened into a 500-foot face of rock called the "palisades". Confederate artillery atop Lookout Mountain controlled access by the river, and Confederate cavalry launched raids on all supply wagons heading toward Chattanooga, which made it necessary for the Union to find another way to feed their men.