256 The American Civil War
The best cavalry commander in the Western Theater and
probably on either side in the war Nathan Bedford
Forrest was a scourge to Union soldiers. Forrest's disgust
for Bragg was so great after Chickamauga that he
threatened to kill him. Forrest also gained notoriety when
his cavalrymen slaughtered black soldiers at Fort Pillow.
(Library of Congress)
he won, but after the Chickamauga debacle
they lost all faith in him. Lincoln thought
Rosecrans acted 'confused and stunned like a
duck hit on the head.' The Assistant
Secretary of War, Charles A. Dana, visited
Chattanooga and reported that the army
lacked confidence in him. What the
administration needed was someone to take
charge. That man was Grant.Battles around Chattanooga
Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton caught a
speedy train westward to rendezvous with
Grant in Louisville. Instead, he caught up to
him at Indianapolis, and the two rode
together that last leg. The administration
had decided to create the Military Division
of the Mississippi from the Appalachians to
the river, and it assigned Grant as the
commander. Stanton then gave Grant a
choice: he could keep Rosecrans as
commander of the Army of the
Cumberland, or replace him with Thomas.
Grant chose Thomas.
Before Grant arrived at Chattanooga, the
administration had already taken steps to
improve the situation there. It had
transferred the XI and XII Corps under
Major-General Joseph Hooker from the idle
Army of the Potomac by rail, and Sherman,
with another 17,000, had been on the march
from Mississippi. Rosecrans and his staff had
prepared plans for opening supply lines.
Grant's presence instilled confidence, and he
soon had the cracker line' open.
With reinforcements under Sherman and
Hooker there, Grant implemented his plan.
Additional manpower had doubled Union