1863 had not been a pleasant year for the South. The defeats at Vicksburg and Gettysburg were a telling blow to the morale of the rebels. The rout of the Union army at Chickamauga bolstered sagging confidence. Rosecrans trapped in Chattanooga meant an end to the unopposed advances of the Army of the Cumberland and North Georgia had a respid from battle. Not for long. Within six weeks four of Lincoln's best commanders amassed in Chattanooga, Rosecrans was gone, and battle plans drawn to retake the mountain and free the city from Bragg's grip. After taking Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, Grant's boys followed the rebels to Ringgold Gap where a defeated rebel army established a rear guard. In spite of an overwhelming tactical advantage, the Union Army was stopped cold by a much smaller rebel force. The lines for the winter of 1863-1864 had been drawn and each army prepared for the inevitable battles the following spring.



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