Union Forces Commanded by: Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces Commanded by: Maj. Gen. Braxton Bragg
**Missing and Captured Conclusion: Union Victory **Casualties are Orchard Knob, Lookout Mountain, & Missionary Ridge Combined** |
BATTLE SUMMARY
Grant, before his planned offensive on Bragg's lines overlooking Chattanooga, asked that elements of Thomas' army probe the Confederates center. Through late morning, Brig. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's and Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood's divisions of the IV Corps assembled along the center of the Union lines and gave the impression of preparing for a formal review of troops. It was a trick. Without artillery support, they were to make a reconnaissance in force on Orchard Knob, a 100 foot high, lightly wooded foothill of the Missionary Ridge range occupied by Bragg's troops. The Confederates forward position, it sat 1 mile in front of the Union center, midway between the main Union and Confederate lines.